<p>Hi guys! Hope everything is ok :). I want to ask ordinary things; in other words typical questions about admissions( undergraduate). I am student from Kazakhstan, read a lot about rules, when you want apply to college here. So, here questions:
1) They're ( colleges) required volunteer work. To be honest, i haven't got this, but I have 1.5 years work experience, did they require that?
2) Need teachers recommendations, again, its little bit difficult, because when i studied in my high-school, every new year we have new teachers, especially english and math. I can ask my ex-bosses to write letters, this is adequate alternative?
3) extra-curriculum, like championship of science competitions. I haven't got it again :D, but I have own business like websites, and understanding culture and how to do business in Central Asia with exUSSR countries( like Russian federation etc). Do you think its enough?</p>
<p>Thanks a lot! Sorry for my english, trying to fixed my grammar ;)</p>
<p>Colleges don’t actually require volunteer work. They want to know what kinds of activities you participate in out side of school. Clearly, work is one such activity as is starting your own business. Of course, the kinds of extracurricular activities that you have will appeal differently to different institutions. I know that at my school, Illinois Institute of Technology, working and starting your own business is looked very favorably upon, but I cannot say for other schools.</p>
<p>As for letters of recommendation, letters from your supervisors at work will do just fine. Generally letters or recommendations are best if the people writing them know you well. Even if your teachers change from year to year (that is normal in the United States), if you have gotten to know one teacher particularly well, then you should ask for a letter.</p>
<p>xraymancs</p>
<p>Thanks! Heh, i want to apply to University of Chicago, or some kind Ivy League schools( yep-yep it 1-2 % chances for international student on undergraduate, but i want to try), so they send to me this kind of common this in applications.
Ok, my ex-school director is teacher too, probably I can ask him, but he write this letter on kazakh language so i need to translate</p>
<p>Who can send required LORs varies from school to school, you need to go to the college websites and read their policies. I have to disagree with xray, usually required LORs must be written by teachers in an academic subject and GCs, not work supervisors.</p>
<p>x-posted w/OP, the schools you listed will require LORs from teachers & GCs.</p>
<ol>
<li> I don’t know who told you that colleges in the U.S. require volunteer work of applicants, but it’s just not true.</li>
</ol>
<p>First of all, of the 4000 colleges and universities in this country, the majority are not very selective at all. If you meet their academic standards, you’ll be admitted. And most community colleges deliberately set that standard very low.</p>
<p>Even at the really famous and highly selective colleges and universities in the U.S., community service isn’t required. It is true that these colleges and universities get applications from way more highly qualified students than they have room for, and that they use non-academic factors (extracurricular activities) to choose which academically qualified applicants they will accept. Community service could be the kind of extracurricular work that a successful applicant has been involved in, but it doesn’t have to be. Other applicants will be chosen for their accomplishments in sports or music or the visual arts or some other area.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Recommendations: the answer will depend greatly on the sort of college or university you’re applying to. If you’re thinking of Yale or Stanford or other institutions of that caliber, they will be very interested in knowing what kind of student you are, and they may insist on letters from teachers who’ve taught you recently. [EDIT: Oh, I see that you are thinking of elite universities. The best way to get reliable answers to your question is to contact the admissions offices of universities and colleges you are thinking of applying to, and asking them.] If you’re thinking of less competitive American universities or colleges, many of them will be satisfied with a letter from a work supervisor, and some will not require any letter of recommendation at all. You’ll need to find out the answer for every university or college that you’re interested in.</p></li>
<li><p>It wouldn’t be fair to expect an applicant from Kazakhstan to have the same kind of background as an American applicant, and most colleges and universities will not expect you to have the same kind of experiences or extracurricular accomplishments as an American applicant would have. Again, remember that a lot of American universities and colleges are not very selective; only the selective ones will care about your extracurricular activities at all. Of those selective ones, many will think that business experience is at least as valuable as having been on the school’s math team, etc. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>In general, if you want to go to university in the U.S., you probably need to address more important questions before any of these. First and foremost, how will you pay for it? Higher education in the U.S. is very expensive, and there’s little financial aid available to students who are not U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents. After that, you need to consider what kind of college or university you want to apply to, and whether you have the kind of academic preparation that makes you a suitable applicant. After those things, you can start worrying about letters of recommendation and non-academic achievements–if you’re targeting the selective colleges and universities that will care about those things.</p>
<p>(cross-post with everyone above me)</p>
<p>Sikorsky
Thanks for open-wide answer. Hm, i will pay full amount for 4 years, i found faculty, I have all documents, only questions about letters, extra-activities and etc 
Fortunately, I have a very strong knowledge in US History and culture, so I can involving in debate about it.</p>
<p>OK, then.</p>
<p>Universities of the caliber that you’re talking about have a lot of experience evaluating applications from abroad, and they know that applicants from central Asia don’t have the same kind of background and experiences as applicants from Wellesley, Massachusetts, have. For the most part, they’ll compare you and your application to applications from international applicants with similar origins.</p>
<p>Sikorsky</p>
<p>Hm. very interesting, now i can understand, why it so small amount of student from my country in this kind of colleges.
In your opinion, work and business experience its normal for ordinary students at this kind of colleges?</p>