Benjamin Thinking

不知道應該是要開心還是怎樣... 第一次在美國看醫生:P

"A senior new member finally makes his very first speech in the toastmasters club"- a lot of fellow toastmasters must whisper. (Pause) Yes! Here I am. I decided to move one step ahead before the anniversary of joining the MIIS toastmasters club has come. "No more waiting," I told myself.

Below is the recommended timetable for applying to universities in the United States. It is sometimes possible to complete the process more quickly, but you may have a much more limited choice of schools. Planning ahead gives you sufficient time to make successful applications to the universities of your choice.

12 TO 18 MONTHS PRIOR to the academic year in which you hope to enroll, begin to consider, research, and do the following:

• What are your reasons for wanting to study in the United States?
• Which universities offer your subject and specialization?
• Will you need financial assistance?
• Begin narrowing down your choices of schools to approximately 10 to 20 institutions, and make sure they meet your academic, financial, lifestyle, and other needs.
• Find out application deadlines. This will affect when you take the standardized tests required for admission since test results must reach admissions offices
  no later than these deadlines. The tests should be taken in advance of submitting university application forms.
• Register to take paper-based GRE Subject Tests if required by the universities to which you are applying.

12 MONTHS PRIOR to enrollment, start to complete the following (months indicated are estimates):

August

• Continue narrowing down your choice of schools.  While some students apply to more, 5 to 10 well-researched choices are sufficient.
• Contact universities for application and financial aid forms and catalogs.
• Register to take the TOEFL and the GRE General Test, GRE Writing Assessment, GMAT, or other admissions tests, as necessary

September – December

• Continue narrowing down your choice of schools.  While some students apply to more, 5 to 10 well-researched choices are sufficient.
• Request official transcripts from your undergraduate institution.
• Brief your recommenders and request letters of reference from them.
• Draft personal statements or statements of purpose and research proposals, if requested.
• Submit completed application forms (for admission as well as financial aid).
• Double check that transcripts and references have been sent.
  
• Take the necessary admissions tests.

January – March

• University application deadlines must be met.

April – June

• Letters of acceptance or rejection arrive. Decide which university to attend, notify the admissions office of your decision, complete and return any forms they require.
• Send letters of regret to those universities you turn down.
• Organize finances (arrange to transfer funds to a U.S. bank; make sure you have funds for travel and expenses on arrival).
• Finalize arrangements for housing and medical insurance with your university.
• Notify any sponsoring organizations of your plans.

June – August

• Use information from your Form I-20 or DS-2019 to fill out the SEVIS Form I-901 and pay the $100 required SEVIS fee (see SEVIS information for description of SEVIS form and fee).
• Upon receipt of your I-20 and SEVIS I-901 payment receipt, apply to your nearest U.S. embassy or consulate for a visa. This should be as far in advance of your departure date as possible (see "Visas").
• Contact your nearest EducationUSA information and advising center to let them know that you have been accepted to a U.S. institution.
• Make travel arrangements, planning to arrive in time for the university's orientation program.
• Contact the International Student Office at your university with details of your arrival plans, and confirm details of any orientation for new students held by the university.

Getting Ready to Go
Once you know that you are going to study in the United States, you will probably have many questions about visas, accommodations, health insurance, banking, how to study, and other "predeparture" information. Most EducationUSA information and advising centers conduct predeparture orientation presentations in the summer, and some may also offer sessions midyear. Contact your nearest center for their schedule and to reserve space for these popular events. Some centers may charge a fee for this service.

        雖然沒有數字證明, 到底台灣(或者其他國家)每年出國的人數中, 有多少人是經由代辦, 又有多少人是自行申請學校的? 但是感覺上, 自行申請的(學生)似乎不多.  而我以及我內人, 則是這感覺上少數的其中之二.
        申請過程中, 除了找尋學校資料之外, 另一件重要的事情就是探索自己心中的理想, 以及自己所缺乏的; 若是申請MBA, 更要不斷地"鞏固"心中留學的理由以及目的, 求學中的研究目標, 當然, 還有未來的職涯計畫...  當談到職涯計畫, 其中一個靈感來源則是一些前輩所留下的訓言或者好文章中的警惕...

文章出處:http://www.eic.org.cn/Specialty%5C200708%5C633226823851250000.shtml

What do entrepreneurs do?

　　Entrepreneurs have many options: they can be business owners and managers, venture capitalists, or small business consultants. In addition, some become intrapreneurs within established companies.

What is intrapreneurship?

　　Intrapreneurs work within corporations to develop new products, increase innovation, and build employee morale. Intrapreneurship appeals to some because it allows them to pursue creative business ideas with the support of a large company’s resources.

What degree options are available in this area?

　　Some schools offer undergraduate degrees in Entrepreneurship. In addition, graduate students can earn an MBA with an entrepreneurship concentration.

出國留學就像是一個需要仔細規劃的專案，
只不過, 起草的人是自己, 立大綱的人是自己, 
而執行, 檢討, 修正, 再執行的人, 也都是自己...

我承認自己並非資質好, 自小就立志要出國唸書的人
但經過多年職場上的歷練, 遇見不同的人, 受到來自多方面的刺激之後, 
我認定, 若不讓自己陷入這樣的過程, 我一定無法獲得寶貴的經驗

於是, Here I am!

雖然, 現在的我, 仍然為準備考試, 申請學校 處於煎熬的狀態.
但是身旁有許多支持我的人, 不斷地鼓勵我, 這已足夠任我持續支持下去...
當然, 一些前人所留下的經驗, 更是不斷修正自己, 提醒自己的良方...

===================== [ 以下為文章內文 ] ===================== 

副標：先有工作經驗再出國！

前言：留學人數創下新高，歸國人數也不斷成長。在競爭激烈的就業環境下，留學究竟是昂貴的夢想？或是通往高薪的門票？

    根據教育部最新的資料統計，2006年申請海外留學的人數高達3.7萬人，比前一年度增加了9.1％，創下10年來留學人數的新高。

    長期以來，海外留學人數的多寡，一直是競爭力的重要參考指標；前幾年，當留學人數節節下降時，引起不少來自各界的關注眼光。教育部更廣設各類科獎學金、改變公費留學申請方案，以吸引更多優秀青年負笈海外。海外留學生普遍被視為有良好的外語能力、較具有國際 觀；比起一般國內學生，踏入職場時更有優勢。然而，隨著網路帶來了國際化的學習環境，海外留學的優勢似乎逐漸消退。

※留學，不是光拿一張文憑

準備托福，我個人覺得通常會因人而異...
為何要這樣說？因為如果你/妳本來就有些基礎，那麼先增加你的"廣度"是重要的；相對的，如果你/妳本來很少使用英文(工作上或學業上)，而計畫在非短期內出國進修...，我則建議從簡單的口語雜誌著手 (先增加自信心)。

不過，不論如何有些工具是值得利用，而且免費的！

準備考試已經進入第5周，這一周的重頭戲是第一次的模擬考，雖然不斷告訴自己無需要緊張，但是越是靠近心情多少還是有起伏的。心情上有所起伏就算了，一遇到身體不適就更糟了...

When I first time heard this term in my iBT reading class, I found it was interesting.

很快的時間，1月份才剛領的薪水按照計劃地，在昨天正式「執行」(或者已經就"待扣款"定位...)完畢。
接下來的日子裡，只能靠內人一份薪水來支撐整個家... 說到這，先向我家夫人深深的一鞠躬：妳辛苦了，我會加油！