OPERATION BEST US UNIVERSITY

We must confess that education is in a marginal condition in Azerbaijan right now. Some universities of the country apply the Bologna Process, i.e. a system of European higher education, and others do not. It must be noted that Azerbaijan joined the Bologna Process, i.e. the single European system of higher education, on 19 May 2005. From that moment, education officials started implementing new provisions the main principles of which are the mandatory adoption of two-stage higher education, use of the European credit system (ECTS), mutual recognition of diplomas and ensuring students' mobility. Some elements of this model are already functioning here, for example, two-stage education in universities: a bachelor's and master's degree, whereas post-graduate studies are still in a mess. Some universities are carrying out experiments on credit-test teaching.

However, this does not mean that negative phenomena in the Azerbaijani education system have been eradicated, and the essence of the Bologna Process is quite vague at the moment. Previously, on the lack of specialists in the country, R+ said that Azerbaijan is possibly the only state in the world where parents, no matter how sad it is, are ready to pay and still pay to ensure that their children DO NOT STUDY. They splash out hundreds of dollars for a faked "red school-leaving certificate" and thousands for a "red diploma". Then they are ready to pay any money to get a "place in the sun" for their "high achievers". But now the time is different - it is capitalism. A capitalist, excuse me for my language, is not a fool to pay twice - to someone who works and to someone who has a "protector". As a result, we have a whole army of unemployed "intellectuals" with a diploma. In 10 years' time, we may encounter a major lack of specialists in any sphere. One of the ways out of the current situation surrounding the underdeveloped education system in Azerbaijan is education abroad, especially as we already have positive and reassuring experience in this sphere.

Our girl, our flag and our anthem in the USA

Leyla Aliyeva is a graduate of the European lyceum. This year she became the first Azerbaijani student in economics at the best US university - Princeton University. She will be the first Azerbaijani girl to raise the flag of our country at the entrance to this legendary university in September this year. Leyla will be the first representative of Azerbaijan in this great university where Einstein worked, three US presidents, including J. F. Kennedy studied, and dozens of Nobel prize-winners teach…

But Leyla's accession to Princeton University is not the only achievement of this talented girl - Leyla has entered the faculty of economics in three other American universities: Columbia, Pennsylvania (UPenn) and Duke. Three more universities from the top 10 US universities have put her on their waiting list, which is also good. Thus, today Leyla is a kind of expert in entering US universities. In an interview with R+, she was happy to share her experience. Why go to companies that provide consultations on education abroad and pay them when you can do everything yourself? What is more, it is known that quite a few scammers have "lined their pocket" from this. "I would like to ease this extremely difficult path for Azerbaijanis who want to enter US universities. I want to share my experience with anyone who wants to get their education in the USA and with parents who want to give their children American education".

According to Leyla, there are a lot of university rankings in the USA, but the most authoritative one is the ranking of the magazine US News. Thus, according to USNews.com: America's Best Colleges 2008, the first top 10 US universities are Princeton University (NJ), Harvard University (MA), Yale University (CT), Stanford University (CA), University of Pennsylvania, California Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Duke University (NC), Columbia University (NY), University of Chicago.  

Leyla is convinced that the best education is available in the USA. The reason is simple - American universities accumulate financial resources that are not available in Europe, which is why all world luminaries, both known and future ones, flow into the USA. For this reason, Leyla recommends that young Azerbaijanis try their luck to enter US universities, since they have a modern scientific-technical base that allows them to carry out serious scientific research, libraries, sports and cultural opportunities, and provide possible scholarships.

Of course, this is a great success based on Leyla's hard work - from the first form, she was one of the best pupils of the lyceum, did a lot of extracurricular work, was elected president of the Small Academy (the scientific circle of the lyceum), won a lot of scientific competitions, was recently awarded by the minister of education a special prize for her victory in the national competition "Young Talents", and has a good command of English, German and French.

"After thinking for a long time, my parents and I decided to choose Princeton University, not just because it is the best once, but also because Princeton provided a scholarship of 45,000 dollars per year, covering not only her education, but also her living and food, which is very important. When we decided to enter an American university, my parents and I could not get a detailed explanation as to how to do it. For this reason, we had to investigate this on our own."

What do you start from and what do you prepare for?

"You have to know that selection commissions appraise university entrants by the following criteria: entry exams; essays; references; out-of-school activity; and an interview. All these components are equally important, which is why you have to prepare seriously not just for the exams, but also to start planning as soon as possible - no later than the ninth form. My parents helped me very much. Children need serious help, because the volume of information you have to digest is huge, and you cannot cope with it on your own due to your current lessons. For example, my father speaks English. This was a great help for me, because all you need to know to enter a university is available on websites. My father, my mother and I spent almost all our time in the last 18 months reading these websites, studying the technique of writing essays and filling in questionnaires, behaviour during interviews and acquiring all other necessary knowledge."

First of all, you have to identify the speciality and the preliminary list of universities, because the exams you will have to sit depend on this. The list of the best American colleges can be found on this website: http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/usnews/ edu/college/rankings/brief/t1natudoc_brief.php. There are also links to the websites of the colleges themselves and their full descriptions here. The web addresses of all colleges are based on the following principle: www. college name.edu. Having chosen your speciality, you need to check the requirements for entrants on the website of every college you choose. In principle, they are the following: you have to sit standard exams SAT or ACT, as well as TOEFL and fill in all the necessary documents. It is better to do so online rather than send them by post. This is welcomed by all colleges.

SAT is a more popular and preferable option for Azerbaijan, because it is more common and this exam can now be passed in Baku. To this end, you need to register on the website http://www.collegeboard.com, choose your exam, date and pay with a credit card. The credit card should have about $100 for every college you choose, i.e. if an applicant submits his papers to five colleges, he will need about $500 for sending the results of the exams. While submitting your papers, depending on the college, you need to pay from $50 to 70, for sending the results of TOEFL - $17 and SAT - $9.

It is better to start from the SAT I exam (reasoning test), which is compulsory for all colleges and includes three parts: writing, reading and math. Every part is estimated at 800 points, i.e. the maximum number of points is 2,400. For average colleges, it is enough to collect 500-550 points in every part. There is no point in trying to enter top colleges if you gain less than 650 points. Most of those who enter top colleges have more than 700 points in SAT, while you need to collect at least 100 points in TOEFL (IBT) for top universities. These exams will make it possible to assess your chances more impartially. "Do not get upset if you do not gain enough points for top colleges, because even universities of the third ranking are very strong."

Then, in compliance with the requirements of every college of your choosing, you need to sit an exam on at least two or three additional subjects in SAT II (subject tests). If you choose engineering and technical specialities, Math 2 will be one of the compulsory subjects, and if you choose chemical or physical specialities - chemistry and physics. Of course, the more tests you pass, the better. The procedure of registering and passing an exam is the same as in SAT I.

It is possible to submit and send the results of exams to colleges, but only on the website http://www.collegeboard.com (the service is paid). The top point in this exam counts.

"Just like everything else, in the USA everything has been done to ease the life of people, in this case, future students. For this reason, a special website https://www.commonapp.org has been set up. You have to register on this website, and after filling in all the necessary documents, submit them to any American college. The website is comfortable because it is also an organizer. You can keep your documents there, follow the schedule of applications and do many other things. Moreover, you can fill in and submit additional documents (supplements) required by various colleges. For example, most of the leading universities will require you to fill in a questionnaire and write two or three essays on the subjects they propose themselves."

Apart from the common questionnaire, you have to find and print out references and have them filled in - two by school teachers and one by the school principal. A statement about your marks is also necessary. All these documents need to be sent to the college by the teachers themselves, not by the applicant.

"Apart from the marks and references, essays are very important and crucial for the selection commission - from one to five short essays, depending on what the college needs. The student's out-of-school activity is also important - for example, participation in scientific Olympiads, environmental protection, charity organizations and so on. If you are talented in arts, you can send them your paintings and so on, because this may influence the decision of the selection commission. As for the financial side of the issue, education abroad is not cheap, of course. If you have enough money to pay for your education - it will cost you $50,000-60,000 per year on average - then, your chances will increase, because the number of scholarships allocated to foreign students is limited and competition is high. If you apply for financial assistance, you have to fill in special forms that are posted on the same website and submit them ahead of the deadline.

Education funded by the state

It must be noted that the state itself also has a great interest in getting Azerbaijani citizens educated abroad. For example, in April 2007 Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev approved the state programme on the education of the Azerbaijani youth abroad in 2007-2015. The president issued an instruction to finance the state programme from the State Oil Fund and other sources stipulated by the law. The presidential commission on education was requested to control the programme. This fact shows that from now on, the issue has become a priority not just for individual representatives of the Azerbaijani youth. The state takes responsibility for financing - the main problem facing students studying abroad. You only have to study.

It must be noted that in 2007, about 3,000 Azerbaijani students were studying abroad. One thousand of them are financed by the state and the rest from other sources. The state finances the education of our students mainly in Russia, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Egypt and Romania, while students studying in Germany, France, Britain, Japan and Korea are financed from other sources. According to the presidential programme, by 2015 the state will send about 5,000 students for education abroad.

The country's government believes that the influence of the Azerbaijani youth studying abroad can be used to expand friendship with foreign states. Apart from that, Azerbaijani students could play a great role in the expansion of our diaspora.

In conclusion, we have to add that Azerbaijan has always been rich in talents. In other words, the nation has great potential. You just need to develop it. We very much hope that clever and energetic people like Leyla who know how to achieve their goal will bring fame to their country. We also hope that foreign students will be coming to our country to get proper education. We hope that Azerbaijani education will finally identify its priorities.