International Student (Singapore)

[tryingohsohard]

Hey everyone,
I am sorry if this is not the proper channels to ask these questions, please try not to hold it against me as i am unsure about the US education system. 
A little bit about myself , do bear with me.

I am located in singapore and i am very interested in taking up Bachelor in arts - Project management Concentration . Specifically in the YourPace program.
My credentials - GCE O LEVEL, Higher Nitec (Technical Education) , Private Diploma and a upcoming Spec Diploma from awarded from a statutory organisation in singapore.


I emailed UMPI ,and the enrollment officer asked me to send my application in but they did not answers any of my questions.

However , i am not sure if my existing certifications are even or can even be accepted by umpi(as mine is a private diploma) before i send them for evaluation by a third party and do i have to send all of my certifications or just my diploma?

As for possible life experiences credits, they told me that it will be at a later date after enrollment, is this true

As for english proficiency requirements, from my research it seems that university of maine (Not UMPI) accepts the IGCSE, GCSE, or O Level exams as meeting minimum admission criteria and may be used to demonstrate sufficient English proficiency. When i check with them, they indicated that it has to be taken two years prior , is this true or set in stone?


Also i do have a 2nd language which is Mandarin , would i be able to skip the language elective?

As i based on this wiki given https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UM...egree_Plan
Could i start on sophia,study.com now while i process my applications?

Will they in any case stop taking in credits from sophia/study.com in the near future?

I apologise if the questions ive asked are ignorant and basic, thats cause i have very very minimal understanding of the system and i am very overwhelmed by it.

[rachel83az]

Hey everyone,
I am sorry if this is not the proper channels to ask these questions, please try not to hold it against me as i am unsure about the US education system. 
A little bit about myself , do bear with me.

I am located in singapore and i am very interested in taking up Bachelor in arts - Project management Concentration . Specifically in the YourPace program.
My credentials - GCE O LEVEL, Higher Nitec (Technical Education) , Private Diploma and a upcoming Spec Diploma from awarded from a statutory organisation in singapore.


I emailed UMPI ,and the enrollment officer asked me to send my application in but they did not answers any of my questions.

It's a good thing you found this forum. The "enrollment specialists" at UMPI are, unfortunately, not qualified to assist American students. They're even less qualified to assist international students. Hopefully, they don't harass you about enrollment now, as they do with domestic students, even after students are enrolled! The enrollment "specialists" aren't even true UMPI employees; they're contractors to help boost enrollment numbers. Sad, but the YourPace program is excellent, so it's worth the hassle of getting around these people.

However , i am not sure if my existing certifications are even or can even be accepted by umpi(as mine is a private diploma) before i send them for evaluation by a third party and do i have to send all of my certifications or just my diploma?

I am not overly familiar with the Singapore school system. In theory, which of these would qualify you to attend a Singapore university? It sounds similar to the UK system, so I think only the O levels are necessary? Those are what you'd need to have evaluated. The diplomas might or might not be worth university credit, but I probably wouldn't bother with them if they're not the equivalent of a US high school diploma. It'd be a couple hundred US dollars to potentially be told that they're not worth credit because they're not from a government university.

As for possible life experiences credits, they told me that it will be at a later date after enrollment, is this true

Don't bother with "life experience". UMPI's PLA process is much more difficult than the YourPace classes. Based on how much writing you'd have to do, you could probably do at least 2 or 3 YourPace classes  in the same time as a single PLA portfolio for one class. Plus, PLA aren't graded and don't count as UMPI credits, so it's really not worth the hassle at all. Just do the YourPace classes and graduate more quickly/easily.

As for english proficiency requirements, from my research it seems that university of maine (Not UMPI) accepts the IGCSE, GCSE, or O Level exams as meeting minimum admission criteria and may be used to demonstrate sufficient English proficiency. When i check with them, they indicated that it has to be taken two years prior , is this true or set in stone?

You need to be at least 20 years of age to start YourPace. If you're 20 or older, but you took O-levels last year, I think you're good. If you're not yet 20 years of age, you'll need to wait until you're 20 to be able to enroll for a YourPace degree.

As for being able to skip the English proficiency requirements, were the O levels taken in English? If they were, and you can show that they were, they should allow you to skip the English proficiency exam requirement. If they were in another language, the University of Maine system should accept the Duolingo English Test for proficiency. That should be cheaper and maybe easier to obtain than the TOEFL or IELTS.

Also i do have a 2nd language which is Mandarin , would i be able to skip the language elective?

Yes! You can take an ACTFL exam for this. They have an OPI (oral proficiency) exam for Mandarin. You would need to make an appointment for the exam, in which you will have a 15-30 minute conversation with an actual person. Basic information is here: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/AC...Languages)

As i based on this wiki given https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UM...egree_Plan
Could i start on sophia,study.com now while i process my applications?

Because you need permission to transfer in additional credits after enrollment, it is strongly recommended that you finish as much Sophia and Study.com as possible before enrolling. If you are not yet 20 years of age, you can definitely get started on Sophia and Study.com while waiting for your 20th birthday.

Will they in any case stop taking in credits from sophia/study.com in the near future?

This is very unlikely. They might change around what Sophia or Study.com classes can be used for what, but they are unlikely to stop accepting them entirely. These changes are usually minor and do not make a huge impact on overall degree progress.

[Sylvia Yang]

Hi, huge welcome board! Same location & degree interested,haha.

[tryingohsohard]

Thank you so much Rachel! That’s very helpful and I really appreciate the effort you took to reply me .

So there is absolutely no way to really contact their real staff until you are successfully in the program at this moment? If it’s true, this is really unfortunate .

In Singapore, you will have to go through O level -> Polytechnic (Diploma)(US Associate Degree Equivalent-> Bachelor Degree
however we do have A Level which is equivalent to a U.S. high school diploma. Thus in this case O level might just fall short or just barely meet the requirement which I would probably have to send it for evaluation as you advised

I narrowed down to IEE as an evaluation company, is a general report enough or do I have to do the education course report?
https://myiee.org/pricing


1st - get my credentials evaluated
2nd-send in my reports and application.

May I ask , at which stage am I considered enrolled?
once I send in my application?
If unfortunately I do not make the criteria would I be able to appeal in any way?

Thank you again for taking your time out to help !

---

Hi, huge welcome board! Same location & degree interested,haha.

Hey Sylvia, great to see a fellow singaporean here ! Have you started on your application?

[rachel83az]

You can get in contact with UMPI staff, but they don't make the option easily available through their website. Both ashkir and ss20ts are former UMPI students who should better know who to contact regarding questions you might have.

Unfortunately, we haven't had a lot of students from Singapore (yet), so we're not as knowledgeable about what or what might not be needed for admission to YourPace. Most countries have a "school leaving certificate" or something along those lines to prove that they have finished the first 12 or so years of school and have graduated from secondary school. Singapore is confusing enough that I can't find any straight answer on the subject of what is actually needed and not just telling you to take the SAT exam, etc. (UMPI doesn't require the SAT for YourPace) and pay the site for information. Yikes! No.

That said, for evaluation, I think you only need to pay for the generic evaluation and not the course by course. Someone just needs to say "Yes, tryingohsohard has actually finished the Singaporian equivalent of high school. They're good to go to university." (In the US, Associate degrees are considered university-level.) It'd be different if you were trying to transfer Singaporian university credits to UMPI.

You are enrolled once you say you want to attend. Summer 1 session just started. If you applied for Summer 2, you can tell them that you want to defer enrollment until Fall 1 because you want to finish up some additional credits first. That's fine.

[ss20ts]

Thank you so much Rachel! That’s very helpful and I really appreciate the effort you took to reply me .

So there is absolutely no way to really contact their real staff until you are successfully in the program at this moment? If it’s true, this is really unfortunate .

In Singapore, you will have to go through O level -> Polytechnic (Diploma)(US Associate Degree Equivalent-> Bachelor Degree
however we do have A Level which is equivalent to a U.S. high school diploma. Thus in this case O level might just fall short or just barely meet the requirement which I would probably have to send it for evaluation as you advised

I narrowed down to IEE as an evaluation company, is a general report enough or do I have to do the education course report?
https://myiee.org/pricing


1st - get my credentials evaluated
2nd-send in my reports and application.

May I ask  , at which stage am I considered enrolled?
once I send in my application?
If unfortunately I do not make the criteria would I be able to appeal in any way?

Thank you again for taking your time out to help !

---

You have to be accepted before you're enrolled. Just submitting an application just mean you're accepted. It means you've applied. The application process takes a couple of weeks. Before applying I would contact Shea who is the YourPace Admissions Coordinator to find out what specifically they will require as an international student. You can reach her via email. shea.cushman@maine.edu You need to ask her which agency UMPI requires international transcripts to be evaluated by. There are a few options.

[tryingohsohard]

You can get in contact with UMPI staff, but they don't make the option easily available through their website. Both ashkir and ss20ts are former UMPI students who should better know who to contact regarding questions you might have.

Unfortunately, we haven't had a lot of students from Singapore (yet), so we're not as knowledgeable about what or what might not be needed for admission to YourPace. Most countries have a "school leaving certificate" or something along those lines to prove that they have finished the first 12 or so years of school and have graduated from secondary school. Singapore is confusing enough that I can't find any straight answer on the subject of what is actually needed and not just telling you to take the SAT exam, etc. (UMPI doesn't require the SAT for YourPace) and pay the site for information. Yikes! No.

That said, for evaluation, I think you only need to pay for the generic evaluation and not the course by course. Someone just needs to say "Yes, tryingohsohard has actually finished the Singaporian equivalent of high school. They're good to go to university." (In the US, Associate degrees are considered university-level.) It'd be different if you were trying to transfer Singaporian university credits to UMPI.

You are enrolled once you say you want to attend. Summer 1 session just started. If you applied for Summer 2, you can tell them that you want to defer enrollment until Fall 1 because you want to finish up some additional credits first. That's fine.

Thanks for replying Rachel.
initially i was worried that if i were to start application process and was accepted(fingers crossed), i would not be able to freely transfer my credits from elsewhere.
I will now go through the provisional evaluation and start my application process and only once i am accepted , then i will start my sophia/study journey.
Will i be able to keep defering enrollment once accepted till i get the enough credits?
However, thank you so much for clearing that up for me.

---

Thank you so much Rachel! That’s very helpful and I really appreciate the effort you took to reply me .

So there is absolutely no way to really contact their real staff until you are successfully in the program at this moment? If it’s true, this is really unfortunate .

In Singapore, you will have to go through O level -> Polytechnic (Diploma)(US Associate Degree Equivalent-> Bachelor Degree
however we do have A Level which is equivalent to a U.S. high school diploma. Thus in this case O level might just fall short or just barely meet the requirement which I would probably have to send it for evaluation as you advised

I narrowed down to IEE as an evaluation company, is a general report enough or do I have to do the education course report?
https://myiee.org/pricing


1st - get my credentials evaluated
2nd-send in my reports and application.

May I ask  , at which stage am I considered enrolled?
once I send in my application?
If unfortunately I do not make the criteria would I be able to appeal in any way?

Thank you again for taking your time out to help !

---

You have to be accepted before you're enrolled. Just submitting an application just mean you're accepted. It means you've applied. The application process takes a couple of weeks. Before applying I would contact Shea who is the YourPace Admissions Coordinator to find out what specifically they will require as an international student. You can reach her via email. shea.cushman@maine.edu You need to ask her which agency UMPI requires international transcripts to be evaluated by. There are a few options.

Thank you so much for your advise .
Shea had replied to me earlier on when i was enquiring and she asked the "contractors" take over.
"You have to be accepted before you're enrolled. Just submitting an application just mean you're accepted. It means you've applied." i think this just nailed it for me , i will get things moving and hope for the best.
Thank you!

[bjcheung77]

兄弟 tryingohsohard, exactly what was mentioned...don't rush, pace yourself
1) Apply and have all your international credits evaluated, take the ACTFL for language
2) Work on Sophia.org first, then another provider, don't subscribe to more than 1 provider at a time
3) You can actually do the Coursera before you do Study.com if you want, really doesn't matter actually
4) Once all your credits transfer over, start taking UMPI whenever you're ready

[tryingohsohard]

You can get in contact with UMPI staff, but they don't make the option easily available through their website. Both ashkir and ss20ts are former UMPI students who should better know who to contact regarding questions you might have.

Unfortunately, we haven't had a lot of students from Singapore (yet), so we're not as knowledgeable about what or what might not be needed for admission to YourPace. Most countries have a "school leaving certificate" or something along those lines to prove that they have finished the first 12 or so years of school and have graduated from secondary school. Singapore is confusing enough that I can't find any straight answer on the subject of what is actually needed and not just telling you to take the SAT exam, etc. (UMPI doesn't require the SAT for YourPace) and pay the site for information. Yikes! No.

That said, for evaluation, I think you only need to pay for the generic evaluation and not the course by course. Someone just needs to say "Yes, tryingohsohard has actually finished the Singaporian equivalent of high school. They're good to go to university." (In the US, Associate degrees are considered university-level.) It'd be different if you were trying to transfer Singaporian university credits to UMPI.

You are enrolled once you say you want to attend. Summer 1 session just started. If you applied for Summer 2, you can tell them that you want to defer enrollment until Fall 1 because you want to finish up some additional credits first. That's fine.

Thanks for replying Rachel.
initially i was worried that if i were to start application process and was accepted(fingers crossed), i would not be able to freely transfer my credits from elsewhere.
I will now go through the provisional evaluation and start my application process and only once i am accepted , then i will start my sophia/study journey.
Will i be able to keep defering enrollment once accepted till i get the enough credits?
However, thank you so much for clearing that up for me.

---

Thank you so much Rachel! That’s very helpful and I really appreciate the effort you took to reply me .

So there is absolutely no way to really contact their real staff until you are successfully in the program at this moment? If it’s true, this is really unfortunate .

In Singapore, you will have to go through O level -> Polytechnic (Diploma)(US Associate Degree Equivalent-> Bachelor Degree
however we do have A Level which is equivalent to a U.S. high school diploma. Thus in this case O level might just fall short or just barely meet the requirement which I would probably have to send it for evaluation as you advised

I narrowed down to IEE as an evaluation company, is a general report enough or do I have to do the education course report?
https://myiee.org/pricing


1st - get my credentials evaluated
2nd-send in my reports and application.

May I ask  , at which stage am I considered enrolled?
once I send in my application?
If unfortunately I do not make the criteria would I be able to appeal in any way?

Thank you again for taking your time out to help !

---

You have to be accepted before you're enrolled. Just submitting an application just mean you're accepted. It means you've applied. The application process takes a couple of weeks. Before applying I would contact Shea who is the YourPace Admissions Coordinator to find out what specifically they will require as an international student. You can reach her via email. shea.cushman@maine.edu You need to ask her which agency UMPI requires international transcripts to be evaluated by. There are a few options.

Thank you so much for your advise .
Shea had replied to me earlier on when i was enquiring and she asked the "contractors" take over.
"You have to be accepted before you're enrolled. Just submitting an application just mean you're accepted. It means you've applied." i think this just nailed it for me , i will get things moving and hope for the best.
Thank you!

Hi ss20ts,
I had applied and also received the user id for the portal.
However, i just want to ask , should i send in my transcripts and all right now ? or should i start my sophia and all and get all my credit in order first before i send in my transcripts to be perused.
Sorry its just a bit confusing in regards to the " once enrolled you need permission to transfer credits" which i am trying to avoid.
Thank you !

---

兄弟 tryingohsohard, exactly what was mentioned...don't rush, pace yourself
1) Apply and have all your international credits evaluated, take the ACTFL for language
2) Work on Sophia.org first, then another provider, don't subscribe to more than 1 provider at a time
3) You can actually do the Coursera before you do Study.com if you want, really doesn't matter actually
4) Once all your credits transfer over, start taking UMPI whenever you're ready

Hi 兄弟 !
1) Ive got evaluated ( Provisionally) by IEE, should i start ACTFL now?
2)Done too
4) Ive got a application reply, with USERID and all to access the portal to facilitate my application. However , should i begin my process of application further or should i start my sophia,actfl and all to get my credits in order , and then send in my transcripts and all for application?

Thanks for your help!

[bjcheung77]

@tryingohsohard, yes. 1) Take the ACTFL and have those sent along with your foreign evaluation.
2) If you know what courses you need from Sophia.org, take them
3) Send Sophia.org credits for evaluation to determine remaining credits
4) Start UMPI classes if there aren't anymore courses you can transfer over