International Student (Singapore)

[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.