EducationUSA Competitive College Club (CCC) Macedonia

IEW SCHOOL VISITS As a part of International Education Week 2018, EducationUSA adviser Biljana K. Tasetovikj visited several Macedonian schools and colleges and spoke with more than 130 students about the opportunities of the U.S. higher education system. On November 13, she visited schools in south-west Macedonia, high schools "Niko Nestor" - Struga, "Yahya Kemal College" - Struga, Gymnasium "St. Kliment Ohridski" - Ohrid and the University of Information Science and Technology "St. Paul the Apostle" - Ohrid. The students had the chance to learn about opportunities to obtain undergraduate and graduate education in the USA as well as the benefits of becoming a member of the American Corner in Struga. On November 15, she visited "Rade Jovcevski Korchagin" High School in Skopje and talked with 4th-year students about the U.S. college admission process, the Competitive College Club opportunities as well as the "Risto Guster...

INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION WEEK 2018 International Education Week (IEW) is an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide. This joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education is part of our efforts to promote programs that prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn, and exchange experiences.. One of the most important events organized in IEW is EducationUSA's virtual college fair, a free online college fair which grants students the opportunity to chat with 80+ universities directly, including NYU, The University of Arizona, and many others. During these presentations, students can get personal advice from admissions officers from U.S. universities and EducationUSA advisers, about qualifying for a student visa, finding a U.S. institution, TOEFL, undergraduate and graduate admissions requirements and much more. The college fair took place on Nov...

CCC INTERACTIVE PRESENTATION EducationUSA Macedonia and the Senior adviser Biljana K. Tasetovikj visited Josip Broz Tito public school yesterday for an interactive session on the college application process. Biljana also talked about the benefits of being a Competitive College Club and how the Club helps with test preparation, essay writing, volunteering opportunities, making the college list and much more. If you are interested in join the CCC, please email us at: edusamacedonia@gmail.com

EdUSA CARAVAN - FALL 2018 "What skills do college students in the U.S. need in order to succeed?" was the question around which a lively discussion arose on October 10th at Yahya Kemal College in Skopje. EducationUSA country coordinator and adviser Biljana K. Tasetovikj spoke with around 70 freshmen on American college life, the admission process and the current Competitive College Club activities.

CAMPUS LIFE CHAT If you are pondering what campus life is like for international students here in the U.S., join us on Thursday, October 11th at 10:00 AM EDT for a FACEBOOK LIVE chat. U.S. higher education experts and international students will discuss everything you want to know about how American campuses are fostering a climate of inclusivity and dialogue. You can ask your questions in the comments section on the day of the program. Follow the conversation using the hashtag

MEETING WITH CCC SKOPJE EducationUSA country coordinator/senior adviser Biljana K. Tasetovikj today met with Competitive College Club (CCC) Skopje members to discuss the U.S. college application process. For some of the students the journey just begins but some are a month away from submitting their applications. Look forward to the new CCC term!

WEBINAR ON RECOMMENDATION LETTERS In September, EdUSA adviser Biljana recorded an hour-long webinar for the current Competitive College Club students on the advantages of requesting and getting an excellent recommendation letter. Most U.S. colleges and universities ask for up to three recommendation letters for teachers and school counselors, therefore, students need to be well prepared to know how to ask and receive recommendations that will improve their chances in being admitted to the most U.S. competitive schools. 

CONSULTATION HOURS During the month of September, senior EducationUSA adviser Biljana worked individually with members of Competitive College Club Bitola on their personal college applications. Essay and resume reviews, useful tips on filling out the common application as well as building a solid college list were the main aspect of these consultations for most of the students preparing to apply early by November 1st. 

WEBINAR WITH SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY On September 18th at 19:00, CCC Bitola hosted a Skype session with Ms. Lisa Raney, Associate Director of International admissions at Syracuse University. Ms. Raney talked about two college admission topics: Essay Writing and College Search. Students engaging questions turned this webinar into a lively discussion and allowed students to ask this admission officer many other important aspects of the U.S. college admission process.

VSFS INTERNSHIP PROGRAM The Virtual Student Federal Service (VSFS) is the largest virtual internship program in the world! VSFS offers unique mentoring and exposure to job opportunities within the U.S. government. For the second time in a row, Competitive College Club Bitola applied for an e-Intern and in August selected two amazing U.S. college students: Rebecca Duras and Rachel Dame.  Rebecaa Duras, a senior at Middlebury College, studies political science and history and this year she'll be interning with the Competitive College Club Macedonia assisting bring Macedonian high school students with essay and resume writing as well as leading engaging Book Club discussions and general presentations about the U.S. high er education.  Rachel Dame will organize and lead series of webinars on Graduate studies in the U.S.   e-Interns should expect to spend ten hours a week on their project from September through May. This is unpaid, volunteer work, but e-Inter...

THE OPPORTUNITY FUNDS PROGRAM The Opportunity Funds Program is supported by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and is designed to increase access to U.S. higher education institutions for highly qualified international students of limited means. To be eligible for the Opportunity Funds Program in Macedonia, a student must be a member of Competitive College Clubs Macedonia be a citizen of, or officially recognized refugee in Macedonia apply to degree programs at accredited higher education institutions in the United States and for sufficient financial aid to meet the student's need in Fall 2018 demonstrate that they and their family are not able to pay for the application process. During this OF application cycle, 5 Competitive College Club students from Bitola and Tetovo were selected as finalists in phase 1 of this amazing EducationUSA scholarship opportunity. 

COLLEGE APPLICATION WEBINARS In August, EducationUSA adviser Biljana Kuzmanovska Tasetovikj filmed four webinars  for the Competitive College Club Bitola :  "U.S.Campus visits - the adviser experience - explaining the college search" "High School Profiles and Transcripts" "The Common Application - step by step" "Writing an excellent college application resume"  The webinars helped students with filling out all necessary documents in order to apply to their desired colleges and universities in the U.S. 

DUOLINGO TESTING If you are applying to a university in the United States or Canada, you will likely be required to take a test that assesses your English ability. You may be familiar with common tests of English skill, like the TOEFL and IELTS. The Duolingo English Test is a new test, designed to assess real-world language ability by measuring reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. Each test taker's proficiency is reported as a holistic score on a scale from 0 – 100, and this August, 7 Competitive College Club Bitola members took it with excellent results all above 80. What Is the Duolingo English Test? The Duolingo English Test presents an entirely different approach to testing because you can take it at home from your own computer. There are no test centers and no appointments. The cost is $49 USD and you can take the test online, anytime. It takes about 45 minutes, and you receive results within two days. You can then send your results to an unlimited...

IACAC CONFERENCE EducationUSA adviser Biljana Kuzmanovska Tasetovikj attended the 25th edition of the International Association for College Admissions Counseling from July 10 to July 12, 2018 hosted by Tulane University and Loyola University, New Orleans, Louisiana. The conference brought together 1,400 participants, including admission counselors from American universities, high school counselors from around the world and EducationUSA Advisers and REACs from 14 countries. After the conference, 12 advisers including Biljana left for Alabama where they visited University of Alabama; Tuscaloosa, Birmingham Southern College and Samford University. In three days, they toured the campuses and attended information sessions that covered admission requirements, extracurricular activities available and student support services while enjoying the exquisite cuisine offered by the city of Birmingham. All three colleges offer some merit scholarship and expressed willingness to work with ...

READY, SET, PREP! On the 19th of June - 19th of July, our CCC graduate Mimi Filova, incoming freshmen at NYU Abu Dhabi, helped prep sessions on the SAT standardized test. The SAT is a crucial test that students from Macedonia, and the world have to take in order to apply to US higher education institutions. Given the importance of this test, we in CCC Bitola give the utmost importance to taking this exam prepared and with confidence, in order to enable us, the members greater opportunities in our future education. Having such a crucial role, every summer the CCC organizes SAT prep sessions, usually helped by an alumni, is taken very seriously by our members. Most of the sessions were interactive and included an active engagement during the entire prep session These sessions were recorded so our current and future CCC students can review the content in the future.

THE GREATEST SHOW AND TELL ON EARTH! Part science fair, part county fair, and part something entirely new, Maker Faire is an all-ages gathering of tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators, tinkerers, hobbyists, engineers, science clubs, authors, artists, students, and commercial exhibitors. All of these “makers” come to Maker Faire to show what they have made and to share what they have learned. Macedonia’s first Maker Faire, The Bitola Mini Maker Faire, brought a global movement of makers, inventors, creators, artists, scientists & technology enthusiasts to Bitola with the express purpose of awakening research and exploration, encouraging curiosity, joy, and discovery, and promoting the free flow of ideas, knowledge & experience in our community and around the world. This single day event happened on Friday, May 11 2018, in Bitola. It featured makers from maker spaces in Macedonia and, technology, research and science centres from across Macedonia, as well ...

EducationUSA in Macedonia and the U.S. Embassy Macedoniao rganised the EducationUSA Fair of Higher Education in the United States of America, which was held in Skopje on April 19th, 2018. Representatives from great American colleges and universities visited Ljubljana, Zagreb, Sarajevo, Podgorica, Belgrade, Skopje and Prishtina as a part of EducationUSA Southeast European Tour organized the fifth year in a row. Representatives of higher education institutions will be present at the Fair in Skopje where they answered students questions about their academic programs for undergraduate and graduate studies, as well as opportunities for scholarships and financial aid. The fair was held at Marriott Hotel, Skopje on April 19th, 2018 from 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM. Participation in the fair was free, but students had to register online, or on site. Our CCC members from all over Macedonia had a chance to get a behind the scenes look at the event and later helped their peers register for the eve...

Ana and Marija are our new CCC ambassadors! A new role for returning CCC members this year is the CCC ambassador. This task requires the ambassadors to run the club and its day to day tasks, including reminders, keeping track and making the schedule, and so on. Their role is also to report to our Education USA advisor and learn from her. The creation of such a role is a beginning of the Competitive College Club Bitola's long term goals for self-sustainability which will allow the club to function as much independently as possible in the future.

On November 30, American Corner Bitola, the U.S. Embassy in Macedonia and the University " St. Kliment Ohridski" Bitola organized for the first time in Bitola an International Education Fair. The main reason for creating this Fair was the celebration of the two year long formal cooperation between American Corner Bitola, the U.S. Embassy and the University " St. Kliment Ohridski" Bitola.  The Fair welcomed around 180 young people from Bitola and the region, including high school and college students, young professionals, parents as well as high school and college teachers. In addition, this Fair gathered in one place all relevant institutions and organizations that actively work on youth involvement and engagement in international projects and programs such as: - U.S. Embassy in Macedonia - UKLO's Office for International cooperation - UKLO's Career Center KREDO - The French Alliance - The French Institute - YMCA Bitola - SFERA Bitola - IAESTE B...

Celebrating international education On  November 15, 2017 as part of the 2017 International Education Week, the American Corner Bitola/EducationUSA Center Bitola organized a presentation on the topic: "U.S. Campus life" with Xeno W. Carpenter-New, DePauw University. Mr. Carpenter-New talked to the attending students about his experience being undergraduate student at DePauw University and also coming back to his school and working with Campus Life and Community Development Office. On November 16th, Ms. Julia Quan, a Fulbright scholar at the Faculty of Education in Bitola, led an interactive presentation about her college years at University of Alabama and university experience in the United States in general. Ms. Quan shared with the attendees what is like to be part of large university, its campus, classes, structure, social life and sorority culture. The high school students from the "Josip Broz Tito" high school in Bitola, from the English Class ...