5. Imagine you are an applicant and the college you are seeking admission to requires an interview. Act out parts of the interview taking up roles of interviewer and interviewee.

TRADITIONAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

• Tell me about yourself (in two minutes).

• Why do you feel that you will be successful in ...?

• Why did you decide to enter our institution?

• What major would you like to choose?

• What subjects at school did you like best? least? Why?

• Tell me about your extra-curricular activities and interests.

• What have been your most satisfying and most disappointing school or work experiences?

• What did you learn from your part-time or summer job experiences?

• What supervisory or leadership roles have you held?

• What are your strengths and weaknesses?

• How do you spend your spare time?

• Why should we admit you?

• Why did you choose to become a teacher, nurse,...?

• Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years?

• Do you think your grades are a good indication of your academic achievements?

• How do you work under pressure?

• Describe one or two achievements which have given you the most satisfaction.

Higher Education in the USA

UNIT 5

I. Before you read

Wise People Talk

Discuss the quotations in groups. To what extent do you agree with the authors?

• Economists report that a college education adds many thousands of dollars to a man's lifetime income--which he then spends sending his son to college.

Bill Vaughn American writer

• Education, then, beyond all other devices of human origin ... the great equalizer of the conditions of men - the balance-wheel of the social machinery. It does better than to disarm the poor of their hostility toward the rich; it prevents being poor.

H orace Mann

Phrase Bank

• The thinking behind this is that…

• That sounds good, but works badly

• It’s not unlikely that…

• It’s precisely in that area that…

• The end justifies the means.

II. Read the text with an eye for the vocabulary units in bold; come up with their explanations and translations.

HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE USA: MONEY ISSUES

tuition

fee

academic year

part-time job

financial aid program

scholarship

fellowship

loan program

benefits

international scholarships

College cost, comprising tuition, fees, room and board, may vary from $3,000 to $29,000 per academic year. Very often access and success in higher education depends on the family income: students on the upper end of the income spectrum are far more likely to attend college and earn a degree than those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

There exists an array of opportunities to cover tuition and other fees. Schools often operate employment bureaus to help their students find part-time jobs, such as working in stores or restaurants, assisting in the libraries. Moreover, students may receive all or part of their college expenses through various financial aid programs. These programs include scholarships and fellowships; federal, state and private loan programs; and benefits for certain groups such as war orphans.

Scholarship is a grant of money awarded to a student on the basis of achievement, ability, or financial need. It may be financed by the government, businesses, labor unions, etc. Many scholarships are founded for personal reasons and carry the name of the donor. To promote better international understanding international scholarships allow both foreign students to study in the USA and send Americans to study and teach overseas (today the most numerous are Fulbright Scholarships). Another type of financial aid is fellowship, a sum of money given to scholars to pursue their graduate study and research.