Hello, I want to help with some of your questions that you've been asking me about how to
Study in the United States at an American University
So this topic is very near and dear to my heart
One because I believe that education is the key to success to
Unlocking lots of doors of opportunity and to for several years
I worked directly with international students to help them to improve their academic English skills to
Research different universities. They might want to go to in the United States and to put together their application packages for
Successful acceptance into the universities of their dreams and so this topic is one that I am
very excited to talk about especially for those of you who are
struggling with how to do this how to study in the United States
A lot of you have been asking me about how to pass the IELTS test or the TOEFL test two common test that many
Universities require in their application package. However, today I want to talk about
what I would do if I were you if I were someone who
was wanting to study in the United States now and
Afraid of not passing the IELTS afraid of not passing the TOEFL. I would actually do things a little bit differently
there's kind of a way to
hack this
Application system where you don't have to take the IELTS or the TOEFL. It's true
there is
another way and
so if maybe you haven't done very well on the IELTS or the TOEFL test or maybe you're afraid to take them or you just
Want to avoid the intense amount of study and effort and money
It takes to prepare for and take these tests then let me tell you about the pathway program
I recently visited
EC a private language school in Los Angeles and they offer a path for English language learners
Would like to study in a university in the United States and a path where you can do
so without taking the IELTS or the TOEFL test
So this is really interesting because it kind of gets rid of a huge
barrier to entry
Even if you think you might want to take the IELTS or the TOEFL test just to have them
Maybe have them on your resume
Or maybe if you decide you want to apply for something else that you might need them for I would highly encourage
you to take part in a pathway program like the one at EC and then
Take these tests. I visited EC here in Los Angeles, and I want to give a huge
Thank you to them for letting me visit for
welcoming me with open arms for the ability to talk with their administration teachers and students and also for
partnering with me on this video to give you this information about their pathway program and how it works if you
Are an English Learner may be from another country outside the United States
You're going to enter a pathway program just like you would enter a regular private language school
You sign up for the classes if you're worried about time
And maybe you're looking for a quick immersion experience and not necessarily to
Study in the United States for a long time
EC has the ability for you to study starting any Monday and ending any Friday
That means you could study for as little as one week or of course you could stay longer
For example one year it all depends on your goals. So I think there is a program for you
No matter if you have a week off of work
Or you want a quick full immersion?
Experience or if you're looking to study in the US and live here long term
So it all depends on your goals and what you want to do, but it's very flexible
and even if you're at a lower level of English
You could start with a general English program and then move on to a more
Academic English program before you get accepted into a university in the United States
But in this program you would take specific classes that help you improve your academic
English skills because academic English skills are
Different than general English skills in general English classes, you would learn general everyday
Conversation but in academic English classes, you're going to learn skills that help you succeed at
University so essay writing skills may be research paper writing skills as well how to give presentations in class
vocabulary that's academic in nature and not so casual or informal and also how to
research and explore
universities and have the chance to meet with
representatives from the universities that you're interested in as well as having the guidance and the
Counseling from the administrative team that knows all about universities and the application package that you need to put together
so this is the chance to
Explore where you want to go to study
so a
Pathway program is also really good for you
If you're not sure, maybe if you have a few universities in mind where you'd like to study
But you're not sure or if you're completely not sure and you feel like you need to come to the United States
to see where it is that you want to study and actually visit campus and actually talk to teachers and
Talk to other students to see if it's a good fit for you there
So I'm going to talk also about which universities
accept pathway programs because not all of them do but there is a way to
eventually study in the university that you want to no matter what it is no matter if
They accept a pathway program or not. And that is as a
Transfer student so I want to share something that I did with my own
education that was truly a genius hack that I
recommend that everyone does if you're worried about money if you want an easier way to
Accomplish a four year degree, then. I highly recommend that you learn about
community colleges in the United States
It's a great way to start your University occasion because a two-year Community College can then help you?
transfer to a
four-year regular
University and then when you get your degree from the University your community college credits transfer
But the diploma the degree that you get is actually from the four-year
Institution and not from the Community College. One thing that I learned about ICI. Is that in Los Angeles?
They have a close connection with Santa Monica
Community College Santa Monica Community College is the number one Community College in the United States for
Transfer students that means that they have a very high success rate for students who want to transfer into a four-year university
I didn't even mention this but the cost of a
Two-year university a community college is much less than that of a four-year university
For example an average four-year university might cost
$40,000 per year
Whereas a community college would cost maybe eight to ten thousand dollars per year and at both types of institutions
you can apply for
scholarships that can help lessen that financial burden
So it's definitely worth
Considering studying at a community college and doing a pathway program first right now
You're thinking about studying you apply for a pathway program like the one at EC you could come here to Los Angeles
Or they have schools in six different cities in the United States and around the world
So they have schools in LA San Francisco, San Diego, Miami, New York and Boston
Actually where I used to work
I used to work at ICI in Boston about ten years ago teaching English to students there
So I'm very familiar with EC
I really love how they teach I love the curriculum and I always love how they make the atmosphere
Very comfortable for students. I talked with a few of their students
And actually they all told me that they feel
Like they're in a family with their teachers and their classmates there
We're here with Lady at EC Los Angeles ladies a students here first, let me ask you
Where are you from? I'm through an ache weather. Okay, and how many weeks have you been here at EC in total?
Yes, six months. Okay, and I heard that you just leveled up to a higher level. I already love that's amazing. Congratulations
Thank you here at EC. I noticed that there are pretty small classes, but very international classes
Yes, it is. So I already has different kind of friends from China, Japan
Yeah, like it's interesting. It's amazing to meet new people
How are you feeling now about your English compared to before coming here?
I feel well, so I surprised me because now I can speak more
Know will like professional but yeah, I try. How about something fun about studying here?
Yes, actually is it a has have different activities after the class?
Oh, you can be sitting up here, Santa Monica
Well, you can't meet new people with the special activities like to Disneyland Universal Studios
What has been your favorite?
Fun activity when I went to eat sushi
Yeah with my new friends. A lot of people have told me that they like the sushi activity
What made you choose Los Angeles I'm interesting that life here so to try to new something something new
Now India say is like and my countries it's not like this
So it's total different you can share with new people and the people here is more friendly
So they can help you. Do you feel like you've made some friends or how do you feel with your classmates here?
It's amazing. I feel will I feel comfortable so it's okay. Yeah, yeah
How about after you see? What is your plan the teacher Kutty?
Helped me. Me, too
To Santa Monica College. Okay, so you'll take college classes
That's wonderful. Yes, and do you have some advice for someone who is thinking about coming to study here?
Let's go. So no, I don't shy so it's good. Good idea
Did you feel shy before you came here? Yeah, and the first time yes, but no no
Yeah, that's great to hear. I'm so glad that we could talk and you could share your experience. Thank you. Thank you
back to your path you would apply for a pathway program and
Attend just like you would attend any private language school
If you're more of a beginner
You would need to study first general English and then you could go into an academic
English program that will lead you on the path to a university in the United States
Let's say is eight weeks just to give an example after you're eight weeks
You would start University in the United States or maybe a community college and it's up to you
but the length of your study could be
One year maybe for a master's degree program two years maybe for Community College or some MBA
Programs or it could be four years if you get a bachelor's degree or even longer if you go into a ph.d program
Or another program of Advanced Studies after you finish the period of studies that you want depending on your goals you could do
Opt which is optional practical training now
This is a magical experience because you get to actually put into practice what you studied at the University
Program that you selected and got into and finished. So this is really helpful because you would get work experience in the u.s
You would gain a great network with your co-workers
And through your work activities and really a great thing to put on your resume here and after
Opt you can decide if you wanted to go for a work visa
To work at a company in the United States or maybe even to start your own
company in the United States or simply take your experience and your
Back home or to another country to work internationally
So there's a lot of options here and what I did personally was after high school
I went into a community college for two years and I got a lot of credits done which then transferred into a
four-year university
program and I studied
International Studies and Spanish for my undergraduate degree and then I went into a master's degree program where I got a master's in
Education in teaching English to speakers of other languages. That is my path, but your path could be quite different
I just wanted to let you know how it can be easier and faster and less stressful
without taking the IELTS or the TOEFL
first and this is really valuable as an experience because when you arrive in the United States
I've seen this with the students that I've worked with before. It's such a big change
it can be a bit overwhelming a bit shocking to arrive in a new country and
Move away from your family and your friends and all of a sudden, you know
maybe you're living with some of your classmates or living with a host family the schools the private language schools that offer pathway programs like
ICI, they will offer you housing as part of your program and I highly recommend that you take it
It's so overwhelming to
Arrive in a new country and then to find your own place to live and there's a lot of things that you might not know
about how to find a place to live
You can always change your address and move later
but for the first month
At least I would suggest
Using the student housing and use that to your advantage to get really settled in
It's hard to know where you want to live like which neighborhood until you actually get there
You do need to be over 16 years of age and have a high school certificate or diploma
Already if you are a little bit older like over 30
there are
Special EC programs if you desire to have a more mature study experience with people who are mid-career
Professionals like you so EC has six different cities where they have a 30 plus program
So that's pretty cool. One thing that I know about EC that was really interesting is that their students are really diverse
You're not gonna have a class with all you know students from your country or your same age
Even though the class sizes were pretty small
So I really love that about EC Los Angeles what I noticed talking to the students and the teachers
Is that a lot of people are drawn here to LA to study photography?
And film and to become actors or work on their music career
so you really never know who you're gonna meet in your classes and how you can become friends with your
Classmates that is really an awesome experience
I mean
I made a lot of lasting friendships through my studies through my study abroad if you want to learn more about it
You can check the link in the description here or go to go natural English comm
EC to learn about how to study at EC and to enter into
an American University program without taking the IELTS or TOEFL
Another question I've gotten is if it's possible to work while you're in a pathway program or studying on an f1
visa as a
Student in the United States and it does allow you to work up to 20 hours on campus if you're studying at a university
You could maybe be a teacher's assistant or help your professor with some things
however, if you're starting at a private language school like EC
I would just recommend focusing on your studies because the point of the whole pathway program is really
to improve
your English skills
So as I mentioned EC is really my favorite school
For a full immersion program in the US or for a pathway program to study at an American University
without taking the TOEFL or the IELTS
There are other universities that accept pathway students
directly without having to
Transfer in from a Community College and there are several of them. Some of them at the top of my head are Rice Drexel
California State University DeVry also, we have the New York Film Academy in LA if you're into studying film
so remember that there are
Many different has to having your dream
University study experience in the United States and to further your education. So remember that the key to success is
education and don't let paperwork or tests stop you or be a
Barrier between where you are now and what you want to achieve in the future in your dream life
I am here to help you from my experience
And my research I want to share this with you and make sure that you know all the possibilities
So if you have any questions or comments
let me know below in the
Comments and I'll be watching and seeing how I could maybe help and answer more of your questions about this topic
Thank you so much for watching. I hope that this was helpful
If it was give it a thumbs up to let me know and remember to subscribe here to go natural
English for more helpful tips on improving your English language skills and
Advancing your life reaching your dreams through English language as a tool. Thanks so much for watching and bye for now