Centre of Academic Excellence

The Center for Academic Excellence is now accepting scholarship applications from honors students interested in either studying abroad or participating in a domestic exchange program next year.

The application deadline is Nov. 5. The scholarship is designated for members of the honors program who plan to study at another school or in another country during the spring, summer or fall of next year, Pam Bowen, honors program assistant, said.

Bowen said junior or senior members of the honors program are eligible to apply. Students must have a GPA of at least 3.3, and preference is given to applicants with no prior study abroad experience. Scholarship winners must complete the study abroad program within two semesters of accepting the award.

Applicants are required to submit a two-page essay describing their proposed study abroad program and the ways they think study abroad would enhance their education. An official transcript and any available program literature should accompany the essay, and the completed application must be turned into the Center for Academic Excellence on or before Nov. 5.

The domestic scholarship winner will receive a $500 award, and the recipient of the study abroad scholarship will be awarded $1,000.

Students interested in studying abroad or participating in the National Student Exchange should visit Mary Moore in the Center for Academic Excellence.

Studying in Madrid

Lesson number one for the student interested in studying in Madrid: When you leave the bar or club at 3 or 4 a.m., sweaty and exhausted and looking forward to some shut-eye, you won't find a cab. It's just not going to happen.

Since the metro is closed from 1 to 6 a.m., and Madrid is infamous for its citizens' undying love for nightlife (just ask Hemingway), you're better off staying for a few more dances until 6 and going out for some churros con chocolate, or maybe, if it's close enough, just walking. Traffic jams at 5 a.m. are all too common in Madrid.

Despite the necessary adjustment to a late-night schedule, studying abroad in Madrid was a wonderful experience; I'd particularly recommend it if you're looking for a change from the fast-paced New York lifestyle. Madrileños tend to move slower, and by the end of the semester, you may find yourself scoffing at your fellow Americans for not sitting over a meal for two hours.

The number of tiny cafes and tapas bars in Madrid is impressive, and sometimes you get free wine with your menú del día (a fixed appetizer, main course and dessert), usually the most economical way to eat. Spain is a meat-loving country, so vegetarians will have a more difficult time finding desirable options, but it can be done.

When you're deciding whether to choose between an NYU apartment or a homestay, really think about what you want your living experience to be. Living with a family is a good option if you really need to work on your language skills, as you'll be speaking Spanish with them at home.

But I lived in an apartment, which gave me more freedom to have guests and keep late hours. Still, my roommates and I spoke English all the time, which didn't particularly help a struggling Spanish speaker.

Brave students with superior language skills could also venture out and choose their own place without NYU's help, living with Spanish roommates. One girl in my program managed to find a house on the outskirts of Madrid with nine European roommates. It was a great way for her to make friends outside of the program and become more immersed in the culture.

Although it can be tempting to head out for a night of club-hopping with 15 new friends from the NYU program, Madrileños will most likely avoid your group of loud, English-speaking students. To really mingle with locals, it's best to head out with only a few friends.

The campus in Madrid is small - just two buildings, with a quaint little courtyard in between. It's in a nice neighborhood surrounded by some small cafes and a random TGI Friday's. But there is a good chance you'll have a bit of a commute, since only a few apartments are located nearby.

Classes are very focused on Spain and Spanish. There aren't as many options in Madrid as there are in London or Florence to take basic, general classes. But the classes there do help you learn a lot about the country and its culture, and there are definitely ways to make it fit into your schedule. I managed to finish my language requirement and a couple of Morse Academic Plan courses, while simultaneously receiving lessons in wine-tasting and watching classic Spanish films.

Finally, don't expect to find that early-morning coffee fix on the go quite as easily as you do at home. Coffee for Madrileños is usually a sit-down, pleasurable experience to be shared with friends. When you order it to go, you may be faced with a confused Spaniard looking at you like you are slightly insane. But never fear, New Yorkers: Here and there, even Madrid has Starbucks.

1100 US universities will now accept IELTS scores

Two years ago, US accepted only TOEFL scores

* This move will give wide university choices to students

* Last year, around 1.2 lakh Indians took IELTS examination and around 75,000 took TOEFL

* The IELTS assesses a candidate on a band scale of one to nine.

Students and professionals wanting to pursue their higher studies in the US can now make it by appearing for the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) also.

Around 1,100 universities in the US will now accept IELTS scores from Indian students and professionals. This is about 25 per cent of all the universities in the US. This includes universities like University of Berkeley, Duke, University of Virginia among others. Until about two years ago, a score in the Test of English as Foreign a Language (TOEFL) was the only accepted English language proficiency test score accepted by universities in the US.

"This is a good news for students as they now have a wider geography to choose from and do not necessarily have to write multiple tests. This certainly reduces the pressure and the load on the students," says Jaideep Singh Chowdhary of Triumphant Institute of Management Education (T.I.M.E), who trains students in IELTS and TOEFL examination.

Till a year ago, between 300-400 US universities accepted IELTS scores, but with more and more employers and educational institutions accepting IELTS scores, the universities too have started accepting the same.

IELTS is an English language proficiency test that is required to be taken by non-native students for study in countries where the medium of instruction is English.

The test is accepted by universities in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, apart from the US. Students who wish to pursue undergraduate, postgraduate or vocational training courses in Australia have to mandatorily take the IELTS to be granted a student visa. The TOEFL is not accepted in Australia.

The IELTS is jointly assessed and run by the British Council, the Cambridge University, and IDP Australia, an organisation owned by Australian universities that promotes education in Australia. The IELTS comprises sections on all the four language skills viz- listening, speaking, reading and writing. The IELTS assesses a candidate on a band scale of one to nine. Universities in Australia, England etc, typically require a band score of 6 and more.

In the last year, around 1.2 lakh Indians took IELTS examination and around 75,000 students too the TOEFL examination. Since more number of students opt to pursue profession or studies in the Commonwealth countries, more of them take the IELTS examination.