Dear customer,

Welcome to the January edition of ICON+’s University Access Newsletter. You are receiving this e-newsletter because you inquired about our test prep and/or admissions consulting services.

Begin by starting off the New Year with a sigh of relief! The majority of you will have successfully submitted your undergraduate applications by now, so the question is what to do next? We will take you through the next steps of your journey towards your dream university.

Congratulations! You have completed the difficult task of sending off all your college applications. The question is, what to do now?

My first bit of advice – reward yourself for the masses of hard work you’ve put in and relax! The strenuous task is over and done with. The worst thing you can do now is to fret, working yourself into a tizzy waiting. Remember that the responsibility is out of your hands now; no amount of worrying in the world is going to improve your chances of receiving those acceptances letters. Take solace in the fact that these admissions committees will be giving each of your applications both the time and consideration they deserve. There are thousands of students in the same boat as you, patiently waiting for that thick envelope or acceptance email.

Don’t drive yourself crazy by checking your email every five minutes. Remember it will take at least three weeks for any news to come through. One thing you can do is to make sure the university has received your entire application. You should receive an email three days to three weeks after submission to confirm they have your application. If you don’t happen to get this confirmation, contact the admissions office as soon as possible.

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With more than 20 SAT II Subject Tests available, it can be confusing to choose which ones to take. First, check whether or not the universities you are applying require certain subject tests.

The next criterion for consideration is your aptitude. Are there certain subjects that you excel in? For example, we find that many Singaporean students tend to do very well in the Math, Biology E/M, Physics, and Chemistry exam. The majority of Singaporeans should take a Math Level II exam rather than a Math Level I exam because the higher level math topics in the Level II exam are normally covered in the Singaporean curriculum.

Keep in mind, though, that the US school curriculum may be different than that in Singapore. Good examples are the history exams, which tend to cover material not covered at many schools in Singapore.

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Overcoming the challenges of the English language is your first step to conquering your IELTS or TOEFL examination. What makes it so tricky is that the English language, like many others, has various exceptions to the rules we learn. As Stephen Fry of the BBC famously stated, there are actually more exceptions than words which follow the rule! If understanding the nuances of the English language doesn’t confuse you enough, there is a whole load of common exceptions that you need to know. Along with common exceptions to the rule, here are some useful tips for mastering the English language.

• I before E except after C

When learning to spell words correctly, this is one of the common rules you are asked to abide by. The rule adheres to words such as ‘being’ ‘piece’ hygiene’, ‘ceiling’, ‘deceive’ and ‘receive’. However what happens when you come to write words such as ‘neighbour’ and ‘weigh’ that don’t follow the rule?. This rule is not an absolute truth, if you are not sure if the spelling of a word follows this rule, look it up in a dictionary just to be sure. In fact, in 2009, teachers in Britain were requested to stop using this rule as it confused more students than it helped!

• Never use double negative

Using the phrase “I’m not an unhappy person” makes sense, but it’s not well written English. This is a double negative which can actually work against you. It’s far better to state, ‘I am a happy person.’ From time to time, it’s very easy to accidently use a double negative. Just be careful when you write not to fall into this trap.

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