Brief introduction
Eligibility
Criteria for selection
Application form
Participating Universities
Timeline
Tips for Writing an Admissions Essay
Related Websites and Useful resources
List of UEP Scholarship Recipients

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION

Participant selection and university placement is determined by a panel of experts in the United States. Candidates do not apply to a specific university.

Selection is based on academic merit, extracurricular and community activities, leadership potential and knowledge of English. Approximately five awards will be granted per country.

Participant selection is conducted in four stages. All completed applications are reviewed and evaluated by a U.S.-based team of university representatives. Semi-finalists are invited for English language exams and an in-country interview conducted by U.S. education professionals. Applications, interview evaluations, and exam results are all considered by the selection teams. A U.S.-based final placement committee will then recommend university placements for finalists. Final placements are determined by the U.S. universities. Students cannot determine their own university placements.

Pre-Selection
The original applications with all supporting documents are to OSI-NY by December 20, every year. The recommendation letters should arrive in sealed, signed envelopes. The pre-selection committee will question the authenticity of recommendation letters that do not arrive with its signed, opened envelope attached.

Pre-selection will be conducted in New York by participating university staff and administrators. Committee members will look for clear, concise essays that outline the student's objectives (see Appendix 6 for tips on admissions essay writing). Students should not only demonstrate academic knowledge but also a variety of interests - especially through extra-curricular activities. The essays should illustrate that the student has broad interests and will take advantage of the opportunity to study subjects outside his/her field. Further, the essays should indicate that the students will get involved in the university community. Essays too narrowly focused on the student's area of study may indicate that the student will become frustrated with the diverse curriculum offered at US universities.

Institutional TOEFL (ITP)
Mongolian Foundation for Open Society administers the Institutional TOEFL from the pre-selected candidates. Testing will be done by February 25 to ensure that scores are available in time for final selection. The ITP score is not a crucial part of the selection process. The score is used predominately to ensure universities that the students will be able to handle taking classes in English. The minimum score required by participating universities varies but usually 550 and the applicant's score may be used during the placement process.

Writing Sample
In order to get a true sense of the each candidate's writing skills, we have added a writing component to the end of the ITP exam. The candidates will be asked to stay 1/2 hour after the ITP test to write a short essay for the UEP application. As with the ITP, dictionaries and collaboration with others in the room is not permitted.

The essay topic is sent by OSI-NY. Once all of the ITP materials collected, each candidate is provided with one piece of A1 paper and asked to write their full name on the upper left-hand corner of the paper. The examinees will have 25 minutes to respond to the question.

Interviews
The interview team will consist of either two US university representatives, or one university representative and a US high school guidance counselor. In most cases an OSI-NY or OSI-Budapest representative will also be present. Foundations are encouraged to invite a UEP alumnus to participate in the interview. Interviews take place in February.

Final Selection
A committee of university placement experts will review applications, test scores, and interview results to determine final selection and make placement recommendations. Applications of the finalists will be sent to participating universities for their final approval.

As soon as final placements are confirmed, OSI-NY will send to MFOS the final list of participants.

OSI-NY will generate the acceptance and rejection letters. The letters will be sent to MFOS and will be mailed to the applicants.

Post-selection Logistics
Once all of the candidates have been selected and their placements have been confirmed, OSI-NY will begin to arrange the arrival and housing details for the fellows. In May, OSI-NY sends contracts, immunization information and a university housing preference form for the signature of the finalists. In June OSI-NY sends a DHL package, which will contain logistical information about the Orientation (directions, agenda, etc) and may or may not, depending on the host university, have IAP-66 (visa) forms and university information for the students.