ALLEX 第三階段 - 學校配對 (上)/ Step 3 School Matching Part 1

面試之後，會有兩個階段的通知，第一階段是通知你已經通過了面試，可以進行下一步的學校配對。通常還會有所謂的候補名額，所以若是初步面試不是正取也不要太氣餒，還是有機會的。基本上，ALLEX的學校配對過程相當花時間，不只是ALLEX推薦的人選要獲得學校的認可，也要人選願意接受配對的學校才可以成立。因此配對的過程中間還是會有相當多的變數的。

魚子醬在通過了面試之後，等待了將近一個月的時間才得到第二階段的學校配對的通知，等待的過程是真的很難熬，但是也請各位耐心等候，畢竟學校和申請者的數量很多（台灣和日本），每個學校的條件也都不一樣，是非常花時間的。

可以建議的是在這段時間，若是你對自己的TOFEL/GRE成績不是很滿意，這絕對是加強的好時機。若是你對美國不是這麼熟悉，是該好好花點時間研究一下，因為在你接到學校配對通知之後，你必須在在一周內作決定，而通常ALLEX會提供的地點不會是台灣人耳熟能詳的地方（當然也是有像波士頓這樣較繁華的地方，但是數量有限。）因此包括美國的中西部各州的風俗民情，地理氣候，以及生活上的差異，讓自己在心態上做好準備以便能在短時間內做好決定。尤其是當地的物價以及生活條件，這些都是會影響到各位在美國生活的愉快與否。這個時間點，你應該要對自己的財務預算有基本的計劃，排除掉ALLEX提供的獎學金，你每個月能有多少預算生活是你一定要有的基本概念。如此一來你才不會在接到通知時措手不及。

另外，ALLEX配合的學校提供獎學金的方式有很多種，有些學校會以提供住宿以及三餐的方式並配合學費抵免來進行，也就是實質上的金錢補注是比較少的，好處當然就是所有的事情學校都打點好，你就是專心教書和念書就好了。也有的形式是學費抵免，另外加一定金額的津貼（包含你的住宿和生活費），好處是你可以量力而為，若是你可以每個月活的很節省，多少還可以省點錢，但是缺點就是你得自己打點一切，找房子，煮飯，水電瓦斯等就要自己處理。

由於魚子醬當初面試是就有特別強調希望是在鳳梨酥能同行的情況下進行學校配對，因此在配對的學校選擇上就只能以能提供額外津貼不強制住校的學校為主，因此選擇相對是有限的。在此也提醒各位，雖然ALLEX希望參加者是以單身為主，但不代表已婚者完全沒有機會，但是，“但是”，請各位在面試時據實以告，絕對不要隱瞞，以為之後自己再想辦法就好，這個是絕對要不得的心態，ALLEX必須對你的資料瞭解透徹才能給你正確的訊息。只要你誠實的說明，他們也絕對會儘量想辦法協助。這點請各位務必注意。

魚子醬是在2012年的除夕這天收到初步配對的通知，ALLEX 提供的學校是位在堪薩斯州的威奇塔州立大學（Wichita State University）簡稱WSU。大家一聽到這個地方應該也是一頭霧水不知道在哪裡吧？
這個大家比較不熟悉的城市位於美國中部而且就在正中間，不騙你，真的是在美國 正  中  間 的Wichita。

Wichita所在位置

After the interview, the applicants will receive 2 notifications. One is to inform you that you have passed the interview and will proceed to school matching stage. The other is the preliminary school matching notification. Even after the first notification there's also a waiting list system in place so if you do not pass the first stage there's still hope. Basically the school matching process is lengthy and complicated. Not only the school needs to accept the proposal from ALLEX, the applicants matched will also need to agree with the offer. Thus there're quite a few variables during this process to be considered.

It took Caviar almost a month to receive the school matching notification after passing the interview. Needless to say it was a month of anxiety and anticipation. But please be patient as the matching process is complicated and there are a lot of applicants and schools involved, considering both Taiwanese and Japanese. You should understand how time consuming for the ALLEX staffs to work them out.

During this period, you can certainly try to use the time to improve your TOFEL/GRE score if you are not satisfied with them. Meantime if you are not that familiar with the US, Caviar would recommend to use this period of time to do some study. Bear in mind that you will only have less than one week to decide on ALLEX's offer once you receive it. And most of the offers will not be in the locations that you are familiar with, such as LA or NY. Although there are offers such as Boston but the number of positions are limited. So the more familiar you are with the states of the mid west, from Kansas to North/South Carolina, the more you will be able to determine whether the offer is what you want or not. Plus this is the period of time that you really should have a basic idea of your financial ability to sustain yourself in the US for 2 years, thus it is also a good idea to know roughly the cost of living in the states that you will probably go, despite of the scholarship you will receive from the schools.

Also, there are different forms of scholarships offered by the schools that ALLEX worked with. Common one is the school takes care of your tuition, arranges dorm and meal for you, and there's less actual payment involved in the process. The good thing about this way is that the school takes care of everything and you can settle down real quick and focus on your teaching and studying. The other way is the school takes care of the tuition and you receive a fixed amount of stipend to cover your living cost (including on/off campus accommodation and meals). This is the way that you might be able to save up a little bit depending on how you spend and you have more flexibility in terms of where you live and how you live. The disadvantage is of course you have to take care pretty much everything from housing arrangement to daily stuffs (Water, gas, internet and others)  and will take longer for you to really settle down.

For Caviar's case, being able to travel with Pineapple Cake is really important and thus dormitory is not an option. As a result the school matching options for Caviar was limited to those schools that offer stipend and off campus housing is acceptable. But that was what Caviar agreed and ALLEX was also willing to help us. Although ALLEX prefer to work with applicants that are single so it is more flexible to negotiate with the schools, but married applicants are still possible to find a match through ALLEX program. However, Caviar must stress that no matter what your status is, be truthful about your information provided to ALLEX. DO NOT LIE! It is very important for ALLEX to know your background CORRECTLY. Do not hide from them and try to figure something out yourself afterwards. No matter how complicated your situation is, tell ALLEX the truth and they will surely help to find the RIGHT way to cope with the problem.

Caviar received the school matching notice on the eve of Chinese New Year 2012, and the location is at Wichita State University, Kansas. For most of you I am sure this is as unfamiliar a place as I first heard. And this city is right in the center of Kansas state, and right in the center (literally) of the USA!

Wichita所在位置

*related posts 相關文章*

ALLEX 第一階段 - 申請/ Step 1: Application 

ALLEX 第二階段 - 面試/ Step 2: Interview 

ALLEX 第三階段 - 學校配對 (中)/ Step 3 School Matching Part 2
ALLEX 第三階段 - 學校配對 (下)/ Step 3 School Matching Part 3 
ALLEX life in Wichita, Kansas