Memang long overdue sambungan cerita ni. Sorry lah untuk orang2 yang menunggu next episode.
ATU 98
Once I made the decision to proceed with Engineering, I furthered my studies under the American Top University (ATU 98) programme run by TNB in ILSAS. There I met a lot of people who I would consider some of my closest friends to this day. In the programme, we studied basically for 3 exams in preparation for our university applications, i.e. TOEFL, SAT 1 and SAT 2. Those standardized exams are part of the requirements that the universities that we were applying to required us to take.
Most of the time in UNITEN were focused on our studies for the exam. It was the first time that most of us had ever studied other subjects like Maths, Physics, and Chemistry in English after studying for those subjects in Bahasa for SPM. It took some getting used to, but we were able to get the subject matter mastered in time for our exams.
The first exam was for TOEFL which was the first time I ever in which I took a computerized exam. We received our scores for TOEFL by the time we finished taking the exam. The next was our SAT 1. It was still your standard written exam (multiple choice questions, covering Verbal (basically English) and Maths. A perfect score would be 1600 (don’t ask me why). The results for the SAT 1 weren’t immediate like TOEFL and we had to wait for the results when they finished marking them.
By the time we received our SAT 1 results, it was already time for us to start applying to the universities that we would like to apply to. All of us were given 5 universities to choose from the list of top universities that the scholarship foundation (Yayasan Tenaga or YTN) has identified based on our field of study.
My first choice was to enter Stanford University in California. The main reason was because of the weather compared to the other universities in the list provided. I was so eager to get in that I applied under Early Decision (to show to Stanford that I was really interested in going there), but I made the mistake of applying without getting the results from my SAT 2 (which was part of the requirement for application. I was rejected.
Then, I focused my application on the other 4 universities, Cornell, Brown, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and Minnesota. Some of these universities also required us to write an essay as a way for the admission team to get to know us better and see whether we would be a good fit for the university.
Not sure how or really why, but YTN informed the ATU 98 programme coordinator at that time, that they were giving me the opportunity to apply to another university, but the only requirement was that it had to be MIT. At that point in time, the early application part to apply to MIT had been completed in order to receive the application forms, so I was already late based on the timeline. Interestingly, one of my friends who actually did the early application had decided to go to another university and decided to give me his application form. In a span of 2 days, I had to complete the application form, including the essay, and schedule an interview with an MIT alumnus who was working in Malaysia. It was a hectic period, but I managed to get everything done within the timeline, and now all of us just had to wait for the results from our application.
Making a hard decision
While waiting for the university application results, we still attended classes in ILSAS to prepare us for our tertiary education. However, there were other programmes that were organized for us. The activities included a night with the Petronas Philharmonic Orchestra at Suria KLCC, the first and only time I have attended a classical concert in which they performed Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. That was an interesting experience among others.
While having all these extracurricular activities, then the results for the applications started coming in. Usually, one of us will go to the office to see if there are any mail for us, and they will bring it over to the class / Dewan Selera to pass it to intended recipient. You don’t even have to open the envelopes to know the result. If it was your standard letter size envelope, means that you have been rejected by the university that you have applied to, but it you received a thick A4 sized envelope, usually means that you have been successful in your application.
I received A4-sized envelopes from Brown, Cornell, UMich, and Minnesota, and was ready to choose between those 4 universities when my whole future changed. I can’t remember the exact day, but can remember the time. It was lunchtime, so we were going to lunch at the Dewan Selera in ILSAS. I came a bit late (can’t remember why) and everyone in the ATU98 programme was huddling together being very excited about something. When someone saw me coming, they excitedly informed me that the letter from MIT had arrived, and yes it was in an A4-sized envelope.
I knew instinctively that once that acceptance letter arrived, I would not have a say in which university I would go to, and my fears were confirmed. YTN told me I have to go to MIT. My parents also told me I have to go to MIT (did I ever mention that since I was a young boy, my dad kept telling me that I should go to MIT when I entered university), and the ATU98 Dean, Arwah Dr. Ajmal told that he’d kick me down the ILSAS stairs if I didn’t go to MIT. In the end, because I still wanted to further my studies overseas, I decided to accept the offer from MIT even though I didn’t really want to go there.
Flying off to Boston, MA
Everything after that was a blur. From applying for the student visa, completing additional requirements that MIT requires from incoming students, buying season-appropriate clothing, etc. I boarded the flight from KLIA to Newark on 11 Aug 1999 and arrived in Boston the following day. First-time experience flying to a different country on my own.
Once I arrived at Logan Airport (the first time of many future visits), I was greeted by someone from the international student office (Kate) who then brought me back to Cambridge, MA. It was the first time I took the ‘T’ or the subway train from the airport to the university.
Once there, I was registered and brought over to the dorm that I’d be staying in until the start of the academic year.
Managing my Finances at MIT
2 weeks later, it was the official start of the academic year. I was officially a freshman at MIT. Within the first 2 weeks before the start of the semester, the seniors brought me around Boston, basically to help me acclimatize to the city including purchasing clothes for the upcoming Fall / Winter season (No, the clothes I brought from Malaysia weren’t sufficient for the dreadful Boston weather).
Once I settled down with the schedule for my classes, I started looking for part-time jobs on campus. At that point of time, all YTN students in the US received a monthly allowance of US 562 per month, this was paid quarterly in a US bank account that we had to open on our own. However, depending on which option of allowance you choose, the amount that you would receive would be different.
Option 1: Full Monthly Allowance, you have to pay for your own accommodation and meals
Option 2: 60% Monthly Allowance, you have to pay for your own meals, but YTN pays for your accommodation
Option 3: 40% Monthly Allowance, YTN pays for both your meals and your accommodation
After discussing with the seniors, and looking at the cost of living in Boston, I chose Option 3. Meaning that I didn’t have to worry about paying for both accommodation and meals at MIT, and the allowance that I received was for my own personal spending. That meant that had around USD 224 per month or USD 672 per quarter for my personal spending money.
While it was great not having to worry about living expenditure, I felt the amount wasn’t sufficient so I made the decision to look for part-time jobs at MIT. I was able to work due to the fact that I was on the I-20 visa which allows as to work part time around 20 hours per week during the semester, and 40 hours per week during semester breaks as long as it’s on campus.
One of my friends introduced me to my first on-campus part-time job, at a computer lab for the Sloan Business School, in which we diagnose, and troubleshoot issues that the students over there had with their laptops. I received around USD 8.75 per hour back then which brought up my monthly gross income to USD 700 per month assuming full 20-hour weeks working there. Minus Federal, State, and Social security taxes, I believe my take home monthly for the 1st year was around USD 550 per month. This meant that combined with my allowance, I had a disposable income totaling up to USD 774 per month.
This additional income then allowed me to enjoy my college life better. When I say enjoy, the income allowed me to spend on entertainment. The list of spending included:
1. Game consoles – Playstation 2, Game Boy Advance (GBA), Nintendo Gamecube (including games and accessories – all original)
2. Electrical appliances – 29-inch TV, Desktop, Laptop, Personal Fridge, Surround Sound
3. Travelling – Road Trip to Miami, New York, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Vermont, DC, Michigan, Chicago, and Rhode Island including a Caribbean Cruise
4. Events / Parks – Matchbox 20 concert, Six Flags, Universal Studios
As you guys can see, most of the additional income was spent on wants instead of needs (all the needs were taken care off by YTN), and for the first 3 years that I was there, I didn’t really save any money, or had a budget that I planned how I would spend them money.
And that cycle of earning and spending would continue until I started my junior year at MIT which would bring me to the biggest financial mistake that I have ever made in my life and how I was able to get out of it. I will proceed to share this in the following chapter.
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