Why do we meet?
Where do we meet?
Who can come to the meetings?
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What kind of information is shared?
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When do we meet?
- Meetings are held a few times a month, in the evening, with about 3-4 regular meetings (which includes one book club session and at least one info session with a U.S. based e-intern).
- The standard time slots are weekdays in the evening (usually Mondays or Wednesdays around 19:00 CET, but this can very). All the activities for the current month are announced at the beginning of the month, and there’s a 24-hour period after the announcement where you can ask for a change in the scheduling.
Are the meetings just presentations, or do the students get involved as well?
- The meetings are very interactive. Most regular meetings end with a question and answer session, where the students get to have all their questions answered by the presenter. The book club is particularly interactive, with students discussing their ideas and commenting on each other’s thoughts and opinions.
What is the book club?
- Once a month, CCC members get together in a Skype call and discuss a particular topic under the leadership of the Senior Adviser. The topic is usually one of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), which cover most aspects of our modern world. Thanks to this, CCC members have a significant leg-up in college interviews, where the UN SDGs are often the source of interview questions.
- Each CCC member presents what they’ve researched on the topic in front of the other members. If you’re shy about presenting or discussing (especially because it’s in English), don’t worry! The book club meetings are the perfect way to ‘break the ice’ and build the confidence necessary to express yourself.
- Even though it’s called a book club, the information that’s being discussed doesn’t have to come from a book. TED talks, documentaries and Internet articles are great ways to get informed about the topic at hand.
- CCC members are given the topic in advance by the Senior Adviser and they have a period of roughly 2 weeks to research and prepare for their presentation. The information used has to come from American authors.
Who speaks at the meetings? Are there guest speakers or is it just the same old people?
Is there a cost?
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Do I have to come to all of the meetings?
- Definitely. The meetings are the main way in which the Competitive College Club works and presence is mandatory. If you can’t make it to one of the meetings, you’ll have to inform the Senior Adviser in advance and provide them with an adequate reason for your absence.
What if I don't come to the meetings?
- The Competitive College Club works on a system of active and passive members. Any active members that miss more than three meetings are automatically demoted to passive members. This means that they're no longer eligible to receive a certificate at the end of the program and to work with the Senior Adviser, and they get lower priority when it comes to in-person meetings and events.
Why are the meetings online? Can’t we meet in person?
- In the past, the CCC meetings were held at the American Corners in Bitola, Skopje and Tetovo (actually, American Corner Tetovo still organizes CCC meetings in person in addition to the online sessions). This proved very successful, but sadly only students from these regions could join in. By having meetings online, anyone can join in from anywhere in the country. So far, there have been students from Demir Hisar, Negotino, Gevgelija, Strumica, Kavadarci, Radovish, Gostivar, Tetovo, Skopje, Bitola, Kichevo, Ohrid, Struga and other cities around the country.
Is there any homework?
- Yes, but not a lot. Each book club has to be followed by an essay (about 600-650 words long) on one of two given prompts written by the CCC student. Some meetings also have extra research that needs to be done. This shouldn’t put you off though, as it’s a great way of expanding the information you got from the meetings and the book club.