The International Student Blog

The 2009 International Student Travel Video Contest has now closed! This year we received more entries than ever before and some fantastic entries which we are sure will make you laugh. Check out Gorilla Dream, Milkland, Hello 2 Ciao, The Study Abroad Show and so many more fantastic entries – you have literally hours of videos you can watch!

http://www.internationalstudent.com/contest/

We also want your help – what videos do you like the most? Submit your votes to internationalstudentcontest@gmail.com and tell us your top 5 videos and why you choose them!

We would also like to thank everyone who entered this year, we have literally been amazed by the quality of some of your work and our judging panel has a lot of hard work ahead to choose our winner! The winners will be announced during International Education Week so keep checking back during the 16th to 20th November for the lucky top 3 and our winner!

The latest issue of the International Student News has been released and will be sitting in your inbox for our over 150,000 international students subcribers! This month we have some exciting news with the closing of our International Student Travel Video contest and some amazing videos, check it out:

• Travel Video Contest Closing Entries
• International Student Insurance
• ELI at Jacksonville State
• Student News
• From the Mailbag
• Fun Site of the Month
• T-Mobile USA Sim Card

If you do not subscribe to our newsletter then please so so by visiting:

http://www.internationalstudent.com/newsletter/

You can also read this months newsletter online at:

http://www.internationalstudent.com/newsletter/issue129.html

The 2009 Travel Video Contest has now been launched, and we invite all international and study abroad students from around the world to don their directors hats and start shooting their videos for this years competition! Now in its fourth year, the competition promises to be bigger and better than ever with a grand prize up for grabs totaling $3,500, plus some fantastic runner up prizes such as digital and video cameras.

All you have to do to enter the competition is create a short video (no more than 5 minutes in length) telling us why you want to study or travel abroad – that’s it! The video can be about anything and the format is up to you – you can take a look at previous years entries to get an idea of what you need to do, but the more original you are the more chance you have of winning!

For more information, and for full details about the competition please be sure to check out our competition homepage at:

http://www.internationalstudent.com/contest/

The latest edition of the International Student News has been released and will be making its way to your inbox if you are a current subscriber. This month we are excited to announce the launch of the 2009 Travel Video Contest, where you can submit your video entries to us and tell us why you want to study/ travel around the world. The lucky winners will get $3,500 towards their travels – and will chart their adventures through a blog!

Also in issue 127 of the International Student News:

• Travel Video Contest
• Student Insurance
• Student News
• From the Mailbag
• Fun Site of the Month
• Int’l Student Loans
• Univ of Texas – Austin

If you are not a subscriber, you can sign up for FREE and view past issues of the student newsletter at:

http://www.internationalstudent.com/newsletter/

According to Canadian immigration lawyer David Cohen of Campbell Cohen, the province of Quebec is beginning an “accelerated and simplified immigration program” that will apply to both international students and specialized foreign workers to help facilitate their immigration to Canada.

The new, simpler regulations are intended to stimulate the economy of Quebec by attracting highly qualified international students to Quebec and also by encouraging those already in Quebec to stay.

Indeed, the new rules apply to immigration candidates already in Quebec as international students or foreign workers; if granted a “Certificate of Selection of Québec” (CSQ), their applications will receive priority.

How does one qualify for a CSQ? According to Cohen,

International students must have obtained a secondary school vocational diploma, a diploma of college studies in a technical program, or a university diploma attesting to a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, or a doctorate from an educational institution recognized by the Quebec Ministry of Education. To be recognized for Quebec immigration, these studies must have been completed in French or the applicants must have completed at least one year of full-time studies in French at the secondary or post-secondary level or have successfully completed a level B1 French course at a Quebec educational institution.

CSQ candidates not currently in Canada may apply from anywhere provided they have received a diploma in Quebec within two years prior to the regulations’ effective date.

Quebec’s Immigration Minister Yolande James stresses that she believes the new streamlined program will encourage even more international students to go to Quebec to study and stay on to work there.

Would this easier road to immigration make you more likely to consider Quebec a possible international study destination?

Guest post by Michelle Fabio, About.com Guide to Law School, who also writes about doctoral degrees online at DoctoralDegreesOnline.org.

The latest edition of the International Student News has just been released – and should be winding its way through the information super highway to your email account if you are current subscriber. This month we have the following packed edition for you:

1. International Student Loans – Now Available
2. Student Insurance Plans
3. Student News
4. From the Mailbag
5. Fun Site of the Month
6. USA Sim Card
7. Get Social!

If you are not a subscriber, you can join our e-list for free by visiting our student newsletter section of our website. You can also view the full version of the newsletter online at:

http://www.internationalstudent.com/newsletter/issue126.html

With the development over the past few years of new media and social networking sites, there is a lot to keep on top of and it is not easy to know what is the latest and greatest trend that you should be doing – such as twittering or facebooking. For International Students, it can be even more overwhelming and the most important thing to remember is what you are trying to accomplish.

You can sign up to Bebo, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, My Space…..and any number of sites that offer social features for you to upload and interact with others – but at the end of the day, you need to work out what is best for you. At International Student, we of course focus on helping students study around the world and provide a wealth of information, advice, products and services to help you – so our take on social networking is what can help you achieve your final goal = Studying Abroad!

We concentrate our efforts on Facebook, Twitter and our Forums – so will focus on these main three here, but if you have other sites you use that work well leave a comment below.

Facebook
It is now the largest social networking site online, and its a great way to catch up with old friends, keep up-to-date with everyone and generally interact with people who you may not otherwise see on a daily basis. For International Students, Facebook also represents a great way for you to interact and talk with fellow students and learn from each other. Fan Pages and Groups are the best way to do this – you can join any number of study abroad, financial aid, international student group and fan pages and post messages asking questions, join in discussions about topics and generally interact. Its a feature that is popular, but often not used that much by students.

Our group and fan pages offer this – so join and try out:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2254670655
http://www.facebook.com/internationalstudent

Twitter
Many people seem to think that Twitter is a “fad” and will not stand the test of time – that is still to be seen. But, what you cannot deny is that Twitter offers a great way to find information and ask questions. Many of the people who are on Twitter are active and so if you post something or ask a question they will more than likely respond. For example, do you have an immigration question? Type it into Twitter and you will see a whole host of immigration attorneys and sites who are twittering and may be able to help you. Likewise check out our previous post on using Twitter to find scholarships.

For more information about Twitter, please check out our “How To Guide” and if you join, please follow us @intstudent

Forums
Forums are nothing new, and have been around longer than many of these newer social sites – but we have included them here because they equally offer a great way to get advice, help and opinions on a whole range of topics. The International Student Forum, for example, has moderators such as immigration attorneys, international student advisers and recruitment agents who monitor and post response. There a many forums available, and a simple google search will bring up the main ones that you can try.

With all of these main “Social Sites”, the idea is to get active – post messages, answer other student inquiries with experiences you have had and share your knowledge and advice. You can start here – if you have a facebook group, fan page, twitter follower or forum that you use regularly or want to share with everyone else – post a comment on this post!

The more social you get, the more you can all help each other out!

As many of you will know, the UK has introduced a new points-based visa application process for students who want to study in the UK. The new system can seem a little complicated and daunting if you take a look at the UK Visas website, however there is a great little video that can help you better understand the new points system for getting a visa to study in the UK:

The video included a few links to useful resources for students – we have included them for you below for ease of use:

- List of approved UK Schools and Institutions

- UKBA Studying in the UK Help Pages

- UKBA “Where to apply for a visa” locations

You can also find out useful information about studying in the UK from the UK version of InternatonalStudent.com, where we offer guidance, support and help to students from all around the world who are looking at the UK as a study destination. We also would like to thank BrandoSocial.com on behalf of the UK Borders Agency who have created all these videos for students. They are also available in a number of languages including Russian, Arabic, Korean and Spanish

The very latest edition of the International Student Newsletter has been released, and if you are subscriber it should be in your inbox already. This month, we focus on getting ready for school with only 4 to 6 weeks for many students before they need to return to campus for the new school year.

In this issue:

1. Student Insurance
2. Semester Preparations
3. Student News
4. From the Mailbag
5. Fun Site of the Month
6. Save on Textbooks
7. Int’l Loan Update

If you are not a subcriber of the newsletter, you can view the full version online at:

http://www.internationalstudent.com/newsletter/issue125.html

Chances are, you are already in the final stages of making sure everything is in place for the new semester – but there are always the last minute things you need to prepare and we hope we can help with some guidance and assistance. Our checklist of things to do:

Student Visa – by now, your student visa should be all confirmed and ready for you to enter the USA, but you should also spend some time to make sure you understand your visa, what you can and cannot do when in the USA with regards to working and much more….

Health Care – probably one of the most important aspects for any international student, but one that is often overlooked or students are not concerned about it. Most schools will offer health insurance which you can purchase, or you can find your own insurance plan if you want to save some money.

Travel Arrangement – making sure you have all your travel booked and ready before you leave will help reduce your level of stress when you land, and make life easier for you. If you have not booked your flight yet, you can still do this and there are some great deals around if you book last minute. You also will want to make sure you have booked and made arrangements for your first few nights after you land – as most of you will not arrive and head straight to school. You can find great resources for making your travel plans through our travel center.

Communications – an extremely important point (that a lot of people overlook) is how you will communicate with your family and arrange things when you have landed. You can take your mobile phone from home, but this will be very expensive. Your best option is to purchase an sim card to use immediately when you land – this will make arranging things locally much easier (as you will have a local number for people to call you) and coupled with a calling card, you can easily call your family anytime you want.

Familiarization – you are going to be traveling and living in a foreign country, take some time to understand the culture and lifestyle. This will help you to acclimatize better to your surroundings and hopefully things will not be so much of a shock when you first arrive.

We also recommend that you start planning ahead early – so:

1. Meetings: know when and where you need to be, a great tip it so make a timetable or keep a calendar and put all your important dates and times in there such as the start of your orientation so you know where you need to be and at what time.
2. Make Copies: always make 2 copies of all your important documents, keep one with your family back home and take the original and 1 copy with you.
3. Passport Photographs: you will always need passport photos for things such as ID cards, so best to take some with you so you are not trying to find a passport photo booth with thousands of other students.

If you have any other hints, tips or good advice for new international students, please post your comments below!