The International Student Blog

The latest edition of the International Student Newsletter was released earlier this week crammed full (as usual) with load of information, news and advice for international students. This month we feature the winning videos from our 2009 Travel Video contest:

1. We have a winner!
2. ISE Cards
3. Learn English – BAE
4. Student News
5. From the Mailbag
6. Fun Site of the Month
7. Student Insurance

If you are not a subscriber you can sign up now by visiting our newsletter homepage:

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

You can also read the latest edition online at:

http://www.internationalstudent.com/newsletter/issue130.html

Congratulations Sandy Florez!

The toughest job in show business – that’s the job we hand to our judges each year. Getting from dozens of excellent videos down to the 14 finalists is not easy – but then to pick the best of the 14 is almost impossible. Hey, no one said life is fair.

Gorilla Dreams made us laugh, I Feel I Dance moved us, and we think Ashley Barber should wear a helmet and Kevlar suit on a daily basis. We really want Pear to make it to Spain, Ife to get to India, and Tim to make it to New Zealand. And Mountaineer Kara Barnes was great, calling out judges by name and getting the man on the street view of China. Mostly, we wish we could give 14 prizes. But after much debate, we have our winners.

Check out all the winners and their videos:

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

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.

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

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!

Choosing a school as an international student is not easy, as you are never sure what schools are right for you or if the school offering you a place is any good! Luckily, we have a guest post from Karen Schweitzer that lists 20 great resources for you to use online to help you choose the right school. The list not only contains USA schools resources, but also European, Asian and African resources – we hope it helps:

A school shouldn’t be chosen based on where it ranks on any given list; there are many other factors that must be taken into consideration. However, college rankings can give you somewhere to start when you are trying to sort the good schools from the bad. Here are 20 college rankings to help you choose the right school.

World’s Best Colleges and Universities – U.S. News and World Report based this ranking of the world’s best colleges and universities on the Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings. You can see the top universities in the world. You can also customize lists to see the best schools by location and subject.

Academic Ranking of World Universities – This college ranking (PDF) includes the best 500 universities in the world. The ranking is based on academic and research performance.

Top 200 Universities and Colleges in the World – This international college and university ranking lists the top 200 universities and colleges in the world based on web popularity.

Top 100 Universities in the World – QS.com ranked the top 100 universities in the world based on peer reviews, employer reviews, student to faculty ratio, faculty reputation, student diversity, and other essential criteria.

Global MBA Rankings – The Financial Times ranks global MBA programs each year. This list ranks the top 100 schools and offers interactive features to help you compare schools based on value, employment options, and salary expectations.

Best 368 Colleges – This college ranking from The Princeton Review lists the best 368 colleges and includes a detailed school profile for each.

America’s Best Colleges – U.S. News and World Report assessed more than 1,400 U.S. schools to create this ranking of America’s best colleges. The ranking includes lists for national universities, liberal arts colleges, business programs, engineering programs, master’s universities, and baccalaureate universities.

America’s Best Graduate Schools – U.S. News and World Report looked at more than 12,000 graduate programs to develop these lists of the best graduate schools. The rankings include lists for the best business schools, law schools, education schools, engineering schools, science schools, medical schools, and fine arts schools.

Top 100 North American Business Schools – This list from the University of Texas at Dallas ranks the top 100 North American business schools based on research contributions between 2004 and 2008. The list includes schools in the U.S. and Canada.

Top 100 Canadian Universities – This college ranking lists the top 100 universities in Canada based on web popularity.

Top European Universities – QS.com’s ranking of the top European universities includes more than 200 schools located all across Europe.

European Business School Rankings – The Financial Times Ranking of the best European business schools includes 65 schools that offer MBA programs, EMBA programs, and masters programs.

Good University Guide (UK) – This ranking of UK universities lists the best 114 schools based on student satisfaction, facilities, student to faculty ratio, graduate prospects, and other important factors. The ranking is interactive so that you can compare different schools side by side.

Top UK Universities – This list from QS.com ranks the top 50 schools in the United Kingdom. Rankings are based on peer reviews, employers reviews, diversity, faculty honors, and others criteria.

Top Irish Universities – This QS.com list ranks the top Irish universities. The ranking includes seven schools along with stats on how each school measures up against other universities around the world.

Top 200 Asian Universities – QS.com developed this list of the top 200 Asian universities. The rankings are based on a variety of factors, including teaching quality, research quality, internationalism, and graduate employability.

Best Asian and Middle Eastern Universities – U.S. News and World Report based this college ranking on the Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings. The ranking includes 30 Asian and Middle Eastern schools.

Top African Universities – This college ranking lists the top 100 colleges and universities in Africa based on web popularity.

Top Australian Universities – StudyInAustralia.com created this ranking of the top Australian Universities. The ranking includes eight schools that carry out the bulk of Australia’s research and receive 60 percent of all research funding.

Online College Rankings – The Online Education Database created this list of the best online colleges. Rankings are based on acceptance rate, financial aid, graduation rate, retention rate, student to faculty ratio, and other important factors.

Guest post from Karen Schweitzer, the About.com Guide to Business School. Karen also writes for OnlineColleges.net, an online college resource.

The Guardian Newspaper in the UK has published its 2010 league table of University listings in the UK. As one of the leading sources of university listings for UK Universities, its an excellent guide to know what schools are the top performers. This year, Oxford has topped the table again, holding onto its position as the number 1 university in the UK.

Following Oxford is its long term rival Cambridge, with St Andrews University in Scotland jumping from 5th to 3rd and the University of Warwick and London School of Economics rounding out the top 5.

This year has also seen the move of more modern Universities making a charge up the rankings, with some big jumps for schools that were founded in the 1960’s – this includes Bath in 9th position, Loughborough in 10th position and Sussex in 19th position (up 15 places).

The full list of universities are now available online at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/table/2009/may/12/university-league-table

You can also find out more information about studying in the UK at InternationalStudent.com