The International Student Blog

International students interested in studying in Texas may find ‘Study Texas’ a helpful resource on the topic. International students will learn more about the potential educational and professional opportunities that may be available while studying in Texas. Study Texas is a group of training and educational organizations located within the state of Texas, whose mission is to connect international students who want to study in Texas with educational training opportunities. This network provides a wide range of degree options for international students and includes a number of public and private colleges and universities international students interested in studying in Texas may already want to attend, as well as professional English language schools.

For international students whose long term goals may include working for a major corporations or businesses, Texas is definitely a state to consider studying and living in, as it boasts the largest number of Fortune 500 companies in the United States. Additionally, Texas is established as a top state for commodity exporting. For these international students interested in studying Texas, it is also very worthwhile to note Texas has been most successful (and maintains a strong presence) in the following business and industry sectors: energy, petrochemicals, computer technology and electronics, biomedical, aerospace, and agriculture.

If you plan to visit Houston, here’s a sneak preview:

Or, if you’ll be going to Dallas, learn about the city here:

If you are reading this blog, chances are that you are already open to the idea of studying abroad in another country. You may be excited about the idea of seeing as much of the world as possible that you are having trouble deciding which country you should study in. So to help you decide, here are some things you may want to consider:

Where do you want to live?

During your study abroad, do you want to live in a big city with entertainments, nightlife and shopping? Or, are you looking for a small city with local charm and ancient historical sites? Are you okay with living somewhere cold or hot? This is an important consideration, especially if you don’t like cold weather and you find yourself studying in Scandinavia during the winter time.

Do you want to learn a new language?

If you are learning a new language you will obviously want to study in a country where the primary language is the one you want to learn. For example, if you want to learn Chinese, you can choose main land China, Taiwan or Hong Kong. For Spanish, you can choose Spain and a majority of Latin American countries.

If you are a non-native English speaker and you want to learn English you can narrow down your choice to the 3 primary English speaking region of the world: North America, Europe and Australia/New Zealand. Do you want to attend traditional colleges or universities or are you looking for an ESL school where you work to improve your English?

Looking to the future, what do you want to do?

Think about what your future career goals are. For example, if you want to work in a finance field you may want to study in the area where it is a financial center of the world like New York, London, Hong Kong, or Tokyo. If you love food and wine, why not study culinary arts in France? Research what universities are well regarded in your field of study so you continue to make stride to your future goals!

What is your budget?

Lastly, what is your budget for your study abroad trip? How much money can you contribute yourself and how much can you accumulate from study abroad scholarships and other financial aid? It is important to keep in mind that the cost of studying abroad is more than just the tuition fee and plane ticket. Living expenses can vary greatly depending on where you choose to study abroad. For example, if you decide to study Spanish in Latin America as opposed to Spain you will find that the living costs are much less expensive!

Once you have narrow down the country and the field you want to study in, you can more easily choose a study abroad program.

With more and more American colleges and universities looking to improve the diversity on campus, many schools are increasing the number of international students recruited. The trend of “internationalizing” their campus is not only with undergraduate students seeking their bachelor degree, but also with graduate students seeking advanced degrees. What does that mean for you? This may be the perfect time to start applying to school’s overseas!

And this trend is not looking to stop anytime soon! In fact, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education, over the past year admissions of international students to US graduate schools increased by 11%, making this year the largest increase in international admissions since 2006. The majority of this increase can be attributed to China and India, with a large number of international students from the Middle East and Turkey.

Studying abroad can be a great experience – you will meet new people, experience new traditions, eat exotic foods and possibly learn a new language. But with these new experiences you may find yourself homesick missing your family, friends, pets, food or even something as simple as your own bed.

When you are homesick you may feel sad, lonely, or even anxious. Depending on the severity, it may be mild or you may experience some physical symptoms like stomachaches or headaches. However, if you feel homesick while studying abroad there are some steps you can take to help you cope:

• Stay active! Fill your time with activities that you enjoy. Do activities with your friends or by yourself like going to the gym, reading a book, doing a puzzle, or playing games.
• Eat well and stay healthy. Eating junk food can make you tired and weak.
• Bring a momento that reminds you of home. It can be anything from a picture of your family to a blanket.
• Call home once in a while. If you’re homesick, calling home to hear your family or your friends’ voice can be comforting. Try to call when you are happy. Calling when you are sad will make them worry -  which may in turn make you more upset in the process.
• Keep a journal. Many people find that writing down their feelings can serve as an outlet. You may look back at a previous entry and realize that it wasn’t such a big deal after all. So if you feel sad again, you will know that it is just a temporary feeling that will pass.
• Make new friends! Being with other people is one of the best ways to start feeling good about your new environment. Even if you don’t know anyone very well yet, consider joining a club or organization. See if there is any opportunity to go grab a bite to eat with other people. Just remember, friendship doesn’t develop overnight, so don’t expect to have a best friend right away.

Home sickness can affect anyone, but if you feel depressed don’t be afraid to talk to someone and ask for help. If you have any tips you would like to share on how to cope with homesickness, please leave a comment!

Saving money is part of everyday life for most international students, after all the more money put away, the more money that can be used for traveling around your host country. Since your grocery bill is a major component of your budget, there are many ways to make your money go farther. International students typically make dishes at home, rather than go out to restaurants to further trim expenses. However, even at the grocery store it is easy to spend over your budget.

Because of this, here are some helpful tips to save even more when grocery shopping:

1. Make a list of what you need before you go to the store. Having a specific list beforehand will keep you directed so that you only buy the items you need and avoid the compulsive buyer syndrome.
2. Look out for bargains. Many supermarkets will have discounts weekly on all types of food from vegetables, fruits, canned food, packaged food, etc. Look out for healthy items and if you find an item that you regularly consume on sale, feel free to stock up so you can save money in the long run (make sure to check the expiration dates!)
3. Coupon hunting. There are many coupons available for all types of items, including clothes, furniture, and food. Some manufacturers or stores have promotions that will save you money in the long run! You can easily find coupons online, in newspapers (especially the Sunday newspaper), in magazines, at the stores and many other places. Keep your eyes open, but make sure not to get tempted at offers you don’t need!
4. Don’t go shopping when you are hungry! If you do, you’ll most likely end up with more food than you need.
5. Buy in bulk. Typically when you buy food wholesale you generally get a better price per item. Be careful not to buy too much otherwise you may end up throwing it away.
6. Finally, don’t be afraid to buy store brands – most of them are as good as the brand name.

If you have more money saving tips for your grocery shopping trip, share it with other international students here!

Being an international student in the USA can be expensive, with tuition, fees and housing cost all accumulating and adding up your total cost. Food is just another major expense that you have to deal with, and as a college student who may be on a budget, eating economically is a great way to save your money year after year.

Being away from home for the first time can be daunting and if you are not used to cooking for yourself, you may want to consider a college meal plan. Most colleges and universities offer meal plans for their students. College meal plans are basically a pre-paid plan where you either receive a fixed number of meals during your school semester or a cash value that you can use to purchase food from the school’s dining facilities. The advantage to this is that it will keep you on budget, it’s less expensive than going out to restaurants, and you don’t have to cook or clean up after yourself. However, you are limited to the selection of food that the school offers you.

If you have the option to cook your own food, this can be a great way to save money and also provide you with a varied diet. Despite jokes about eating instant noodles and microwavable food to survive college, you can actually eat well on a small budget. Most stores offers deals like buy-one-get-one-free on a regular basis, and coupons are also widely available so use them wisely.

Lastly, many student clubs and organizations will have events where they will have food during their meetings – attending the meeting can give you a free meal for the day! By all means I don’t recommend anyone going to a school event just for the food but being active in your campus organization can enrich your study abroad experience, help you improve your language, make new friends and professional contacts, and the free food is just the extra perk!

Bon Appetit!

In a moved welcomed by many in the international education field, the Obama Administration issued a press release on Friday easing the restrictions in place for those wanting to travel to Cuba for Academic reasons.

Highlights of the release include:

The President has directed that changes be made to regulations and policies governing:  (1) purposeful travel; (2) non-family remittances; and (3) U.S. airports supporting licensed charter flights to and from Cuba.

These measures will increase people-to-people contact; support civil society in Cuba; enhance the free flow of information to, from, and among the Cuban people; and help promote their independence from Cuban authorities.

Although the news was widely welcomed, it has met with strong criticism from the Cuban Foreign Ministry for not showing any real interest in improving relations between the two countries. In a statement e-mailed to foreign journalists, the Ministry says the easing of travel restrictions announced Friday by Washington only benefit “specific categories of Americans and does not restore the right to travel to Cuba for all American citizens, who continue to be the only ones in the whole world who cannot freely visit our country.”

Hopefully as time progresses, we will seen further easing of the travel restrictions to Cuba in the coming years.

As we recently reported here on our blog, the number of international students coming into the USA is continuing to rise year on year, with China showing the fastest rate of growth. This is excellent news for the international education sector, which saw a decline in numbers and interest over the last few years as a result of the September 11th terrorist attacks in New York City. But as students are looking to come into the USA, it seems the number of US students looking to study abroad, and fully enroll themselves in a foreign university are increasing.

The UK is one of the main destinations that US students are looking to, and this has been recently highlighted in a Washington Post article. The population of U.S. undergraduates at United Kingdom schools has spiked 30 percent in five years, to 3,560 in the 2008-09 academic year, the most recent figure available from Britain’s Higher Education Statistics Agency.

One of the driving factors in this new trend to fully enroll yourself in a foreign university is cost. To give you an example as highlighted in the recently article, St. Andrews University costs $19,670 for tuition each year, which when compared to schools in the USA which cost $40,000, $50,000 or even higher, its clear why students are choosing the lower cost option. Funding for US students outside the USA is also available and there are foreign enrolled private students loans that students can take out to cover the cost of their education also.

Another driving factor is the growth in social media such as facebook and twitter. Schools can now quickly and easily reach out to students like they could never do before. This coupled with a drive by many UK schools to attend and be present at many high school college recruitment events has meant students can now find and receive information about schools in the UK like never before.

It seems clear there is a strong desire for US students to look elsewhere, and with all the prestige and age that many UK schools have to offer, it is an attractive package schools such as St Andrews, Oxford and Glasgow University can provide.

For more information on studying in the UK, please visit UK InternationalStudent.com where there is a large amount of information, help and advice for students looking to study in the UK.

Most students who study internationally will experience some form of culture shock at some point in time during their time abroad. The new surroundings, new cultures, new people, new food, and most probably a new language are all things you will need to adjust to. While some students will not have any problems, or will only experience mild cases of culture shock, a vast majority will go through a whole range of emotions that if left untreated, or if you do not talk to others about it could become an even bigger problem for you.

So what exactly is culture shock? Essentially culture shock is your adjustment to your new surroundings and new way of doing things. For example, you may find that things are done a certain way back in your home country – however in your adopted host country that same thing is done totally different. While not that bad just in itself, when you couple all the changes you are experiencing, they can add up and lead to things like depression, sadness, etc…

Most people agree there are a few phases of culture shock that people go through. The first phase is “Excitement” as you arrive in your new country, you are excited about all the new things you are going to experience. This elation keeps you going for a week or maybe longer as you are still learning all about your new surroundings. The next stage is “Frustration” as you slowly learn about your new surroundings, you start to find how things differ to your home country and in some cases how things are not done as well. This stage is probably one of the most important stages, as you need to talk to your friends, your school and your family about how you are feeling and what you are experiencing. Talking is vital as it will help you understand more about how things are done and operate. It is also a really good idea to try and make friends with students who are native to your host country – they will help you understand and adjust much quicker than grouping together with fellow international students.

Once you have begun to understand your host country and new surroundings, you can begin the process of acclimatizing. There is no hard and fast rule about how long this will take, for some it can happen right away – for others it can taken weeks or even months to fully acclimatize to your new world around you.

With any new experience, it is very important that you talk to your friends and family on a more regular basis – and be open an honest about things to your school. They will help guide you and provide assistance to the best of their abilities. Do not be worried about the transition periods, we have all been there and all at some point experienced culture shock in one way or another.

We have some excellent videos online, and further information about culture shock which will help you if you need more information. If you can spend 10 minutes to watch the videos, they are highly recommended!

http://www.internationalstudent.com/study_usa/way-of-life/culture-shock.shtml

Also – let us know if you experienced culture shock and how you dealt with it…..

As an international student, whether you are planning to just do some traveling, or you are going to be studying abroad outside of your home country, it is often recommended that you carry and purchase an international student ID card. When searching for the best card, there are a number of different cards you can purchase – however it is always best to follow these few simple guidelines when looking to purchase one:

1. Most international ID cards are not actual forms of identification, you will still need to carry your passport with you for “actual” identification. Saying that, the better and more well know ID cards are so widespread that most places will allow you to use them as proof of student status. So its always best to look out for the places that will accept your card.
2. A lot of the newer ID cards now provide a lot of medical coverage, which can be good thing. However, you should be careful about having too much insurance. If you have a medical/ health insurance policy through your parents, that will most likely provide some coverage when abroad, and you may even be purchasing separate travel health insurance – which is always advisable. If your student ID card is then loaded up with medical and travel insurance benefits that means you have coverage in 3 places. This might sound nice on the outset, but if you come to the point where you need to use your medical/ health insurance coverage and need to file a claim, each insurer could look at your other coverage and say you need to file with them first (as most travel health insurance is what is called “secondary insurance” which basically means, it will pay out before any other insurance you have). The end result is you can have a nasty spiral of claims going from one insurer to the next. If you have good travel insurance coverage, having the extra and enhanced benefits on your student ID card may not always be the best thing.
3. Some international student ID Cards come as part of a bundled offer or package from your travel supplier. While a nice thing, that packaged student ID card may not be the best one for you – so check it out, find out the benefits and compare them to others in the marketplace.
4. Most of the time, student ID cards can be purchased from local offices that are near to you. This is a great way to go in and talk with the local representative and find out why the card is the best one for you. It is also good to see if you can purchase your card online – as sometimes you can find offers and discounts that are run throughout the year that will give you free shipping or a percentage off with a coupon code – all saving you money!
5. One of the biggest things you should look for in an international student ID card is the discounts and offers you can get with the card. Go onto their website and do a search to the countries/ cities you are traveling to and find out what discounts and offers they have available there. One card may have benefits that are more applicable to you over another card, or may have better or more offers in one city you plan to travel at.

If are looking for an international student ID card, InternationalStudent.com offers the ISE card which offers excellent discounts around the world and some great added features such as airline bankruptcy protection, a worldwide assistance center and much more. For further details please visit our website to learn more about the product.