The International Student Blog

The year is coming to a close and the New Year is arriving! To help make it easier to find the information to study abroad, International Student in 2011 made numerous improvements online.

Here are a few things we have done for our international students in 2011:

- iPhone App – This year we introduced our iPhone app. Online viewers can now access International Student from their phones and learn about studying in the USA . Read about each state, learn the college application process, find out about financial aid (including international student loans and scholarships), and much more!

- Increased Facebook Presence – Not only is International Student one of the most popular destinations online, but so is our Facebook page! This year we have reached over 6,000 likes. We also introduced the Scholarship Sunday weekly post, which will help you finance your education overseas!

- Video Contest – This year also featured our 6^th annual International Student Video Contest, and it was bigger than ever! The grand prize this year was $4,000 where viewers could vote on their favorite video. We had more video submissions this year than ever before – and the quality of the submission was amazing. It was difficult to narrow down the list to the twelve finalist, and even harder for our judges to ultimately choose Jonathan Moore as the winner. This contest starts each year in September, so if you want to be the winner in 2012, don’t forget to enter!

- Improved USA School Search – Searching for the right US college or university is now easier with our Concierge Service which provides your information to schools looking for students just like you! We also added our state guide for all 50 states so you can learn about where you want to study in the US. For those of you who are looking for more specific information about a specific field of study such as law, business or engineering, you can now research your interests in the Study Guide section as well.

- Featured School – We also partnered with colleges that are specifically looking for international students like you. Featured School profile includes more in-depth information about the school and also student profiles so you can see what actual international students are saying about the school. You can contact these Featured Schools and request more information from their profile as well.

- Concierge Service Expanded to the UK and Australia – Last year was the launched of our Concierge Service here in the US. Simply by filling out your name, nationality, interests, and contact information this free service helps match you with schools all across the US – and now look for schools in the UK and Australia as well!

- Online Student Fair – This year we also partnered with Hobsons and CollegeWeekLive to offer online college fairs giving you the chance to meet with admission directors from over 80 universities in the US, Canada and Australia. This is a great service allowing you to meet advisors and counselors live, asking any questions you have without the expense of travel.

- Loans for International Students – Our partner at InternationalStudentLoan.com has launched a new loan comparison tool. Specifically designed to provide international and study abroad students with the opportunity to compare loans and lenders, the new system streamlines the process to find and apply for student loans and it is now also available on InternationalStudent.com as well!

We are open to suggestions, so if you have any ideas on what you would like us to see on International Student in 2012, please leave a comment or email us. As always, we are looking to help you with your international education experience. We are looking forward to 2012 and have many new and exciting features coming in 2012, so stay tune!

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.

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!

As of April 2nd 2011, the visa assessment levels for 38 countries have officially been lowered for those wanting to study in Australia. What this means is that students will have less documents to submit to apply for a visa, hopefully making it easier for students to gain entry to study in Australia.

With the well documented problems Australia has had over the last few years with international students and violence towards them, it seems the government are making some changes to try and reverse the trend of declining student numbers. The negative press from all the violence was having an impact on student numbers, especially from countries such as India.

In 2009/2010, there were 270,499 visas granted to international students with most of those coming from India, China and South Korea. “Prospective students and their families, agents and education providers should be aware that these changes will lower the minimum evidentiary requirements needed for the grant of a student visa for the selected countries and education sectors,” a Department of Immigration and Citizenship spokesman said in the statement.

For more information about Studying in Australia, or to read the full article, please see the India Times for more information.

Back in May 2010, we launched the International Student Concierge Service, designed to match international students with schools all around the USA.

It took the hard work out of searching endlessly online for schools that you might be interested in, and instead allows you to submit your details to the concierge service for us to match you with schools that are actively looking to recruit international students. Once your details are submitted, schools will then directly contact you with details about their program, location and much more!

Due to the huge success of the program, we have now grown the service to include both the UK and Australia. If you are an international student who wants to study in the UK or Australia you can now submit your details and have schools get back in touch with you directly. Our expanding list of schools are waiting to hear from students – so dont waste any time and submit your details to our UK and Australia Concierge Service today!

Study in the UK Concierge Service – http://uk.internationalstudent.com/concierge/

Study in Australia Concierge Service – http://australia.internationalstudent.com/concierge/

Thousands of Indian students are struggling to get their prepaid tuition refunded from Australian schools and colleges. The situation has come to light following the collapse of colleges and a clamp down of the Australian immigration system. As we reported earlier this year, there were a number of high profile attacks on Indian students in Australia which had led to a number of college closures and a clampdown of the visa process for students coming into Australia. This all led to the denial of visas for thousands of students, many of whom had already prepaid their tuition in advance.

The exact extent of the problem is not fully know, as the Australian government has refused to disclose the amount of prepaid tuition that students are seeking reimbursement for – however international education experts are predicting the amount of tuition that students prepaid could run into the millions of Australian dollars.

Ravi Lochan Singh, the managing director of Global Reach, an education agency that represents Australian universities and colleges in India, said “There is an issue here; I think that with more and more private colleges going down the issue will increase”. Under Australian law course fees must be refunded within 28 days, but Mr Singh said the question of whether students’ prepaid college fees were protected by the ESOS Assurance Fund was still a “grey area”.

If you are an international student who is waiting for their tuition back, post your comments below. You can also read the full article here.

As we reported in our January issue of the International Student News, there has been a recent spate of attacks against international students in Australia, and most notably on students who are studying there from India. The problems have been grumbling for a while and came to a head earlier this month when accounting graduate Nitin Garg, 21, originally from the state of Punjab in northern India, was stabbed to death on January 2nd when on his way to a job at a fast food outlet in Melbourne.

There has been a lot of outcry from both academics in Australia and India, claiming that the Australia government has been doing too little with regards to the matter. Melbourne University professor Simon Marginson, delivering a keynote address to the World Universities Forum in Davos, said “The Australian government is in denial. Racist targeting is involved (in the attacks). Indian students do have a special problem. And there isn’t enough official and civil concern about international student security in Australia.”

The international student industry in Australia is one of the largest in the world with revenues expected to be in excess of $15 billion a year. The government has been heavily criticized for sticking their heads in the sand, denying there is a problem and only providing only modest security enhancements for know trouble spots.

Are you an international student in Australia – or planning to attend school in Australia? Post your comments and thoughts below:

New regulations are being introduced that will allow all students who are issued with visas on, or after the 26th April 2008 to automatically have work authorization. In the past all student visas that were issued to students studying in Australia did not have any form of work authorization, and students needed to separately apply for this – however now all student visas will include work authorization.

The actual working rights will not change for students, so students will still be able to work a maximum of 20 hours per week whilst in school, and unlimited hours during scheduled school breaks. However, the new process will greatly simplify the process for many international students.

The cost of the visa application has also changed, whereas previously the cost of the visa was $430 AUD and $60 AUD for the work authorization, this has now been change to one fee of $450 AUD

For more information about the changes, please see the Department of Immigration and Citizenship website

If you would also like to learn more about Studying in Australia, please see the Australia section of InternationalStudent.com for information about courses, preparing for Australia and much more.