The International Student Blog

Did you know that US colleges and universities are looking for students just like you? Saturday, March 31st, prospective international students from Asia will have the chance to meet with admissions representatives live! Hobsons is hosting a virtual fair for both prospective undergraduate and graduate international students interested in coming to the US to study.

This event is free of charge, and will give students the opportunity to chat with representatives live to get important information from school across the US. Gain important admissions information right from your computer online.

If you are from Asia and are interested in enrolling in a US school, you will not want to miss this event. With over 25 schools, you can learn more about each school without the cost of traveling! Simply by registering and attending the Hobsons Virtual Student Fair, you will have the chance to win a scholarship up to $3,000 USD.

The Hobsons Virtual Student Fair will be held from 2am – 8am EST on Saturday for your convenience. To attend, prospective international students from Asia can register right online for the virtual student fair.

http://www.internationalstudent.com/hobsons-virtual-fairs/asia-vsf.php

We look forward to seeing you there!

As we head into the new year, we are excited to announce important enhancements to our International Student Facebook and Twitter accounts! Not only has our number of fans continue to grow, International Student’s Facebook fan page and Twitter handle will now be the new social media hub for our family of international student websites. Instead of having to fan or follow us across multiple accounts and sites – we now offer international students one convenient source for all the very latest social media action.

The sites that we are integrating into one are:

InternationalStudent.com - our main site offers information about studying abroad, including useful advice pages for studying in the USA, UK and Australia along with our dedicated study abroad center for US students who want to travel abroad.

InternationalStudentInsurance.com – finding the correct health and travel insurance plan is often overlooked by most students, but an essential part of any travel or study experience. International Student Insurance offer low cost, comprehensive plans that could save you up to $700 when compared to your schools insurance plan!

InternationalStudentLoans.com – funding your education abroad experience is the most challenging for many students. International Student Loan provides students with a unique loan comparison tool which shows you loans that fits your specific situation, and its designed just for international students.

ESLdirectory.com – locating an english language school (ESL) is the first step for many international students. The ESL Directory is where you can find schools from around the world dedicated to teaching and improving your English language skills.

Whether you are looking for information about which University you should apply for, where to find scholarships, what health insurance plan will save you the most money, how to find a loan to finance your study abroad… with this integration we will be able have a social community where students from around the world can talk about and find information about anything relating to international education.

For most of our fans – the integration will be seamless if you currently fan or follow us on our main international student Facebook and Twitter account. However if you are a follower of one of our other sites, please join us today and move across – over time we will be closing down the other account.

Fan us and follow us today:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/internationalstudent

Twitter: https://twitter.com/intstudent

If you are a prospective international student from the Middle East or Africa, you won’t want to miss the upcoming Hobson’s Virtual Student Fair on March 3, 2012. Dozens of US colleges and universities are looking for students just like you! International students interested in studying in the US will have the opportunity to speak with admission representatives and get important information right from your computer.

Hobsons Virtual Student Fair gives prospective students the chance to chat (or even, video chat!) with representatives from multiple schools throughout the US. Get important information about each school, ask questions with representatives, and choose the school that’s right for you. Those international students who register and attend the virtual student fair will also have the chance to win a scholarship up to $3,000 USD.

Why spend time and money traveling to the US when you can do this from the comfort of your home? The cost is free and admission is easy. To attend, prospective international students from the Middle East and Africa can register right online for the virtual student fair. Hobsons Virtual Student Fair will be on Saturday from 9am – 3pm EST. See more information and register for the Virtual Student Fair:

http://www.internationalstudent.com/hobsons-virtual-fairs/

We look forward to seeing you there!

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!

New Year celebrations are major events all across the world and each country celebrates differently. In the US, most cities host public events to count down the seconds to the New Year. One city, in particular, is the most famous and that’s New York City. Every New Year’s Eve, up to one million people gather in Time Square to celebrate by watching the New Year’s Eve Ball Drop at midnight.

If you are in the US during New Years, watching the Ball Drop in New York may be the chance of a lifetime. Because it is such a popular event, there are a few tips to ensure you have a good view of the ball drop. Arrive early to get a good view since many people will start arriving in the early afternoon on December 31st.  There are many small events and musical performances to keep you entertain from the afternoon to midnight, check out this year’s New Year’s Eve schedule of events to see what to expect.

Because you will be standing and waiting all day, remember to dress comfortably and warmly since the weather is bound to become colder as you get closer to midnight.

Having friends with you can also help the wait go quicker, and it will also make the actual New Year celebration that much better. You will be around so many people crowded all together that there is no doubt that you’ll make some new friends.

Celebrating the New Year in New York City can be tiring. To sustain you while you wait for the New Year to arrive, bring food and drinks with you. Because you cannot save space, if you leave to get food, you may lose your spot. This applies even if you need to use the restroom, so be prepared before you arrive!

No matter where you are or how you celebrate your New Year’s Eve, we wish you a happy New Year!

If you’ve never lived in the U.S. or if you have just arrived, you may have heard people talking about Black Friday and wondered, “What exactly is Black Friday?”

Have you ever seen a movie depicting American people waiting for a department store to open and then rush in fighting for their favorite dress or popular toy? That scene from the movie is most likely a depiction of what happens in many parts of the United State during the morning of Black Friday.

Black Friday happens every year on the fourth Friday in November, the day after Thanksgiving Day. Even though it is not an official holiday, many people will have the day off due to Thanksgiving. On this day many stores open their doors early to officially start the holiday shopping season by giving out big discounts. Because of this, large crowds come out in the morning ready for a good deal.

The term Black Friday is widely recognized as the day when retail business turns a profit going from the “red” (debt) to “black” (profit) due to the large purchases on this one day alone.

If you are an international student in the United States, after you experience your first American Thanksgiving dinner eating turkey and pumpkin pie, consider waking up early on Friday after Thanksgiving Day. You may be able to buy things that you want for a great price. Be sure to check out your favorite stores to see their advertisements so that you can choose your strategy on stores to check out the day of Black Friday. If you plan ahead, you will have a higher likelihood of getting the items you want at a deep discount since most sales usually ends before noon.

According to the U.S. Department of Education 2011 report, there are over 6,000 colleges in the United States. With so many options, it may be difficult to find the right college or university especially if you are an international student and are not familiar with the United States.

If you are interested in studying in the U.S., the first step is to know what subject you want to study whether it is engineering, business, or science. The second step is to find out what state you might want to live in. The USA is a big country and to help you learn more, International Student provides detailed state guides for all 50 states so you can decide which state best fits your needs.

Once you have an idea of the state and subject, you can use our USA school search to look-up colleges and universities that accept international students. Once you have looked up a school, you will be able to access detailed information such as admission requirements, average test scores, number of international students, costs and more! You can also request more information from the university!

If you need further help, you can also check out the International Student Concierge. This service helps match international students to the school that’s right for them. The Concierge Service is free and once you have provided us with your basic information, colleges in the US will begin contacting you!

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.

International students interested in studying at Dartmouth College, located in Hanover, New Hampshire, have set for themselves the ambitious goal of studying at a premier Ivy League institution in the United States. Dartmouth College contains an elite liberal arts college, as well as prestigious and highly exclusive educational programs within the Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business.

These programs may be of special interest to international students interested in becoming respected leaders in these fields. International students interested in studying in New Hampshire at Dartmouth College will be pleased to learn Dartmouth College places within the World’s 100 best universities (ranked at #90), according to a U.S. News and World Report, which takes into account international student integration and faculty composition.

International students interested in studying at Dartmouth College can learn more about the cutting-edge programs offered in this exceptionally intimate college setting by visiting their school website and following links to the respective program sites in the engineering, business, and medical fields. International students interested in studying in New Hampshire at Dartmouth College can also get an idea of some of the many exciting activities and cultural opportunities that could be awaiting them in this gorgeous and quaint New England state by reviewing the IS School Search for more information.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pq2LqFmB1B0