The International Student Blog

English as a second language is a thriving industry in the UK, with an estimate 600,000 students traveling to the UK each year to study. More than half of these also then go on to higher education courses – and for this reason the English Language industry brings in over £1.5bn to the British economy each year.

However, the booming industry has some major concerns regarding the new points based visa system. Brought into use back in April 2009, the new points based system was originally designed to close down bogus colleges and institutions – and for a large part the system succeeded. However there were still concerns that the system could be abused, and at the tail end of 2009, the UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown ordered a review of the system in order to tighten it up.

This review led to new proposals being put forward to raise both the level study and the standard of English for any applicant coming into the UK on the points based system. Although this new proposal will almost certainly remove further abuses of the system, it will also certainly exclude all students who want to come into the UK for six months or more to develop their English skills from a basic level.

Philip Hopkins, principal of the English Language Centre in Brighton, says that if the government’s proposals come into force, about 40% of the school’s business would be wiped out. “We are an educational charity founded in 1962 and many of the students we get for long-term courses are students who go on to a foundation, undergraduate or master’s programme and will be in the UK education system for the next four or five years.”

Clearly the UK Government needs to review their current proposals, otherwise we could see some serious knock-on effects to the English Language sector in the UK. For more information about this article please see the original news source at the Guardian Newspaper.

You can also search for a range of ESL programs from all around the world through the ESL Directory.

We understand the intensity of admissions season and wanted to create a series of quick tips to help steer you in the right direction. From our point of view, here are the 5 most common admissions essay mistakes:

1. Tonal and Narrative Balance – We have mentioned this before, but the key to effective admissions writing is finding a balance between humanity and authenticity, while targeting the prompt and preserving language sophistication. This balance is shifted depending on the level of the applicant (MBA essays will feel more ‘buttoned up’ than a college level essay). However, every admissions essay should target a specific prompt and also convey a deeper sense of who you are.
2. Admit me! Admit me! Overselling Yourself – Applicants frequently push too hard to demonstrate fit with an institution. Their writing loses all sense of authenticity and focus. They resort to stilted language such as, ‘If admitted to XXX, I will bring my enthusiasm…’ In doing so, they impede the natural momentum of their writing and lose reader’s interest.
3. Underdeveloped Ideas and Cliches – “I want to be a doctor because I thrive on patient interaction.” “A legal career will help me to drive change in underserved communities.” “You can never judge a book by its cover.” “I want to make the world a better place.” Vague, underdeveloped ideas and cliches seem to go hand in hand.Stay specific and concrete–flesh out the path even if you are uncertain. Employ language that is your own. Whether you are writing a college essay, MBA admissions essay, med school or law school personal statement, clearly define your story and your purpose.
4. Missing the Prompt – Make sure that you reread the prompt. Did you catch every facet of the prompt–such as the ‘why’ component? Consider the admissions committee point of view. Did you provide the level of self-reflection they are looking for?The Man in the Mirror – All admissions essays should show a degree of perspective and self-reflection. Ultimately, this implies maturity, and a willingness to enter a community that can shape you (and vice versa).
5. Concision – It is ironic that we needed to add a 4b to squeeze in this last tip. It just goes to show, it is difficult to think and write concisely. In admissions essays, however, it is to your advantage to ‘think crisp.’ This will help you to sharpen your content, and cut out ‘fluff’ which does not enrich your candidacy.

We hope these tips help you as you work on your admissions materials at levels–MBA Essays, Common Application essays, medical personal statements and more. As always, message us with specific questions or to receive a free assessment of your first writing submission, including admissions essays, personal statements, resumes, cover letters, dissertations and more.

All best,
Janson Woodlee
Ivy Eyes Editing

This has been a guest blog post by Ivy Eyes Editing Service and you can follow them on Twitter

You can also check out the useful resources that we have on our Essay Writing Resource pages

Here at InternationalStudent.com, we are horrified at the devastation caused by the earthquake in Haiti, and our thoughts are with the staggering number of people impacted by this disaster.

Schools have been scrambling to locate and evacuate their study abroad students in Haiti.  Lynn University and the University of Florida, among others, have been working around the clock to ensure the safety of their students. You can read the updates that Lynn University provides on its website, and there is also an excellent article by Karin Fischer in the Chronicle of Higher Education talking about location and evacuation efforts.

We wish the very best to all study abroad students in Haiti and hope for their safe return.

There are many ways to contribute to the relief effort. The Red Cross of course has relief operations under way.  You can donate to the Red Cross Haitian relief effort by phone at 1-800-REDCROSS; or online at www.redcross.org.

Or simply text the word “HAITI” to 90999 and a $10 donation will go the Red Cross and be billed to you on your phone bill.

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:

At the end of 2009, there were nearly 34 million iPhones that had been sold around the world and without question it is the number 1 mobile device available on the market at this time. If you are lucky enough to have an iPhone, InternationalStudent.com has just launched its first iPhone App and its totally free!

http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/the-international-student/id349799583?mt=8

The new iPhone app allows you to keep up-to-date with all the latest news and information from InternationalStudent.com by allowing you to read our blog and twitter account in one simple app. If you are a regular viewer, this app is a must have and will allow you to get all the lastest international student news on the go!

We would also like for you to review the app, both in the app store and in our blog comments below. This is our first foray into the world of applications for mobile devices, and we are willing and happy to look at integrating more things for you to make life easier so please let us know!

We look forward to your feedback and hope you enjoy the app!

Now that the dust has finally settled on another holiday period, we would like to formally introduce our two new student bloggers into the International Student family. Regular visitors to our site will have already met and know about our new bloggers as they were both winners in our 2009 travel video contest, one actually winning the contest and the other coming in third.

Sandy Florez – Study Abroad Blogger

Sandy was our winner in the 2009 travel video contest with her fantastic video “Hello 2 Ciao” which charted her desire to travel to Italy to study abroad. As part of her prize, Sandy will be blogging about her experiences abroad as she prepares for Italy and both studies and travels over there. She has already started blogging and her posts are excellent so take some time to head over to her blog and check it out!

http://www.internationalstudent.com/study-abroad/blog/

Lindo Lindo – Study in the USA Blogger

Lindo Lindo came third in our 2009 contest, and inspired us all with his funny spoof video “The Study Abroad Show”. Originally from the Philippines, Lindo is taking part in the Global UGrad program and studying at North Central College in Illinois. He brings with him an excellent sense of humour and his posts reflect this so check his blog out! “Lindo Lindo a name so nice you’ll say it twice!”

http://www.internationalstudent.com/study_usa/blog/

Both blogs have an RSS feed which you can sign up to and you can also follow the International Student Twitter Account as new posts will be tweeted out as they happen:

Sandy’s Blog RSS Feed – http://feeds.feedburner.com/InternationalStudent-StudyAbroadBlog

Lindo Lindo’s RSS Feed – http://feeds.feedburner.com/study_usa_blog

The latest edition of the International Student News have been sent and should be currently sitting in your inbox if you are a current subscriber. This month we have lots of articles and items to help you kick start 2010 – including:

1. Save on your Student Insurance plan
2. Welcoming our New Student Bloggers
3. International Student Essentials 2010
4. Student News – Violence Against Indian Students in Australia Continues
5. From the Mailbag
6. Fun Site of the Month
7. Roehampton University in the UK

You can see the latest version of our newsletter online now also at:

http://www.internationalstudent.com/newsletter/issue131.html

With the new year now upon us, 2010 already looks to be another big year for international education. As we reported in our Financial Aid Blog, 2009 saw record numbers in the USA for international students with a large 8% increase in the numbers from the previous year. With the worldwide recession and the recent tightening of air security some think that students could be discouraged from studying abroad – but we at InternationalStudent.com believe strongly that, with ongoing government initiatives, the support of the international education community and a little push from us, the overall numbers will continue to grow!

The financial scenario for international students has changed over the past two years, mainly due to the recession which has had a large impact on the availability of financial aid and international student loans. We’ll address the current loan situation below. There are also exciting new resources available to students, new technology and social networks, that were not available to students previously.

The purpose of this post is to provide students with some guidance for 2010, highlighting some changes and pointing out valuable resources to consider for the year ahead.

International Financial Aid

The good news is that loans are still available to international students in the US, and for US students studying abroad.   As always, a US co-signer is required.  You can apply for up to the total cost of education, minus any other aid you receive. Visit International Student Loan for more information on loans available to international students.

The bad news – interest rates and underwriting criteria have gone up (meaning you’ll pay more in interest, and you’ll need a co-signer with really good credit). Also direct to consumer loans are no longer available, meaning your school must certify the fact and the amount of your loan each year, so there is a lot less flexibility in the amount you can apply for and the speed with which you can get your loan.  There was abuse in direct to consumer loans, but they worked well for international students because of their flexibility and because international students have less resources in the US to fall back on.

Scholarships and other aid are still available, although some have been cut back, so you’ll need to start early to research and apply for scholarships.

So funding an education as an international student in 2010 and beyond will require even more initiative than it has in the past, but it remains quite doable. See our 2010 international student financing overview to get started on a plan.

Social Media

It could be argued that social media was the “buzz word” of 2009 – sites like Twitter and Facebook really came into the mainstream and began to be embraced by both individuals and companies from all corners of the world. For international students, sites like these are a great way to connect with fellow students – for example the International Student Facebook Fan page now has nearly 1,000 fans and you can talk to each other, start discussions, ask us questions and find other students who are in the same boat as you! These social media sites can also be used to locate things like scholarships that people post, and Twitter is a great resource for getting up to the minute relevant information. Check out our posts on Twitter for International Students and Using Twitter to find Scholarships for more information.

Keeping in Touch

For all international students, one of the most important aspects of traveling and studying around the world is keeping in touch with your friends and family – this can not only avoid problems with home sickness but also for your own safety. Traditionally the advice was to get a phone card so that you can make cheap calls from around the world, but as technology changes, things like netbooks are very cheap and mobile phones can now be taken around the world and as long as you use them correctly you can keep in touch wherever you are for little or no cost. If you can travel with a laptop or netbook, then check out our VOIP section on free Skype calling. If you do take your mobile phone, be careful not to get hit with high roaming charges which still exist when you leave your home country – you can get around this by changing out your sim card and our article on sim cards should help explain this.

Staying Healthy

With New Year’s resolutions fresh on our mind, staying healthy should be a priority for all international students.  Simple things like getting enough sleep can make a tremendous difference in our outlook on the day and its challenges, and help keep a healthy balance for body, mind and spirit. The prevalence of the H1N1/ Swine Flu virus has also subsided a little bit and although it may not be as widespread as it once was, you should still do all you can to avoid infection. A great post that gives some useful help and advice on staying healthy is available titled “H1N1 not as severe as first thought”

Once again have a very happy and healthy 2010!

As highlighted in our post back in 2008, the Swedish government was looking to change a long standing tradition where international students are not charged to study in Sweden. Throughout much of Europe and the world, international students typically have to pay full tuition to attend a University – and Sweden was one of the few remaining countries where this was not the case.

However, this is all about to change and with 2010 right around the corner the changes are looming – but there has been backlash from some of the countries top academics who are calling on the government to delay the introduction of the new fee structure for international students. The pro-rectors of the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Lunds University and Gothenburg University have come out saying:

“Look to Denmark which lost 90% of its international students when introducing fees without a proper preparation by the universities,” the pro-rectors declared. “Many courses in English at masters level will have to be cut because that is where the foreign students are, and Swedish students will prefer other courses.”

So far there has been no response from the Swedish government which is aiming to reduce its budget allocated to higher education in 2011 by up to SEK 500 million (EUR48 million or US$72 million) – and the fees from international students were expected to compensate for this cut.

For more information about the changes in Sweden for international students please check out the following article which provides more in depth news and views:

http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20091127125048259

and post your comments about the changes below…….

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