International Ambassadors

There are three main reasons which made me decide to come to university of Minnesota.

First reason which made me decide to come to the University of Minnesota is my department, biomedical engineering. Actually I transferred to the University of Minnesota, and before I transferred, my major was bioengineering. When I was planning to transfer to the university, I thought that the bioengineering major was not my interest. So I really wanted to transfer to other areas. However, as I was not so confident with other engineering courses, I decided to go for biomedical engineering, thinking that it will be kind of similar with what I was doing. Later, it turned out that I was completely wrong. Nothing was similar between biomedical engineering and bioengineering.

The second reason why I have selected the University of Minnesota, is because the higher possibility of getting a job. Minnesota is popular for lot of things, but one of the things which attracted me was that Minnesota had very big market of biomedical industry. That was a great merit for me as I was planning to get a job in the United States.

Third reason is weather. I like cold weather. Actually, before coming to the United States, I got a chance to decide where I should go between Texas and Minnesota. Definitely I chose Minnesota. I heard that Minnesota is very snowy place, and I really liked snow (and I still like it).

I never care about name value of university. I came to the university for something that I want to do or something that I like. I think it was a great choice to come to the University of Minnesota. I still have so many things to say about the U but I guess I should postpone it to later, as the article seems to get quite long to read. See you~

Posted by leex2709 at 10:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Have you ever wondered how many credits you should take in the U? It depends on what kind of person you are and what kind of college-life you would like to have. Taking too many credits at one time might be another kind of suicide!
No Kidding...

I am taking 20 credits (maximum amount without further approval) right now including physics, calculus, writing, etc. My schedule is really packed, I have at least 4 classes per day; from early in the morning to 9 o’clock at night! AMAZING HUH? What more is I still have to work during the gaps....

In order to maintain your academics and restore a good mood at the same time, keeping an organized schedule and using your leisure effectively is what I strongly recommend! Keep your study materials with you most of the time incase you might want to kill time.

On my busy days, I often spend my one and a half hour break sipping a cup of heartwarming coffee with one of my favorite books to read. Human beings are born to live their lives with each other, but sometimes we all need a little bit of personal space; perhaps sitting in a cozy cafe with a cup of refreshing tea....

By Cherry (sipping a cup of Coffee)

Posted by Cherry Lam at 10:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

During the last few months since I first came to the University of Minnesota, there have been many people asking me the same question that is “Why do you choose this university?” To answer this question, I would like to bring out three main reasons.

First, I believe I am not the only one who concerns about the ranking of a university when evaluating it. The University of Minnesota ranks around top 30th among all the universities in the whole world. It is also very famous for its almightiness, since all of the colleges that engage into fields variously are all very outstanding.
Second, the University of Minnesota regards scholars with great talents very much. Students who applied to the U of M would be automatically evaluated according to their achievements, and scholarships up $6000 per semester would be offered to those who are the most competitive students. The scholarships are very important attractiveness for me, because the tuition for international students can be very expensive.
Third, the University of Minnesota has a very good policy for all the International students’ future career. After the first year studying in the U of M, international students can apply for the internships out side the universities to gain more bonuses to their resume while enriching their life out side the campus. Other than that, every international student is allowed to work up to one year in the States after graduating from the U of M. This could be very helpful in building up students working experience, considering many headquarters of top 100 companies are located in the state of Minnesota.
In short, except the winter is too long in Minnesota, I love everything here. I truly feel studying here is so much fun. While I am learning life long knowledge, I also make a lot of friends from all over the world. So don’t hesitate anymore since the deadline is coming, because you deserve the best education and the most fabulous college experience.

Posted by Danny Hu at 02:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It is time for most people to decide which University to go to after receiving their acceptance letter from the universities that they have applied. Some will be accepted to all the universities while others will have fewer acceptances from the universities. Thinking back on how I decided to pursue my Bachelor degree in U of M, I always laugh at myself.

To make the long story short, I am a sponsored student and my sponsor chose U of M as the right university for me. I only applied to U of M and also Colorado School of Mines to pursue a degree in Geophysics, and got accepted to both of the U. I also applied to Imperial College in United Kingdom for a Geology degree by myself and also got accepted. But in the end, my sponsor chose U of M, and little did I know the reason why until I arrived here in 22 August 2005.

I should have known that my sponsor would not make any decision without carefully consider each option. They sponsored around 230 students a year to study abroad in United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand and not to forget United States. At first, I was a bit sad not being able to go to Imperial College in UK as it is one of the best college for geology. But once I started my study here, in U of M, I changed my mind completely.

First of all, our department here, Department of Geology and Geophysics is a small department, with a total of around 50 students doing an undergraduate degree. All the faculties are very helpful and friendly, and they even help me to get an apartment in University Housing, as well as get me admitted along with my 8 other colleagues, We applied to the U pretty late, around June if I'm not mistaken, and yet we still got accepted, and assigned an apartment in University Village. The department also assigned one faculty to take care of us, and continuingly provide us with useful information. They even gave us a ride from our apartment to the departmental picnic in St. Paul, just to make sure we will be involved in the department activities. One time, the professor and the head department invite us to a dinner in Peninsula restaurant (the only Malaysian's restaurant in Minneapolis!) and best of all, it’s on the house!

Just basing my judgment on the department and my sponsor's decision, I know that I have made the right decision by coming here at U of M to do my Bachelor of Science degree. There are also other factors that later on reaffirmed my decision such as the fact that this University is very big, thus allow you to take a lot of other unrelated courses for your enrichment. Another good news, next semester, U of M Twin Cities will cut their undergraduate tuition fee for nonresident (including international student) from USD 9790 to USD 7975 per semester in Fall 2008.

Current undergraduate tuition rate
New undergraduate tuition rate for Fall 2008

Posted by Faris at 12:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

When I first arrived as an international student at the University of Minnesota, I was naive regarding the cultural differences that I would face. Being from Canada, I had visited the U.S. on many ocasions and believed it to be not unlike the country I grew up in. It looked the same, sounded the same and I would often forget that I was an international student at all. But then ocasionally, I would be reminded.

Once I arrived on campus, it did not take long for my roommates to start noticing differences in the way I spoke. As they would put it, I speak Canadian. There are many phrases and terms that I used that my roommates had never heard before. But to me, the differences were so small and subtle that I did not even notice, and it was months before it was ever brought to my attention. In one specific situation, there is a Canadian word "tuque" (pronounced like tuke, rhyming with the word duke) which is what we call a winter hat, that I was always using. Once it started getting colder outside and I started mentioning the word "tuque" more frequently one of my roommates finally confronted me about the situation. It was a weird experience, because, as I said, I seldom thought of myself as a foreigner, but after this, I never really forgot.
Once we got the whole "tuque" thing out of the way, all of a sudden the flood gates opened and my roommates made me aware of every "Canadianism" that they had notice in my language, and there were a lot. I realized how oblivious and even ignorant I had been regarding the cultural differences that existed, and it was a very eye opening experience.
There were a lot of things that I learned during this experience. Firstly that cultural differences will be everywhere, and will exist even if you can not see them. I thought that because everything looked the same, and ran on a lot of the same principles as where I am from, that it was all exactly the same. I was also surprised that it took so long for me to be notified of these differences, but my roommates never said anything for fear of being impolite.

This situation would never have reached the stage that it did if I would have been a little more open minded to what differences could exist. If I would have made more of an effort to uncover the cultural/linguistic differences, they would not have blind sided me like they did. More specifically, I should have talked to my roommates about this topic, and gotten their input early on.

Even after being here for close to four years I am still realizing cultural contrasts every day, but instead of that being distracting, I find it interesting. Most importantly, since moving here, I have learned to embrace the differences and have realized how much my Canadian culture has made me who I am.

Posted by Bobbi Ross at 04:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I know quite many people who struggle during exam time. From my points of view, it is because they study for the exam on the night before the exam! it is impossible to memorize or understand everything at once. So what i would recommend you to do is to do the assignments on time. So that you would understand it while you are doing it and all you have to do is just to rewise them. ;)

Posted by Adiya Nyam at 11:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Many students begin to feel stressful since the midterms are coming. Please stay calm and try to arrange your time because you will find you can be extraordinary productive. "Study hard, play hard." It is always the easiest thing to say but the hardest thing to do. Don't be too pusshing to yourself and try your best to balance your life.

Here, I am going to suggest some amazing spots for you to hang out with your friends, so just relax for a while.

The best place to check out is always the Coffman Union. They have free movies for U of M students, great parties every Friday and Saturday night, and also wonderful workshops for ambicious students. Want to know more? Just check out their website at http://www.sua.umn.edu/.

If you prefer to spend time by yourself, there are many libraries you can go. In addition, you may be supprised to find some Museum Adventure Pass at counters. Those passes are like free tickets to almost every museum in Minnesota. It is definitely a good way to relax while learning something.

Recreation Center is always my favorite. It is free to get in for all U of M students. They have very nice swimming pool, basketball fields, training equipments, and many other services. You can also buy a fitness pass to attent classes like yoga and aerobics. There is no better options than doing some exercises in the REC Center, cause while you release yourself, you are also getting healthier!

Want to know more? Tell me what you like, I can always find the best spot for you to relax!

Posted by Danny Hu at 08:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After about one month of homework, simple assignments and reports due, I had my first midterm this previous week....!

Midterms are exams that account for at least 20% of your final grade in a class. Usually the work distribution in a class is about 3 midterms and one final for the semester. You may have additional homework, quizzes. This is the case in most science classes. Sometimes instead of the final, the professor might want a paper with a topic related to your class and this usually happens in non-science related classes (History, Art, Languages...).
So I had my midterm in Thermodynamics...and actually it went pretty well!! The midterm reflected exactly what the professor advised us to study, that's, the homeworks (most of them done in study groups), the readings in the book and some extra exercises to totally get the concept...
....And I said "Those crazy weeks...!" because there will be some periods in your semester where you will have midterms in 2 or 3 consecutive weeks (depending on the number of classes you are taking!). And you might feel stressed!! But that only happens when you study the night before, never go to lecture and don't keep up with assigned work...! If you actually do the opposite of that and take the time to study and I mean 3 to 1 day before, you get more out of it and certainly get a good grade!
.....So remember, plan in advance, don't study the night before unless it's scuba diving and you are sure to get a good grade!!
......The finals are about 2 months from now. They are always at the end of the semester. So I don't have to worry about it now... ;).

Posted by Viviane Tchonang at 09:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

English is so hard for every international students. At least that's what I think.

Few days ago, I was having a group meeting with my lab partners. We were talking about how to organize our lab report. There were total four people in our group, and two of us left the group meeting early. One other group member and I were left there, finishing up our report. We realized that the result part which was done by one of the group member who had left was completely wrong.

Sarah: Do you mind fixing the result part?
Don: Yeah!!!!! (I meant ‘I will fix the result part’)

What reaction do you expect from Sarah? She was… I think she was annoyed for an instant, and then she reminded that I was an international, so that she did not care about it after then. Actually I was the one who was completely annoyed, after realizing that I made a mistake.

Today, right now, I’m in library. About an hour ago, I just made a same mistake again.

Maria: Do you mind looking over our stuff for a little bit??
Don: Yeah. Sure. (I meant ‘I will look over your stuff.’ So I was nodding also.)

Well… as Maria had a lot of international friends (or maybe because I was nodding), she was not annoyed at all but actually I was annoyed again after realizing that I just made a same mistake which I have made a few days ago.

It seems pretty stupid that although I have lived in the US for total 1.5 years, I’m still making those silly mistakes. But what I think is that you shouldn’t be afraid of making mistakes or misunderstanding what people say. Everyone make mistakes. You will learn by making mistakes. English is a difficult language and it will take years to be able to use it fluently.

Yeah that’s what I think, but I still feel a bit stupid, for making same mistake twice (Probably I would have made more, but I don’t remember).

Posted by leex2709 at 07:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My name is Bobbi Ross, I am from a tiny little town in Saskatchewan, Canada and have been a student at the University of Minnesota for the past four years. I love playing all sports, but my favorite is hockey. I play hockey for the University of Minnesota Women's Hockey Team, and will definitely talk more about that in entries to come! I love watching movies, reading and listening to all types of music. I look forward to sharing my experiences with you and perhaps getting the opportunity to hear some of yours!

Posted by Bobbi Ross at 01:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hi everyone, my name is Danni. I transfered from International College at Beijing in China Agriculture University last year. I am now studying Actuarial Science in Carlson School of Management in the University of Minnesota. I love alternative music, movies, and sports. Also, I love meeting new friends. Anyway, studying here has so much fun. So don't hesitate to join me in the Danni's Little World to explore more!

Posted by Danny Hu at 06:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hey, guys! I am Jing Jing Shen,coming from Shanghai.I'm kind of person who'd like to make a difference in my life, that's why I decided to study abroad in the US. I like reading, jogging,watching movie, playing badminton, most importantly, hanging out with friends! I'll be more than happy to become your friend!

Posted by JING at 04:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

U.S culture varies for everyone depending on which culture you belong to. Coming from Pakistan, U.S culture seemed entirely different to me especially the social norms. But the thing is that being internationals it is in our best interest to adapt the culture as soon as possible and get used to it to feel oneself as a part of where we will be living for the next couple of years or more. Things become easy if you try to make as many friends as possible and the key is that "Be the first one to introduce". People here like to help but you want to be able to ask for it. So don't be shy and just express yourself, you will be adored.

Posted by Ahmad Azeem Chaudhry at 04:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hi, I'm Don.

Hi. My name is Dong Won Lee, and you can call me as Don, Dong or whatever is convenient for you. I never saw a person who pronounces my name perfectly except for Koreans. Maybe I did but I do not remember. Yeah, I am from Korea. Maybe you are wondering whether I am from north or south, and I want to ask you if you have ever seen any North Koreans in the United States, because I never did for my whole life, even back in South Korea. Actually I heard that there are quite a people who are from North Korea in United States.

I am an international student in the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. My major is Biomedical Engineering, and this is second semester of my junior year. (Junior means third.) I’m learning all kinds of biomedical related engineering courses, and I think my major is very interesting and also challenging. I came to the university about 1 and a half years ago. The reason why I came to the University of Minnesota is that I just wanted to come to a place which is not hot. And I was wrong. It gets pretty hot during summer. But still, winter dominates the Minnesota for about two third of a year, and I am one of a few person who like Minnesotan winter.

Well, this is what I can think about myself. Probably I will get to post more things about myself. Also I will get to post things that are other than me. Well. See you sometime later!!

Don.

Posted by leex2709 at 04:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My name is Adiyasuren Nyamdorj (Adiya) and i am currently majoring in economics.

I am from Ulaanbaatar, which is the capitol of Mongolia. One of the reasons i am happy to be here at University of Minnesota is that i get the chance to meet many fun and interesting people. Also i love the weather here, even winter. The city where i came from is pretty cold in winter. So in some way, it reminds me of my hometown.
Some of my interests include listening to music, watching movies (I really like documentaries), and camping. In Minnesota, there are many pretty places that are very nice to do camping and hiking.
I live in an apartment close to campus with my brother.

Posted by Adiya Nyam at 04:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hello! This is Cherry (yup! As in the fruit) from Hong Kong. I am currently a freshman who is majoring in Chemical Engineering. Although it’s kind of tough, I still do a lot of fun stuff in my spare time like eating out, watching movies and playing boardgames. Living on campus is another exciting experience that I am going to talk about soon.
Looking forward to meeting YOU!

Feel free to instant message or email me through siuding0601@hotmail.com if you are asking for help or just finding someone to chat with!

Posted by Cherry Lam at 04:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hi guys!
My full name is Mohd Faris Hashim but all of those who knew me call me

Faris and I am from Selangor, Malaysia. I am a junior Geophysics major in Institute of Technology (IT) and I have lived on campus apartment since I arrived here in Fall 2005. I enjoy playing sports like volleyball and badminton, watching movies, and travel around the US. I am also an IT tutor in lower division Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry and also planning on doing a senior thesis to meet one of the requirement for graduating with Latin Honor. You can always email me at forestunt123@yahoo.com or add me to your yahoo messenger.

Posted by Faris at 04:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

.......I am Viviane, from Cameroon in Central Africa! I am currently enrolled at the University of Minnesota (UofM) for a Bachelor in Biomedical Engineering...!!

.....and I am sophomore now (second year student). Part of Biomedical Engineering is Computer programming so no surprise (!!) I love hanging around computers whatever their Operating system is! Love trying new softwares, learning more about others and definitely learning to appreciate the awesomeness of Windows Vista!
.....My other interests are people drawings (I still learning the shading part !), music, movies, reading thrillers or biographies.
.......It will be really awesome to share with you, my experiences and adventures here at the UofM - and Minneapolis/St Paul - and what the University has to offer and I will do all I can to get you here in Minnesota!! Feel free to hit me with a (instant) message at viv_ambsu@yahoo.com !!

Posted by Viviane Tchonang at 04:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)