Sometimes it might be overwhelming if you have to take higher level of classes in English when you are not well adapted to the classroom environment in the states. Especially when it comes to biology and philosophy.
How many credits would it be appropriate? How is it going to affect my graduation plan?
Since my beginnings here at the university, I have been taking a lot of credits per semester. One of the main reasons was that, if you take over 13 credits (which is considered full-time) with a maximum of 20 credits, the University does not charge you for the extra credits and since I wasn't able to transfer my credits, I basically had to take the same classes I had in my high school and university back home.
It's pretty late, and you need to walk to your residence hall or your apartment building. Is it really safe around the campus to walk alone all by yourself?
Continue reading "How safe is it to walk alone late in the evening around the campus?" »
Life is full of dilemma, and this is particularly true when it comes to choosing a major.
Shall I pick up something I am really interested in or it is better to study what turns out to be career-friendly?
It is a big question!
Besides the question about your major, the classes you are currently taking, will also be a good "small-talk" with new students you will meet on campus!
What is college all about for an international student?
A hundred people could offer a hundred different answers, yet as international students, we seem to be more concerned about GPA.
Here comes another question, does a high gpa necessarily represent the success in academics?
My answer would be “maybe not in the US” as far as my experience is concerned.
One of the biggest university in the states, how big actually is it to study and live?
Recently, a prospective student from Malaysia asked me those three questions and I had replied to it personally. I just thought that I can share this with more people who read the blog as well. Just a quick note on the word course. The word "course" in Malaysia equals to the word "major" and the word "course" in America usually refered as "subject" in Malaysia. Just thought it is necessary to point this out.
Continue reading "How is life, study and weather here in Minnesota?" »
Well, this will be the most recurrent question around campus in conversations you will have with students you have just met. It's one of the subjects you can use in a small-talk when you don't have much to talk about for a beginning and even if you haven't decided yet of what you want to do, you can always give some personal insights of what you like and what you are feel comfortable doing.
Last semester i took calculus at the University of Mn for the first time. I was pretty nervous about the class. because the university is pretty huge compared to my old college and i just thought that the calculus class was going to be very hard. It was very hard in the begining and i needed a lot of help with my homework. So i started looking for a tutor. I could've gone to my TA's(teacher's assistant) office hour but my schedule never worked out.
Finally i found a walk-in tutor at Lind Hall 150. Without their help i would not have made it! Plus i had a study group in my class. So that helped me a lot too. For those who will be taking really hard classes, don't worry and relax... There are many wonderful tutorings, almost in every major at the university. And also you can always find somebody in your class who would be willing to study with you and help you!
Well, i would say it is very important. It might sound something so obvious to some people, but for me i didn't really
know the importance of gaining experience while you are in school. In Mongolia, where i came from, you just study hard until you are junior and then you can do an internship. But here, things are pretty different. You have to start volunteering or do internship from your freshman year. I find that the local students start volunteering and doing internship in their junior or senior in high school. As you get closer to graduate, and if you don't have any
experience then things get fuzzier.
Right now i am in that position. It is extremely hard to find a good internship without relevant work experience. So in
order to avoid being in such situation, let's start earning experience as soon as possible!!
You can go to Career and Community Learning Center at 345 Fraser Hall, www.cclc.umn.edu . They can help you with finding a volunteering opportunity in the twin Cities areas. personally i think that volunteering is a very good start! Good luck!
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 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. ;)
After about one month of homework, simple assignments and reports due, I had my first midterm this previous week....!