International student advisor Megan wrote to our Glossary of Confusing Words to suggest the following:

I’m an international student advisor, and I’ve noticed that new students generally have no idea what a university catalog is. This would be a great addition to your glossary!

We asked our current bloggers, and even they were unsure what a catalog is.  Nareg got the closest, suggesting, “Is it a prospectus?” Sort of.

A university catalog (or college catalog) is an official publication that contains all the information a current or prospective student might need about academics and student services at a university.  

It usually contains information about academic requirements, grading policies, calendars, tuition rates, and, probably most importantly, it lists all the programs and courses available at a university.

It’s basically like the big guide to academic and official student life at a university.
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You know what they say, “When it rains it pours.” Well, they also say, “From feast to famine.” After last week’s overwhelming roster of online events, there’s precious little to share this week. But we did what we could!

As always, if you attend any of these events, report back and let us know what you learned! (Use the comments, the Facebook page or just email me – jstahl@voanews.com). And also please share any online events you’ve found that we haven’t.

Coming up next week:

May 2

Beat the GMAT: How Braden Got into Duke Fuqua
6pm US eastern time
More details: http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/events
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We were lamenting just last week that it’s difficult to find statistics on acceptance rates for international applicants at American universities, and the New York Times must have heard our cries.  This week they published international admissions statistics for 8 U.S. universities.  You can take a look at the numbers on their India Ink blog.
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Simba’s impassioned post yesterday (On Being an African in the US: Navigating an Endless Web of Stereotypes) has generated a lot of discussion around the impact of negative stereotypes, and how to begin to change them.

It was clear that Simba wasn’t alone in encountering negative stereotypes while living overseas – and that America isn’t the only country in which they exist.  Mada remembered what it was like to go to the U.K on a working holiday visa:

I remember one colleague used to come to me to give me updates on the wars going on in various places in africa and enquired on whether my relatives were ok. I told him several times the country I came from , Malawi had never experienced civil wars but this never got to him, to him africa was one big kingdom where everyone was related. I also remember how people didnt think I knew anything about computers but they later found out that I was more knowledgeable than them…

Commenter river_song (great name!) wrote on Reddit about an African friend in the U.S.:

I asked my best friend once what the most annoying thing that he’d had to deal with. He said what really upset him the most was how, to most people, there was just “Africa” and all the accompanying stereotypes or assumptions that go with it. There’s a huge variety of living experiences, quality of living, social and cultural heritages and political histories that no one considered. He said he hates the fact that to many people here, it’s like Africa was just one big homogenous place with tons of problems. Instead, it’s hundreds of different nations, tribes, cultures, cities, villages, towns, and people.

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Harare, Zimbabwe. Would an American know that this is Africa? (Creative Commons photo by Flickr user Martin Addison)

During my first week in the United States, I went to lunch with a group of American students to whom I had just been introduced. Pleasantries were being exchanged around the room, as was some great food and conversation. Everyone was immersed in those typical introductory conversations that revolve around hometowns, majors, dorm choices and so on.

Someone then brought up the excellent idea that it would be a great thing if we could all share our Facebook usernames so that we could contact each other in the future. With everyone agreeing that this was indeed a brilliant suggestion, a piece of paper was circulated around the room by a girl who we shall refer to as Girl X.

Girl X went around the table and collected everyone’s details, and then just as I was about to append my own username to the list, Girl X snatched up the piece of paper from my grasp and haughtily declared: “Oh wait, you don’t have Facebook in Zimbabwe, right?”

As soon as those words penetrated my body, my appetite evaporated completely. I was stunned and disappointed. Not just by Girl X’s tragic assumption that being African somehow disqualified me from knowing what Facebook was, but also by the emphatic assuredness and certainty in her tone.

In her mind, she was absolutely convinced that my being African automatically made me technologically inept, and had extrapolated that assumption to reach the conclusion that I obviously had never used the internet, never mind dared to break new African ground by creating an account on a social networking website.

I quickly realized from that encounter that as an African in the United States, I was going to face a strenuous battle against the barrage of stereotypes that Americans have imbibed about Africa over the years.  The media has conditioned Americans to think of Africa in the context of the exotic. If it’s not wild animals strutting leisurely against the background of picturesque plains, it’s mud huts, famished children, wars or despotic rulers.
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We’re searching the web to find webinars and other online events of interest to prospective international students. Check here each Friday to find out what’s coming up in the next week.  This coming week is a particularly packed one for webinars and college fairs!

Your end of the bargain? If you attend, report back and let us know what you learned! (Use the comments, the Facebook page or just email me – jstahl@voanews.com). And also please share any online events you’ve found that we haven’t.

Reminder:

April 18

Hobsons: Virtual College Fair – Latin America
More details: http://hobsonsevents.com/

Coming up next week:

April 23

GMAC: GMAT Information Session
8am, 9am and 8:30 pm US eastern time
More details: http://www.fulbright.be/2012/03/10/april-23-24-gmat-information-sessions/
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There are currently 6 universities and colleges in America that offer need-blind admissions and full-need financial aid – that means they don’t consider financial need when deciding whether to admit their undergraduates, and will give admitted students enough financial aid to meet their need.

[Read about different types of financial aid]

Those schools are:

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
2. Harvard University
3. Princeton University
4. Yale University
5. Dartmouth College
6. Amherst College

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America is a country where you can find incredible diversity, but also racial and cultural prejudices.  In their time as international students, our bloggers have confronted stereotypes about their own country and had their own preconceptions about other countries challenged.

Like we did last year, and earlier this year, a bunch of us hopped on the phone over the weekend to chat about whatever was on our mind about studying in the U.S.  But this time, the conversation turned in particular to racial and ethnic issues, driven by this question that we received on our Facebook page:

What is your view to the relationship between Asian students and black American students?

We ended up having a wide-ranging discussion about stereotypes and prejudices – both the ones we’ve encountered and the ones we hold ourselves.  In particular, Simba and Alex discussed the negative or uninformed perception of Africans in America, and the responsibility of African students to help change the narrative.

Take a listen and then share your own opinion.  What stereotypes have you had to confront about people from your country? Have you ever had your own misconceptions about another culture challenged?

Or listen to the mp3

Well, admissions decisions have been out for a few weeks, and apparently they were more competitive this year than ever before.  But just how competitive, and what does it mean for someone hoping to apply in the next few years?

The New York Times has compiled a list of this year’s admissions statistics for some of the country’s top colleges, chronicling the number of applications received and number admitted from that pool, and comparing this year’s admissions rate to last year’s:

2012 Admissions Decisions (New York Times)
more…

Unfortunately, a similar list does not exist just for international student admissions (or, not as far as @fulbrightfrance and I know).

UPDATE: The New York Times has now released a version of their acceptance rate chart for international students! Take a look:
2012 International Admissions (New York Times)
more…
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We’ve talked a lot about why Chinese and American students often don’t form close relationships on campus.  We’ve asked whether one side or the other is to blame, which cultural differences might have an impact, and even whether the admissions process has a role to play in improving relationships.

Dandan, who is from China and coming to the end of a one-year exchange program in the U.S., has her own opinions on the matter.  Her close friendships at school have mostly been with other Asian students, but its her close relationship with American friend Maya that is most revealing as to where some of the cultural differences lie.

Listen to our candid discussion as Dandan discusses why she prefers the concept of friendship in China, and what she’s learned about friendship in America.  Do you agree with her ideas on friendship? Can the cultural differences be overcome?

Or listen to the mp3
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We’re searching the web to find webinars and other online events of interest to prospective international students. Check here each Friday to find out what’s coming up in the next week.

Your end of the bargain? If you attend, report back and let us know what you learned! (Use the comments, the Facebook page or just email me – jstahl@voanews.com). And also please share any online events you’ve found that we haven’t.

Coming up next week:

April 18

EducationUSA: Maintaining Your Student Visa Status
12pm US eastern time
More details: http://www.educationusa.info/edusa_connects/
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Two Chinese graduate students at the University of Southern California were shot and killed Wednesday, in what CBS reports appeared to be an attempted carjacking.

Hundreds of students turned out to a candlelight vigil to mourn Ming Qu and Ying Wu, who were both 23 years old and studying electrical engineering.

Photos of the vigil:

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Vladimir applied to college in the U.S. from Bosnia this year.  While not his favorite part of the process, he says taking the SATs gave him a certain sense of satisfaction.  This is his story of preparing for and taking that often-dreaded exam.

I remember exactly how I felt filling in the last bubble on my last SAT, the SAT II Chemistry. Oh, how I enjoyed filling in that bubble. The feeling of coming to the end of that long journey was simply overwhelming.

This is how it all began.

I took the SAT Reasoning (SAT I) in June 2011. I had to travel to Sarajevo, 7 hours away, since it is the only city where I could have taken the exam in my country.

I prepared for it; not as nearly as I planned to, but I did practice and learn. As a non-native speaker, the writing and reading sections were the most demanding.

First advice, don’t even think of taking it before preparing at least for a month from the SAT prep books. There are so many tricks and tips I would never have thought of, but when I started taking the practice tests and compared them with the diagnostic test (there is always a diagnostic test at the beginning of those books that show you how you would do without any preparation, and which are your trouble-zones), the difference was obvious.
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Someone recently submitted the phrase “undergraduate-focused institution” to our Glossary of Confusing Words, saying:

It might be confusing to spanish students because it’s not commen in spanish

So, what does it mean if a college or university says it is “undergraduate-focused”?

First of all, an undergraduate is someone who is pursuing an associate’s degree or a bachelor’s degree (what are those?).  This is the level of education that comes after high school.

An undergraduate-focused institution, then, is a school that puts all or most of its attention on undergraduate education.  This type of school either only enrolls undergraduate students, or has only a few small graduate programs.  Undergraduate-focused institutions tend to be smaller liberal arts colleges.

The opposite would be a school where the graduate program is as large or larger than the undergraduate program, and faculty focus on research as well as teaching (you might hear this referred to as a research institution).
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