A mother from Kazakhstan wrote to us to suggest we add the word “scholarship” to our Glossary of Confusing Words. As we talked more, it turned out the meaning of the word “scholarship” had been important for her – her two children went to college in the U.S. Here’s her story about what she learned about finding scholarship money, and why her experience sending her daughter to college led her to change her approach when it came time for her son to apply.

Things that don't exist: financial aid in a bag (Photo: CC by Flickr user p373)

“We have explored two different aid achieving paths, both, though, based on the kids academic success and our relatively low income.

Our daughter studied in a state university (her SAT was not very good to apply to better schools), and we paid her tuition in full initially, while she was earning excellent grades in the university. Then she applied for financial aid in her school and got a 50% discount and a decent scholarship deducted from the discounted tuition, so the remaining part was three times less than her initial tuition.

» Not all schools provide this option. Find out how financial aid policies can differ.

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In this video, recorded by the U.S. Embassy in Harare, two Zimbabwean students discuss the experience of being black in America:

Having lived in the U.S. for two years now, I have been experienced many firsts, but none of them compare to the first I experienced last week – my first Valentine’s Day. Well, the first Valentine’s Day I actually got to celebrate, anyway.

It is hard to believe that my first big day romance-wise happened in a country that I am not from and with a guy who is not Chinese. But I think it just made the whole thing fun, cool and memorable.

My friends were so surprised that at 24 years old I had never had a real Valentine’s Day, but I am pretty sure I am not alone (please LEAVE COMMENTS below if this year was also your first V-Day!).

Last Valentine’s Day, my friend told me not to be sad that I didn’t have anyone to celebrate with – when the time is right, it will exceed all your expectations. And he was right.

So let’s go back to talking about the big V-Day date, and chatting about some points that I think are interesting to share.

Having “the talk”

Before V-Day this year, my boyfriend and I had been dating for a couple of months, and we were right at the point of “defining the relationship.” We had a big, formal talk over dinner one night to discuss where we were in this relationship and where it should be going, and this talk basically determined if we would celebrate Valentine’s Day together.
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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)

Coming up next week:

February 27

Kaplan: The Tough Stuff (GRE)
9:30pm US eastern time
More details: http://www.kaptest.com/enroll/GRE/20008
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Yale University Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Jeffrey Brenzel has written some advice to applicants about how to choose among their college acceptances – and how to feel about the rejections.  It’s worth reading while you wait to hear back on your applications.  He writes:

After years of experience, however, here is what I know, virtually to the point of certainty: almost nothing depends on exactly which strong college admits you. Everything depends on what you decide to do once you get to a strong college, and how well prepared you are to take advantage of the infinite opportunities you will find there.

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Recently we defined the word “credit” in our ever-growing Glossary of Confusing Words as:

…units used to measure the contribution that an academic course makes towards attaining your degree.  Universities require you to take a certain number of credits to graduate, and a certain number of credits each semester to maintain your status as a full-time student.

Ricardo came back at us with a request to define the word “course” as well.  It’s not the first time one of our definitions has led to even more questions, and we’re happy to oblige!

Course

A course is the same thing as a class.
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What do American students think about their international classmates? Do they like them, shun them or feel indifferent?

Our bloggers have shared their own experiences making friends in the U.S., and most said that American students are eager to learn about foreign countries and customs. Nareg wrote, for example:

I am happy to say that outright discrimination or prejudice have never been a problem for me. What I have noted most of all is plain ignorance, simply a lack of information on other cultures, religions, and traditions, a gap which I am always more than happy to close when it comes to things pertaining to Armenians.

Jamal wrote, “I found that people wanted to know about Kyrgyzstan’s geography and culture, and in particular, people were curious if Kyrgyz culture is similar to Europe’s, or to the Asian culture instead.”

But while talking to Americans and getting to know each other is easy, forming lasting friendships has proved harder for some of our bloggers. We’ve heard plenty of great stories about American students sharing their Thanksgiving and Christmas traditions with their international student friends, but we’ve also been told that international students tend to hang out with other international students. And both Tara and Qian, who are from China, said that they find certain aspects of American social life offputting. According to Tara:

…the culture differences between Asia and America is bigger than I expected – generally, I do not think people gathering together just to drink is fun, and from my personal perspective, I do have much interest to join the so-called American parties.

So what’s the truth? We need YOU to help us find out.
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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)

Coming up next week:

February 21

EducationUSA: Lowering the Cost of Undergraduate Study
12 noon US eastern time
More details: http://www.educationusa.info/edusa_connects/

Kaplan: Law School Personal Statement Workshop
7pm US eastern time
More details: http://www.kaptest.com/enroll/LSAT/10583/events
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Acceptance letters (Creative commons photo by Flickr user Adrian Ho)

One thing I learned when I was applying to U.S. universities is that standing out to the admissions committee requires much more than good test scores.  The most competitive candidates will all have well beyond average SAT and TOEFL scores, outstanding recommendation letters, and thoughtful essays.  But even that won’t guarantee them a spot at their first choice school.

So what can make your application special?  I had good SAT scores, a decent TOEFL score and good grades, but I think what put my application ahead of some others is that I showed a passion.

My passion has always been for social issues – bringing people from around the world together to empower young people, and especially young women.  Everyone has a passion, and when the admissions committee can see that about you, it makes you stand out.  The trick is to demonstrate that passion in a way that admissions officers can actually see.

Here are some suggestions of how to do that from my own experience.
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Following my life principle that life is to learn and to do, I love taking part in volunteer activities for a better society. And U.S schools seem to have lots of opportunities, both on and off campus.

Last week, I volunteered with my classmates at an event called “Anaheim Ducks First Flight Field Trip” for high school students in Orange County. This event is to help educate students through hands-on exhibits and displays, workbook activities, and (best of all) live instruction by hockey experts – the Anaheim Ducks player and coaches.

I was assigned with Sherry, a Taiwanese international student, to run an activity that teaches students how to concentrate through playing a ball-passing game. Though I lost my voice instructing the game for the hundreds of kids who visited my booth on that day, it made me so happy to see the laughter and happiness on the kids’ faces. I myself smiled a lot and had a fun time too.  Here are some pictures of our day, which culminated with the opportunity to watch a hockey game live in the stadium!

All volunteers gather at 7am in Anaheim Stadium, where the event took place. It was raining on the event day, so the sky was very cloudy and gloomy in the early morning.
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We’ve had a few serious thoughts in the past on being in America for Valentine’s Day, but here are some light-hearted ways to show that special international student how you feel…

1) I’ve got my I-20 and my financial statements ready…

2) But is it a grant or a loan?

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Leighton Meester as Blair Waldorf in Gossip Girl (Photo: AP)

When I was still in China, the only American art or entertainment I knew about was the American soap operas. In fact, I got my initial impression of America from “Criminal Minds,” “Sex and the City,” “Gossip Girl” and so on. Although these soap operas were quite ridiculous, even to my eyes, I still believed that most often they presented what was really going on in America.

These soap operas told me that the crimes in America almost existed everywhere and could be extremely disgusting, that everyone has sex and is open about talking about it, and that people in the Upper East Side were presumptuous and arrogant.

Yet when I came to America, the first lesson I learned from my classmates was that soap operas are not as popular as I expected, at least not amongst college students. Lots of people I know haven’t even watched one episode of those “famous” soap operas.

What is unexpectedly popular among my college classmates (unexpectedly for me, anyway) is theater.
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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)

Coming up next week:

February 15

Beat the GMAT: Business School Interview Workshop
8pm US eastern time
More details: http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/events
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What happens if you lie on your application?  We found out one possible answer recently, when it emerged that UCLA’s MBA program has rejected 52 applicants already this year for plagiarizing their admissions essays.  BusinessWeek reported that nearly 20 other business schools are using the same software that allowed UCLA to root out the plagiarized essays.

Another answer comes from a discussion on Q&A site Quora, where users are talking about what happens if you lie about your ethnicity.
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