Education

Celebrating Christmas as an Exchange Student in the USA

December 12, 2018 by Chiranth Nataraj

Christmas is a beautiful time of the year. For many, it is a time to spend with family and friends, eat great food, and exchange gifts. However, for an international student studying in the United States, Christmas can be difficult. Plane ticket prices are high, so many students opt to spend their holiday away from their respective countries. However, there are ways to brighten the holiday up if you are an international student.

christmas

Find Out How Americans Celebrate Christmas

As you discover how Americans celebrate Christmas, it may surprise you to find out that many of the Christmas traditions in the U.S. are not much different from those in your native country. You will notice that Americans enjoy preparing food and gathering with family and friends for their Christmas dinner. Some attend church on Christmas Eve while others prefer to stay home. Decorations for Christmas trees and homes are a tradition as is baking cookies.

Staying on Campus

Although many international students go home for Christmas, there are students just like you who remain on campus for Christmas. Perhaps it is time to get together with some fellow students on campus and enjoy this time together? Chances are they are as confused as you are regarding the holiday so why not reach out to them and plan a fun time. Many universities plan Christmas events for students remaining on campus for Christmas so check to see if your school has anything planned. Take the initiative and schedule a Christmas dinner or party for other students staying on campus. Each person can prepare a dish or share a Christmas tradition. Enjoying each other’s company will help in easing the loneliness felt by being away from home.

Take a Christmas Trip

This Christmas could be the perfect time to visit a place you have always wanted to go. A fun trip is an ideal way to spend a memorable Christmas while staying too busy to be homesick. A snowy ski resort, shopping in a major city like New York, or even lying on a beach are all great ways to spend your Christmas away from home. No matter which destination you choose, chances are you will find festive celebrations and good times all over the country.

Go Home With a Friend

As you attend a university, remember that it is the ideal time to make friends with other international and native students. There may be an invitation to spend Christmas with a friend’s family. This invitation is an opportunity to experience new cultural traditions. Not to mention an incredible experience for an international student who has never celebrated Christmas.

Help Someone in Need

Spending Christmas away from home is lonely, and so is spending Christmas on the streets. Life is challenging for the homeless in America and this time of the year only magnifies feelings of isolation and despair. Volunteering this Christmas by helping those who are less fortunate is a fantastic way to spread the spirit of Christmas to all. Food and a place to sleep is something many of us take for granted, but for the homeless, it is the best gift they can receive. Just a few hours of your time could make a person’s entire year. Check in with your local community shelters for information about ways to help the less fortunate this Christmas.

Take Care of Yourself

As an international exchange student, you may find yourself in need of help. The last thing you want to do for your first Christmas abroad is to get sick. Not only will an illness put a stop to your fun time, but it may also cause financial strain. However, if you do become ill, exchange scholar health insurance can help you. J visa insurance provides illness and accident expense protection, can help you locate a doctor, and can pay for the treatment. Check out and be aware of what your health insurance policy covers.

Christmas is coming, and hopefully, your Christmas away from home will be unique. Whether you choose to stay on campus celebrating with friends, take that dream trip, or help those who desperately need help, make this holiday a memorable one. Merry Christmas!

Key things to know about education loan for study abroad

May 17, 2018 by Chiranth Nataraj

Many lenders today offer education loans that will enable you to get an education abroad. If you are a student and have wanted to live in another country and learn about their way of life and customs, this could be the ideal situation for you. Each lender will have different qualifications and some loans are better than others, so looking over the terms and comparing study abroad loans before signing is very important.

education loan

Two Types of Loans

Loans from the federal government of the United States are quite straightforward. Everything is spelled out rather clearly, but you still need to know what to expect. Before applying, you will need to find out if the school you are applying to will accept that type of loan – some do not.

Federal Student Loans

The government offers three types of student loans: Stafford Loans, PLUS Loans, and Perkins Loans. In order to start the loan process, it is necessary to fill out the FAFSA application. You also want to start applying months in advance of the date you want the loan, because there is a lot of paperwork to fill out. Each loan is different and you will need to determine which government student loan you qualify for.

Stafford Loans – These loans are given to students who have financial need. Stafford Loans are available as a loan in which the government pays the interest while the student is in school (subsidized), or as a loan that starts accumulating interest right away (unsubsidized).

PLUS Loans – These Federal loans provide money for graduate studies. PLUS loans are available to students, to parents of undergraduate students, and to professional students.

Perkins Loans – This government loan provides money for needy students for college or career schools. Perkins loans are low interest, but not every school offers them.

Private Loans

The private loan industry will differ considerably from government education loans. This difference requires that you look carefully at the documents before getting the loan. The things that you want to look at include:

The Interest Rate:

This is the rate of interest you are going to pay each year on the loan. The interest rate may be either fixed or adjustable. The rate on private loans is apt to be higher than Federal loans, but compare rates to be sure you are getting a good one. Find out what the average is and watch out for rates that are much higher than that. When rates are too high, it can make repayment difficult.

The Repayment Period

Some lenders will expect payments to be made each month after you take out the loan. This can be a problem if you are overseas, and are not allowed to work there without special permission. Other lenders will allow you to not pay anything until after you graduate, but may require payments to start immediately. Federal loans have the advantage of not requiring any repayments until six months after completing your degree.

The amount of time that you have to repay your student loan will also vary with lenders. The Federal government will give you up to 10 years to repay a loan, but private lenders will offer varying periods – possibly even half that time.

Co-signer May Be Required

Many lenders are apt to require a co-signer on a study abroad loan. The co-signer will be required to live in the United States and must be financially able to repay the loan. Those qualified may include parents, a spouse, guardians, siblings, and parents in laws.

Personal Qualifications

Before applying for a student loan to go overseas, you will need to meet two basic qualifications. It will be necessary to have good grades at an American college, and good credit.

If you do not have any credit yet, you can establish some by applying for a credit card. If you do not already have a good credit score, you will want to get one right away, and do it several months prior to sending in your application. Your credit score will be looked at before you are given a loan to ensure that you are likely to pay it back.

Many lenders will require that you come up with a percentage of the cost of going overseas to study. It may be around 10 percent, or more. You also need to be sure that you have money for a good health insurance policy that is accepted in the country you are going to, as well as for books, food, housing, etc.

Insurance for Your Loan

Students can unexpectedly die just as easily as anyone else. If there is a co-signer on your student loan to go abroad, it is a very good idea for you, or for the co-signers to get a life insurance policy on the student for the amount of the loan. This way, if the student does die, the co-signers (or the spouse) are not in debt for the loan, which could place them in serious financial straits for many years. These loans are inexpensive and will be well worth it, if a death should occur.

It is equally important for students to get health insurance as healthcare costs abroad are significantly higher than domestic expenses. It protects students from financial burden if an unexpected illness/ injury should happen.

Investigate Carefully

Although there are many good lenders out there, not everyone offering student loans is honest. There are many scams out there, but sticking to a major well-known lender may be a good idea. If you choose to go with a lender that is unheard of, be sure to learn more about them first.

Study abroad student loans are available to students who qualify. They can offer you the opportunity of a lifetime for a unique learning experience and provide you with fun at the same time.

Tips for international students to establish a good credit score

October 12, 2017 by Chiranth Nataraj

Having good credit is incredibly important in modern U.S. society. It impacts nearly every phase of life. Would you like to purchase a car? You will need good credit. Want to apply for an apartment or rent a house? You will likely be subjected to a credit check. And If you hope to eventually buy a home, you will definitely need a good credit score.

credit score

Understanding that is easy, but building credit can be challenging, especially if you are an international student. However there is hope. Here are some tips to help international students build their credit scores.

One great first step is to get a credit card. There are many banks that will issue a credit card with a small limit (perhaps under two thousand dollars) to students. Use the card – but try not to max it out – and make your payments on time or early. Each time you pay your card, you are helping your credit score. Demonstrating that you can handle a small amount of credit responsibly will help show other creditors that you are worth lending larger amounts of money to as well.

Which one is right for you? The answer will be different for each person. You will want to learn the differences between secured and unsecured credit cards, and what terms like APR mean (and how they affect your choice of card). Applying for a credit card is certainly not something you want to do without investing some time in research first.

However the process of determining the best fit is made easier by technology. We live in an age where every product and service is reviewed online, and credit cards are no exception. You can compare different credit card offers so you can make the right choice when applying.

Something else to keep in mind is that credit history is built through reporting with the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Make sure that before you apply for a credit card, you know that it reports to those agencies. Otherwise, the payments you make will not help build your score in the way that you intend.

You will also need a social security number in order to begin building your credit score. Pretty much every major thing you will want to do in life in the United States from getting a loan to paying taxes to getting a job. It serves as an official record tying all of your activities as a citizen together for the government, banks, employers, and other groups. You can follow the steps found here to obtain one if you have not done so already.

Holding down a job while studying can be difficult, particularly if you are an international student who is also worrying about fitting into a new country and learning about a new culture. But earning money is important to building your credit score. The more income you are able to show that you reliably earn, the more likely your chances of being able to secure a loan when you need it later on in life.

You should also make certain to open a bank account. As with a credit card, one of the best ways to prove to creditors that you can handle money is to actually handle money. Opening a bank account, preferably a checking account, will give you a chance to build some financial history.

You will need to be careful in selecting a bank account, as you need to avoid accounts that charge annual fees or other charges. Having a checking account will also make it easier to make your payments on the credit card you will need (as mentioned earlier).

Finally, if you are able to rent a home or apartment while studying, you may be able to report the rent you are paying to the credit reporting agencies yourself. There are a variety of tools available for doing this. As long as you are paying on time, this can be another great way to help build your credit score as an international student.

The process of building credit is essential to starting a future in the United States, but it is not a process that can be completed overnight. But if you follow the various tips we have shared here, you can absolutely expedite the process and find yourself with a good credit score much faster than you would if you did not take steps like opening a bank account or acquiring a credit card. That will then put you on the road to being able to secure larger loans which will make milestones like purchasing your own car or buying your own home more attainable in the near future.

How your US College Application is Evaluated

March 21, 2017 by Chiranth Nataraj

Students from around the globe seek out colleges and universities in the United States to continue their own personal educational opportunities. Why? One reason is that the U.S. has a wide array of schools that specialize in a variety of different educational topics. While most institutions offer the same core areas of study, there are some schools that are known as among the very best in the world in relation to studying medicine, others that are tops among law schools, still others that emphasize journalism, and so on. So by attending one of these schools you can earn a great foundation in all educational topics, but if there is one particular area in which you wish to emphasize so as to further your career prospects, you can do that as well.

For students who wish to build a long term life for themselves in the United States, attending school there is a great way to get that started. Attending university in the U.S. will allow a student to get firsthand experience with the language, culture, and customs to see if it is a good fit for them and to speed up the acclimation process. It can also be a great way to get a head start on becoming a permanent citizen and finding an employer.
All U.S. colleges and universities love to bring in international students from across the globe. It is in a school’s best interest to be able to show that they have a widely diverse pool of attendees, and that they attract the top academic available both in terms of students and professors.

In fact, in 2015 it was reported by NPR that there were 975,000 international students attending schools in the United States. That’s not only a big number, but a fast-rising one as well, as it’s up 10%. If you would like to add yourself to the list, one of the first questions you will need to investigate is how your application to a school in the U.S. will be evaluated.

One important caveat that must be discussed when diving into this topic is that because of the new Presidential regime in the United States, there is much concern about the future of immigration in the country. Because of this, standards around how immigrants are evaluated, even for something temporary as schooling, may change at any point.
Aside from how visitors to the country are evaluated in general, one important consideration for your U.S. college application will be what entrance exams you have taken and how you performed on them. There are two main entrance exams required by universities – the SAT and the ACT. These tests are designed to assess your readiness for university based on a variety of educational competencies. Each school has its own minimum score needed to earn acceptance, so you will need to contact the specific schools you are interested in attending or look on their web sites, as this information is easily found there. Knowing which to take could be confusing, so you can consult this helpful guide from The Princeton Review.

Another consideration that will be important is what type of school you are applying to. Are you applying to an undergraduate program or a graduate program? Graduate programs will be more stringent in their acceptance as they take in fewer students per year since the teaching is focused on a very specific course of study that requires more intensive and intimate teaching.

You may also need letters of recommendation from existing educators, employers, or other trustworthy figures who can vouch for your intellect, work ethic, and character. How many letters of recommendation and from whom will vary by school, as will most other admission requirements.

One final area to think of in reviewing college applications to the United States is your Visa status or the status of your passport. Schools will want to make sure you are eligible to legally attend and there will be no chance of you being deported. For more information on obtaining a Visa or passport as a student, you can read here

Again, each school will differ somewhat in their exact requirements, but the basics of having your application evaluated include taking and scoring well on an entrance exam, obtaining letter of recommendation, knowing which type of school you want to attend, and having your travel documents in order. Aligning those components with the requirements of your desired United States-based college or university is the critical first step to gaining admission.

International Baccalaureate: Pros and Cons

February 21, 2017 by Chiranth Nataraj

Have you heard of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program? This educational program is often shortened to the IB. The International Baccalaureate is studied by students around the world and is a valuable learning resource for young people.

There are many advantages associated with the International Baccalaureate, and some disadvantages to weigh up, too. Find out more about the International Baccalaureate and whether it is a good fit for your students.

What Is An International Baccalaureate Diploma Program?

In the International Baccalaureate program, students split their work into six different courses, with three of these courses taken at the standard level and three courses taken at the higher level. Students pick a subject from each of the course groups numbered one to five, and then they choose a sixth course from group six, or from any of the groups one to five. The learning in the International Baccalaureate is arranged to be able to give students a deep knowledge and breadth of education, focusing across the different groups of study.

Group one is literature, or a language study in the mother tongue. Group two is a foreign language. Group three is a subject from the study of society and individuals, for example business management, psychology, history, or the environment. Group four is science. Group five is math or computing. Group six is the arts, including music and theatre.

The assessment and the core of the International Baccalaureate is made up of an extended essay which is chosen and researched by the student, and which numbers 4,000 words. Theory of Knowledge is a way of assessing that the student is able to pay critical attention to different forms of knowledge such as emotion, language, reason, and perception, as well as different types of knowledge like artistic, and historical. The extra-curricular activity Creativity, Action and Service (CAS) allows students to complete real tasks outside of the classroom. This helps students shape their personalities, and develop new skills within their community.

Advantages of the International Baccalaureate:

Students’ Futures

The International Baccalaureate has long been considered a sound and effective preparation for further study in the US and for working life. Students report being able to deal more effectively with study at university after following the program, as it equips them more soundly for further study than other high school programs. The International Baccalaureate often turns out students who are better rounded, more confident, and more experienced.

Studies show that students completing the International Baccalaureate attain significantly more first class degrees and upper second class degrees in the UK. International Baccalaureate students are more likely to be enrolled in the top universities. And they were more likely to be employed with graduate employers at a better rate of pay than students completing other educational programs.

International Focus

As the name suggests, the International Baccalaureate is designed to be taken by students across the world. This makes it particularly suitable for students who may move countries during their studies, as the IB is recognized by many educational institutions globally. Students get a better, broader view of the world through the program as they are taught about working and living in a global economy.

Transferable Skills

Completing the International Baccalaureate gives students a number of transferable skills which are looked on favorably by employers. These are skills like time management, problem solving, communication, and independent working.

The International Baccalaureate is a rigorous program that gives students many skills in learning to deal with a full workload, which will automatically serve them well when they go to college.

Greater Scope

Children are given the opportunity to develop skills over a broad range of subjects that are otherwise dropped when continuing with another educational program. They continue to get exposure to all parts of the academic stream, and can develop skills in foreign languages while focusing on other areas. The inclusion of the extra input of the creativity, activity, service (CAS) component also ensures that students benefit from a holistic education.

Disadvantages of the International Baccalaureate:

Cost

The International Baccalaureate program is not cheap to run, which means that few schools and institutions run it. It is most often included as an option at paid private schools, which may put it outside the reach of many families.

Access

The fact that there is less choice in schools where the IB program is offered also means that parents may not find a school close to them that allows their students to study the International Baccalaureate. Many of the International Baccalaureate schools are not centrally located or are only located within major cities.