Study in the USA - Student Blog

Wow, as the title of my post today says, I finally took the GRE Psychology… Now I have to wait 6 weeks to get my results (Why does it take long? I still do  not understand) I have studied for about 12 weeks, and I am hoping that my efforts reflect in my results. As graduating time keeps getting closer, (I will hopefully graduate next December 2010) I am researching and researching different graduate programs and different Institutions to pursue my next educational step. I had the opportunity to travel from Missouri to Oklahoma, New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas and back to Missouri. I had the opportunity to check out several Universities and towns to live in for graduate school, and I decided that that area did not match what I was looking for. I had a great time travelling through with my boyfriend and my 6 month old chocolate lab, but none of us three felt the connection. Now, thinking about graduate programs, I am in such a huge debate between a Master’s degree or a Doctoral Program. 2 years-5 years? I really need to decide and try to take this to the next step.

Also, I just submitted one of my research projects to the Midwestern Psychological Association’s 2010 convention. I am crossing my fingers to hopefully get accepted with my research project, and I am really praying to God to help me with the results of my GRE.

Patience…. Patience….. Hmmmmm sounds so easy huh?

“Patience is the companion of wisdom”        St. Augustine 

Wow, It has been a long time since I last wrote… The summer was crazy for me. Fortunately, my mom came from Mexico to see me and stayed with me for a month. My cousin from Florida came to see me as well, and it was just a great time. I was working, and had an internship and at the same time I was taking 9 credits at the University. I have to say that even if I was very busy, the rewards paid it all off.  I will be able to graduate a semester earlier, and I am already planning on applying to Graduate School in Clinical Psychology.  This semester is going by really really fast, and I just can’t catch up with this fast-pacing world.

I don’t know if you have ever heard of the GRE (Graduate Record Examination). It is usually a standardized test required by many graduate programs in the country. They have the general test and the subjects test, which include Psychology. This is the reason I am telling you about it. FI you are planning on taking the GRE plan ahead. You will need to separate some time to simply dedicate on it. I have a 9 week schedule where I have to prepare myself for the GRE Psychology subject test. I want to do well, because it will help me obtain scholarships, making my parents less worried about paying for school. Specially being an International Student, sometimes our currencies are less valuable than the dollar, and what can I say? Back in Mexico, I could make my money be worth more than I can here in the United States. If you are international student and really want to pursue your dreams, and have scholarships that can help you through the process, set your mind to working hard. Usually there are not many international scholarships, and we typically have to pay the equivalent for out-of-state tuition (if we go to a public institution). Do what you need to do to stand out and make yourself marketable.

Today, I am in the process of getting research done in the Psychology Department of my University. I am studying for the GRE, and volunteering at a Safehouse for women. My overall GPA currently is 3.722 and my major GPA is a 4.0. Work hard and don’t give up because this will help you  get to places unimaginable.

If you ever need help regarding the GRE, or any advice in how to stand out in your area let me know. I will definitely try to help you out.

“Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.”

Khalil Gibran

I have been working, doing an internship, and taking classes (3 this summer to be exact) and even though I am super busy and tired most of the time, I think it is a good opportunity for me to keep getting ahead in school. I am a junior now, and after this summer I will have 72 credit hours completed. I might even be able to graduate  semester earlier. I really like the fact of the freedom that I found in the Universities here in the USA, in contrast with Mexican Universities. One of the first things is that in the USA, you take general education courses your first two years and the other two are specialized in your major. This helped me because I was in a completely different major but I changed and I did not fall far behind. On the other hand, in Mexico Iwould have had to stay in the same core (for example if i was in a business major, I would only be able to change majors within the business major options).

Really take advantage of your studies, they are open doors to the future!!!! And for great things sometime we need to sacrifice the time we could have spent at home…

Ok… so by now I have been living in the United States for about 2 years, and I have completed almost 4 semesters in college and I still struggle at the time of the final exams. It takes a lot of dedication and time to be able to concentrate in the final weeks when knowing that summer is right out the door. This time I am staying in the USA for the summer, taking 9 credit hours (3 classes) and working while doing an internship! YES I  AM GOING TO BE SUPER BUSY!

I am excited though, I have to say that throughout these past 2 years I have improved my English in an unimaginable way…specially slang!

Also, today I just found out that I will be getting an scholarship!  I finally feel like trying so hard is worth it! Hopefully I can give back to the world!

Last week, I had the amazing opportunity to participate in an International Panel. You might wonder what it is; well it is a panel with about a 300 people in the audience listening to what International Students have to say about their lives as adolescents in their country before they came to the United States.

This year the countries represented were: Mexico (Me, of course! ), China, Japan, Kenya, Nigeria, the Ivory Coast Panama and Turkey. It was very interesting because even as International Students we learn from each other. For example, I learned that it is very important for Chinese students to do well in their end of high school exam to enter college. Also, my friend from Panama mentioned how in most of Latin America, Catholicism is the religion of choice for about 85% of its population.

There are many different things that people from all around the world can learn from each other. I know for a fact that having this abroad experience is helping me to learn more about different societies even the ones I have never even stepped on. I have grown so much as a person and I expect to keep doing so.

As International students, it doesn’t matter where you are from or where you are, share who you are and represent your country!  

So far, I have never done any summer school in my life. I have to say that it sounds kind of boring, obnoxious and time-consuming.  The truth is that I will be able to accelerate my graduation if I decide to, and I can make up for the classes that I took when I was an accounting major that will not help me now that I am a Psychology major. I am actually very excited about summer classes. Sometimes we think, oh no I would have to stay in school, but maybe you have not considered the fact that sometimes you can take online classes and at the same time go back home. I decided I will take 2 online classes and one class on campus. I feel like concentrating on school is more important than anything else and I will still be able to go to Mexico. I just want you to consider that maybe summer classes is a faster way of getting ahead and sometimes even get rid of the classes we don’t want to spend much time on.

So, make up a plan and organize this summer to fulfill all of your goals (I know…. even if it doesn’t include taking summer classes haha )

I am going to concentrate on getting my classes taken care of, get into an exercise routine, and who knows maybe trying to change the world? Give me ideas!

J

There is something that I have seen happening in my classes that I don’t know if you have experienced. Well, while the professor is giving his lecture and the entire room is quiet, girls or people burp. Not just one class hour but in other class periods as well. I know that in Mexico it is very rude to burp, especially if it is a woman, but even more within a professional setting. None of these girls or anybody in the classroom for that matter seemed like that affected their concentration, or that it was something out of the ordinary. I turned around and tried to notice if anybody had noticed, and it seemed like nobody did.
Again, culture differences…but is it a culture difference or a personal difference?
I was very shocked by that action, and so I started asking questions to people from the same culture if burping in a classroom was normal, and actually many of them said it was rude and definitely not normal. I guess I am still learning about what is and what is not normal in a different society.
Hopefully, it will get easier with time.
If you have any other experiences like these, feel free to comment on them. Maybe you can help me to understand better if it was a cultural difference of a personal one.

I am in the Dallas/Ft. Worth airport waiting for my connecting flight, just 2 hours and 35 min away from seeing my parents. My spring break began on Friday and will last until Sunday, March 22nd. I am so excited about seeing my parents, my brother, and my house, eat the food I know and SPEAK MY LANGUAGE!
So many things have happened lately… I have been progressing a lot in my new major (Psychology), I have been working a lot, studying a lot, I have been trying to adapt to this whole new country still, even after 2 years of moving here. Things certainly get easier to understand, especially when talking about culture differences and habits, but sometimes it is not easy, sometimes the melancholy comes back and we miss home and wish we were back there.
As international students, we need to be stronger and try to overcome the obstacles that we face. And just remember, home will always be there, represent it!

There are thousands of miles away from where I am to home, which sometimes makes it hard for that time of the year when we become one year older. My birthday was yesterday and different from Mexico. Usually in Mexico, my family would have woken me up at midnight of my birthday with a cake singing me the Happy Birthday song. This year I was lucky enough to have my boyfriend celebrate it with me. Also, I got friends together to celebrate at this place downtown where poeple can go dancing.

If you feel melancholic, sad or homesick when that time of the year comes around, try to get people to accompany you. Try to get some friends, other international friends like you and try celebrating it in a new original way. Just make it memorable. Transitions are never easy, but who knows maybe you’ll have the time of your life!

We always think or kind of prepare ourselves to the changes we may encounter when we face a different atmosphere than the one we are used to. Well, I have to say that for me, even after one year and a half of living in a different country, I am still not used to the changes of weather, or how to manage my money very well in dollars coming from using another currency my entire life. There are many things that can give us cultural shocks, but it is up to us whether to make it a big shock or a small one.
I know that changing schools was a big thing for me, it helped me to be stronger and open towards meeting new people, but sometimes it feels like everybody is already in a group making it harder for someone else to go in. But, it is not as hard. Actually many people knowing that you are from another country feel curiosity about your origins, and sometimes even see you as exotic.
Another thing that can provoke a shock in us is the dramatic change of weather. These last couple of days, there was an ice-snow storm which was going to be the biggest in 15 years in the state of Missouri. It was literally raining ice, and you could hear sounds outside the window like little pieces of rocks hitting it, of course it was the ice. It started accumulating to the point where the University had to shut down for two days, and it didn’t help that after the ice storm it started snowing.
As international students, sometimes we can find obstacles but hey, anyone can beat them and overcome them to make of studying abroad an unforgettable experience.