Going off to college for the first time might seem like a scary thing, especially when you are an international student. Getting used to a new environment can be a big adjustment, but don’t let that scare you because chances are your school has a variety of resources available to help ease your transition—academically, culturally, and socially. Here are some to check out.
Here are 8 useful resources that will surely make your transition into a breeze!
1. International Student Office – This is probably the most useful and important office for you during your four-year college career. Here, advisors can help you with issues regarding visa and immigration, and provide you with other useful on-campus resources in other areas.
2. Student Health Center – Usually every university has a student health center on campus to provide students with health care services. Student may go there for check-ups, treatments and vaccinations at a low/reduced rate.
3. Your Professors – Don’t ever think that professors are only available when you are in class! In most colleges, professors have office hours where they can provide you with extra help and go over things that you did not understand in class.
4. The School Library – There is no place like the school library when you need to find a place to study, gather study resources, make copies from text books and many more. The library has the biggest online database and the librarian can easily become your best friend because they can help you locate almost any book or article through the database.
5. Your Academic Advisor – Your academic advisor is will help in counseling you when it comes to academic issues and such, like a parent would. They will help you to map out a plan for the courses that you need to take for your entire college career. They can advise you on what courses to take, how to do a double major and how to stay on track for graduation.
6. The Counseling Center – It is common for international students to experience culture shock, feeling of loneliness and or frustration with school work. In this case, students should visit the counseling center, where counselors can talk to you and give you advice on how to reduce your stress.
7. The Writing Center – The writing center is one of the most useful places for students who are struggling with the English language. Here, the staff will help you on your English writing skills, improve your essays and provide you one on one tutoring time, which will make your transition to the new educational environment smoother.
8. The School Gym – If you want to stay in shape and avoid the expensive monthly fee for fitness clubs, why not go exercise in the school’s gym? The school gym has all the equipment that an outside fitness center would have, and it won’t cost a cent! Most schools even have swimming pools and saunas.
Transitioning into the U.S. might seem difficult at first, especially when you are entering a new stage in life, college. Therefore, there’s nothing more important than being able to take advantage of the things around you, since you are entitled to many more things than just your books and credits. The campus is a great place to make friends, study and even get into shape!
At the same time, don’t forget to stay insured under an insurance plan, since there is nothing more important than having a safety to fall back to in the U.S. You may visit www.isoa.org for affordable insurance plans for international students.
