by Bob Hooker with help from Elizabeth Hooker, Guimei (Christina) Zhai and Gao Tong (Michelle)

 Students study a lot  Students don’t party all night  Most students are not rich  Borrow money for college  Work part time jobs  Campuses are safe

 Colleges  Undergraduate only – BA, BS  Four years (no three-year colleges)  Universities  Undergraduate – BA, BS  Graduate – MA, MS, PhD  Professional - Law, Medicine, Business, etc.

 Public (state) colleges & universities  Get much of their money from state governments  Generally cost less to attend  Private colleges & universities  Non-government  Many have religious affiliations  Generally cost more  Usually non-profit

 Colleges and universities are all different  Many exceptions to just about everything  You MUST do your own research  This presentation can only give you  Things to think about  Questions to ask

 Take TOEFL or IELTS  Research colleges and universities  Take SAT/ACT if required  Apply to schools you qualify for  Transcripts  Letters of recommendation may be required  Essays may be required

 Take TOEFL or IELTS  Research colleges and universities  Take GRE, GMAT, etc., as required  Apply to schools you qualify for  Transcripts  Letters of recommendation  Personal essay

 Scholarships  Full or partial  Work-study - undergraduate  Assistantships - graduate  Grants  Student loans  Fellowships  Some popular majors don’t give scholarships

 You are completely free to choose your major  Begin as a liberal arts student  Choose your major later  Many change majors at least once  Also choose a minor or a second major

 You have your own schedule  Classmates are different for every class  Meet three hours a week per course  About class hours per week  2-3 hours of homework for each hour in class

 Required courses:  Core courses in liberal arts such as English, math, science  Courses in your major  Electives:  Choice of other courses, but …  you must have them in certain areas

 Mostly freshmen-sophomore undergrad  Hundreds in a lecture hall  Followed by smaller (~20 students) lab sections led by grad students

 in a class  Preparation: reading assignments  Textbooks  Professional journals  Come to class prepared to:  Listen to lectures  Discuss topics  Ask questions

 Upper level undergraduate and graduate  ~ 5 students in class  Preparation: reading assignments  Original source material  Professional journals  Come to class prepared to:  Discuss topics  Ask questions

 You are expected to participate!  You should:  Read and think about the topics  Form opinions  Express your opinions in class  “Show yourself!”

 Professors have their own grading systems  Your grade can be a combination of:  Tests  Papers  Attendance  Participation  etc.

 You must do the work!  If you don’t, you can flunk out (fail)  Plagiarism, “copying,” is not tolerated.

 No “lights out“ or curfew  Two students per room  Showers in dorm building  Men and women share dorm buildings  Different floors  Separate bathrooms  Men and women can visit each other  PS: Don’t call students “boys” and “girls!”

 Many universities dorms are only for freshmen  You will find you own housing off-campus  Get help from:  Housing office  International students office  Chinese student groups  Find out from the university

 Competition between universities  Sometimes travel long distances  Most universities have several sports teams  Some have famous teams that make a lot of money and have large stadiums

 Competitions between teams on campus  Something like sports days, but more often  Not during class time

 Great for developing skills & meeting people  Types of student organizations:  Intramural sports  International students  Religious: Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, etc.  Music: dance, band, chorus, etc.  etc.

 You must make an effort!  Join clubs  Go to sports events  Get a part time job  Don’t spend too much time with other Chinese.  Or you can live in America for years and never meet an American. It’s up to you!

 Culture shock  Culture bumps  Isolation and loneliness  Skype  QQ

 Claudia  Evelyn  Michelle  Andy

 English major  Shengda College Zhengzhou  Boston University  Masters in Accounting

 Marine Science  TUST  Miami University  Masters in Marine Technology

 Journalism major  United International College, Zhuhai  University of Missouri  Bachelors of Journalism

 English major  Shengda College Zhengzhou  Teaching Chinese America