One of the greatest perks about studying abroad is the experiences students receive for the first time. Whether it would be your first time eating an apple pie, attending a rock concert, or seeing New York City.  Here at Al Jamiat, we are interested in hearing about your firsts and what they were like!
Manojkumar Mangalchand Shah (Manoj Shah for short) is a student at New Mexico Highland’s University, studying for his MBA in Accounting.  Originally from India, take a look at a couple of Manoj Shah’s first experiences here in the …

You received your admissions letter and hopefully a generous financial package.  I can imagine the immense excitement that you are experiencing. However, this excitement is shadowed by a feeling of concern and numerous unanswered questions spinning around your head.

Orientation
As a first year student you are most probably going to be required to come earlier than the upperclassmen for orientation. This is may be one of the most entertaining times of your university life and you should take full advantage of it. The couple of days of orientation are …

After five years of college, and living in the dorm both in the U.S. and abroad, I’ve learned a little bit about how to deal with roommates.
My first roommate, in Salzburg, Austria, was a French girl, who spoke better English than I did. She was pretty cool, and very nice. A bit of a neat-freak, but we got along ok. I kept my mess hidden in a corner between my bed, the wall, and my desk and she didn’t say anything when it sometimes snuck out of its corner. Left …

Whazzup? How’s it going? Sup, Dawg?
If you are not sure what the above statements mean, you are not alone. Each year, international students like you master the English language only to discover, upon arrival in the United States, that they cannot follow all of the conversations that involve them. The reason: English as a Second Language (ESL) programs cannot adequately prepare them for the dizzying array of slang, idioms and colloquialisms that color everyday speech in America.
“Students can feel lost in conversations,” says Mark Algren, Language Specialist at the Applied …

As Saned Raouf has discovered in his freshman year at Yale University…