FAQs for Students Starting School in the US: What to wear, where to live, how to study, and much more | Voice of America - English
We know it's not always that easy to find things on our site (sorry :/ ), but over the past three years we've covered just about anything an incoming student might need to know, from life in the dorms to getting along with Americans to how to avoid a plagiarism charge. Here are some of what we consider the must-read stories for anyone about to start their first year in the U.S.
"Always ask questions, otherwise you don?t get what you want ? or at least, otherwise people won?t know what you want." From: From: "To live with another family and make all the compromises to your lifestyle is tough. To rent an apartment, whether alone or together, requires a lot." From: "My high school Chinese teacher always reminded us to not tell readers everything, but rather to leave space for their ?reconstruction? of our words. This does not work in the U.S., where you are expected to be very explicit in making your arguments and not make assumptions without fully explaining them." From: I couldn?t say anything. I couldn?t remember the word: raisin. I felt my face was burning, but I also knew I had to cope with the problem. " From: "The U.S. education style is definitely more interactive; in most courses, class participation counts toward your final marks." From: "In my three years at a Russian university, I did less reading assigned as homework than I have to do in one year here at my American college." From: "Part of being a star pupil is ... the personality skills that let you put yourself out there taking risks. Somebody who is willing to try to formulate an answer to a question even if she knows her English isn?t going to be terrific." From: From: "When I came to America, it was hard for me to adjust to the bland, mild taste of pastas, pizzas and sandwiches. Every now and then, my taste buds started craving the more spicy chicken, beef, curry and green chilies." From: From:  (Creative Commons photo by Flickr user airsoenxen) "I?m too busy to go out of my way to try and make friends with people of specific demographics. I?m friends with whomever comes across my path." From: "Friendship in America can assume various gradients of depth and commitment, yet still be deemed as friendship. A person you say hi to occasionally can be labeled a friend. A person you collaborate with on one class project can be a 'friend.'" From: "I had expected America to be a place where I had to stand up and speak up in defense of my values and principles but I found myself standing tall effortlessly? proud of who I am and of my origin." From: "It?s more on media. People are nice. In general people are nice, there are just one or two people here or there who might give you trouble." From: "I strove to combat their wrong generalizations of Islam and my country with my own personal thoughts and beliefs. " From: "I am not afraid to talk and I am always willing to ask questions, but sometimes I am afraid of people?s reactions when I talk. Sometimes being an Asian and having the accent that I have has put me in uncomfortable situations." From: "The media has conditioned Americans to think of Africa in the context of the exotic. If it?s not wild animals strutting leisurely against the background of picturesque plains, it?s mud huts, famished children, wars or despotic rulers." From: "In order not to be isolated again, I forced myself to learn how to dress up, to go to parties, how to drink and to dance like everyone else in the group ... However, at that moment, I suddenly recognized how I had been holding onto an incorrect concept of 'being American.'" From: "My first moment of culture shock in the U.S. wasn?t about food, language, academics, or the tendency for American students to drop a pop culture reference every other sentence. It actually came from going to a frat party, and seeing, for the first time, a couple making out." From: "Americans seem to complain about anything and everything. They see injustice everywhere and are determined not to be victims of it. " From: "For me, college has not been a place where I discovered myself. It is a place where I lost myself to the questions in my head. If Christianity was forced on Zimbabweans during colonialism, why do people still practice it? Should I wear my hoodie tonight? Is she attractive or am I attracted to girls?" From: "The new life that we create in America is solely our own independent doing. We choose every bit of it and we define every second of it ourselves. We fall, we make mistakes, and we learn. All on our own. We discover ourselves in ways we never have before." From: