Everything I wish I knew as an International (ish) Student

Hey! I have spent 14 years of my life growing up in Mumbai, India. Going into 9th grade, my parents decided to move to the United States for better education opportunities for me. I am not particularly an international student because I hold an H-4 Visa instead of the standard F-1 Visa that most international students travel on. H-4 Visa is a dependent visa that is dependent on H1-B holders; in my case, my parents hold the H1 Visa and I have an H4 that is dependent on them.

The difference between the an F1 and H4 is that H-4 allowed me to live with my parents, whereas most (not all) F-1 Visa students typically leave their home countries and family behind to pursue a higher degree. Academically, I am different from them in 2 ways that truly matter – I have a high school diploma from the U.S. and I do not have a work authorization. Besides these two, International students and I share a lot of the same struggles pursuing a career in the States.

In this post, I am attempting to compile all the do's and don't 's for an international student from my perspective. For reference, I am a sophomore at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities and I hold a high school diploma from Eastview High School. I am also going to include tips specific to UMN-TC for my international folks because the culture and weather shock is real!

Mental Health

I am the type of person to love change. I love traveling and I almost never look behind to see who/what I have left behind me. When I moved to the States, I was mostly excited, instead of being nervous. However, the excitement of a new place and a new identity soon wears off as you start to assimilate to the every day tasks and the reality kicks in. You start feeling all alone.

Tip #1: Prioritize your mental health!! [I cannot stress this enough]

In India, I grew up around people who didn't really care about mental health issues. You're always supposed to toughen up and face your problems head on, especially if you are a woman. People don't want to show their vulnerabilities nor do they want to talk about their struggles. I think most of India believes in 'Effortless Success' – becoming successful purely due to innate talent and with minimal effort because you're that "amazing" (**rolling my eyes**).

This was the biggest culture shock for me! There are a lot of resources surrounding Mental Health Issues. Most colleges provide therapists that is supported by your insurance. Most colleges also have Mental Health committees with professionals to help you through your situation. There are usually a lot of student groups on most campuses. You are bound to find student groups that resemble your identity, passions, and interests. JOIN THEM!! There are the easiest way to find a community. A lot of student governing bodies (Student Boards) also have committees dedicated to Mental Health. Feel free to reach out to them, get the appropriate help, and help out further through that community.

Ultimately, you know yourself better than me. You have to prioritize yourself in the United States because that's what everyone else is doing. You don't really have your family to lean on and your friends would most probably be going through their own struggles. You have to stand up for yourself and push yourself to get the help that you need. You also need to make time for yourself to check in with your mental health every so often.

Tip #2: Make time for yourself and continue pursuing your passions and hobbies.

You'll have a lot of independence here. That also means that it's easy to constantly surround yourself around people and be with your friends 24*7. But, it is really important to find time for yourself and still be connected to hobbies and activities that you used to pursue in your home country. It would be a way to still stay connected to your roots and make you feel like home.

Academic/Professional Advice

Tip #3: Join Student Organizations

Like I mentioned earlier, joining clubs and organizations at school would help you build your community. A lot of the student orgs have special events for freshmen and transfer students that would help you meet people on the same boat as you. Moreover, they will most likely have bondings and parties for the whole group which would help you build a social life. This would also help you explore different interests and truly hone in on your skills. Plus, joining student orgs is a great way to build and put something on your resume as a freshmen because most companies want you to be a team player.

There are a lot of Fairs during Welcome Week usually where you would be able to explore all the student orgs together. Just sign up for their newsletter to stay up-to-date with them, if you're mildly interested. Don't worry about committing to a student org. They usually don't expect you to stay committed as a freshmen. Take your time and go to as many first meetings as possible. Then, cherry pick what student orgs you want to join based on their community, student outreach, and your interest.

Tip #4: Go to Classes

From personal experience, I can say that in India everything is extremely strict. Classes are mandatory and punishments are handed out like candies (at least from what I remember). Here, however, most classes are not mandatory. It is very easy to take that for granted and think that you'll be able to finesse the system by not going to classes. But, remember that you're here for a reason. Going to classes is a great way to not only stay on top of your work, but also connect with different people that are taking the same classes as you.

Tip #5: Make a LinkedIn Profile

Building a LinkedIn Profile as a freshmen, even though you don't have much to put on it, is a great way to build connections on a professional level. Additionally, it helps you search and connect with people who are pursuing the same degree as you and see what opportunities they are participating in. This would further open you up to a lot more opportunities than you were previously aware of. Personally, everything I did this summer (A mentorship, research, create a blog, create a website) was solely because I saw someone else in Computer Science do something similar which got me interested.

Tip #6: Go to Office Hours and Connect with your TA/Professor

At the end of the day, you really want your TA/Professor to like you because they are the one's grading your assignments. This doesn't apply to exams, but most of your assignments are very subjective and the grade you get on them varies a lot. Going to office hours shows that you care about your grade and assignments. It also shows that you truly want to learn the material. This would help you connect with your TA and professor more. This is especially helpful towards the end of a semester when you realize that things are starting to pile up. If you maintain great communication with them from the very beginning, they would be much more likely to cooperate if you need an extension or a leave of absence or want extra credit.

Office Hours is a very different concept based on what I experienced in India. Office Hours are usually separate from the lectures and discussions themselves and most professors expect you to ask them questions during office hours and not during/after lectures.

Tip #7: First Day of Classes....[How to do your first day of classes right]

Before the first day:

• figure out exactly what buildings and rooms you need to go. Usually the day before first day of classes is given off. Try going to all your classes beforehand and map out how you are going to get there
• Read the syllabus of your class
• Don't buy textbooks beforehand. The professors sometimes provide links to free textbooks or don't require them at all
• Try to figure out how you want to take notes for that particular class. Do you want to use notability or type things our on a Google Doc? How is the professor going to give out lectures?
• Figure out what weighs the most in the gradebook. This is available in your syllabus. Is the class heavily based on your assignments or your midterms? Does this class have a final exam? Figuring out what you need to focus on more than others is helpful
• Schedule Office Hours in your calendar
• Join any slack channels or other social media urls provided. A lot of my computer science classes had office hours through slack.
• Mark on your calendar: any midterms, final exams, or project deadlines. You can even make a spreadsheet with all the major due-dates to keep yourself accountable.

On the first day/week:

• hydrate and eat food
• take your U-Card / College ID everywhere you go on campus
• connect with at least 3 people in every class that you can ask questions to when you're stuck or have to take a leave
• Figure out which classes need textbook and skim through the general structure of the book
• Check for upcoming homework and start ahead. Syllabus week is a great time to get ahead on tasks.

Tip #8: Maintain a Google Calendar

For me, google calendar wasn't used in India. However, here, Google Calendar can be a great way to stay organized. Most of your meetings would have a GCal invite with it that would go directly in your GCal. It's just a very simple tool to be plan ahead as well which is not as used in other countries.

Tip #9: Reach out to Professors from the field that you're interested in

College is all about figuring out what you want to do in your career. Working with a professor on their research is a great way to explore a field as a freshmen especially because you aren't taking as many classes that are related to your major. Simply cold emailing a bunch of your professors and asking them to meet to discuss potential research opportunities, opens you up to a lot of new ideas and chances.

Tip #10: Classes

• Always check your professor's rating on RateMyProfessor or Gopher Grades to check if they are a difficult teacher to have.
• You can drop classes if you don't like the professor and switch to a different class. You just have to do it within the first 3 weeks which is plenty of time to decide if you like a class or not.
• You do not have to go above and beyond with the amount of classes you take. Take the bare minimum you need to still profit financially. At UMN, any classes above 13 credits are essentially free. Make use of that but don't over do it because you have a lot more to juggle.

Personal/Mindset Switch

Tip #11: Embrace yourself and your identity

I was extremely embarrassed of my accent, my looks, my body, and my culture when I moved to here. Every interaction with another person felt like an interrogation where I was constantly getting judged for one thing or the other. I am here to tell you that you, my friend, are not that important. No one is judging you, nor do people have time to judge you. And if they have time to judge you, they are not the type of people you want around, as simple as that. This took me a really long time to understand.

Also remember, you moving to the U.S. all by yourself is a huge deal and it is more than what a lot of people can say. Starting a new life in a completely new country is very difficult and you have managed to do it. Don't let other people bring you down just because you feel different that other people.

Tip #12: Explore all your options + Try new things

Everything you need is online! EVERYTHING! And you're almost always going to have options here. I did not get the luxury of being able to choose my classes in India. We were just given a timetable and I had to follow it. For undergraduate, India seems to have three options after 10th grade – Arts, Commerce, and Science. But here, there's so much more than that. You can do almost anything that you like. All you have to do is go online and check if the option is available.

I went into college thinking that I would pursue Electrical Engineering and then become a Patent Lawyer or go into Aerospace Engineering. The more classes I took and the more opportunities I got to explore the field, I realized I didn't want to do EE and I liked Software a lot more than Hardware. So I switched to Computer Engineering, and then I switched again to Computer Science and Data Science.

I can't sit here and list all the options and choices you're gonna have to make throughout your stay in the US, but I can say that resources are available. You have to have the courage to try new things.

Tip #13: Don't be afraid to just ask

Going off of my previous point, don't be afraid to ask for help. In India, I was really afraid to ask others for help because it felt like a sign of weakness. But remember, the only way to learn something new is to ask others for help. If you don't ask, the answer will always be no.

In classes, ask a lot of questions. When meetings someone new, ask a lot of questions. When attending a new meeting, ask a lot of questions. There's a lot of resources, even through the college, to help you through anything legally, physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially. All you have to do, again, is look online for the right resources and pay them a visit or call them.

Clothes

Tip #14: Bring Traditional Clothes

No matter where you are from, you are going to find people that have the same cultural roots as you. There are a lot of cultural events that happen throughout the year. You will find some event or another to wear it at. For Indians, there is a Fall Show, Garba event, Spring Formal, etc. that happen every year where you can pull out your traditional fits!

Tip #15: Bring Layers – You are gonna need gloves

Minnesota is EXTREME. The summers are a 100 degrees Fahrenheit and it can get as low as -44 degrees Fahrenheit. The best thing to do is have a bunch of layers so, you can have the option to take things off or put them back on.

Also, you NEED gloves. Walking on campus during the winter can be brutal, especially if you are carrying something. Even in high school, I didn't need gloves because I used to travel in the bus for the most part. But, on campus, you're gonna have to walk. It's always better to carry gloves and more layers with you at all times.

Transportation – Specific to UMN-TC

Tip #16: Use GopherTrip, GopherChauffeur, and Tunnels

GopherTrip and GopherChauffeur are both apps that you can use to travel through the U. GopherTrip is for the Bus system at the U. It's super helpful. It shows you the time and directions to your nearest bus stop. It will help you stay indoors for as long as possible before your bus arrives.

GopherChauffeur is basically a free campus Uber. It is only available after 9pm, I think (the time keeps changing). This was instated to ensure safety of all UMN students late at night.

As for walking, walking in winters can be challenging which is why UMN also has tunnels and skyways to prevent you from severe weather conditions. Here's a link to the walking guide: https://pts.umn.edu/sites/pts.umn.edu/files/2021-08/walking_guide.pdf

Tip #17: Use Metro line

There's also free Metro system for the students at the U. It takes you as far as the Mall of America! There's a lot of places you can explore traveling by the metro. It can get a bit unsafe though. I've had people randomly talking or following me and my friends when we went on the metro. But, as long as you have a good group of people to go with, you should be just fine!

Last Words...

Overall, things would start themselves out. The United States has a lot of resources, you just have to explore them. There might be some restrictions on your Visa, but overall, you will fit in with the community here. Make sure to:

• be attentive
• stay focused
• try new things
• and enjoy life the way you want to

Please feel free to reach out to me through Instagram or email! Also, lmk if I could explain anything more or write my advice about something specific.

I hope this helped!

xoxo