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TIPS FOR STUDENTS AFTER ENTERING AMERICA
By Dr. Arun C. Vakil (Email: visaexpert@valmikiedu.org)
After getting admitted to the US port of entry as student of a US university, the burden of ensuring and maintaining legal status is on the student.
First of all, check the portion of the disembarkation card given by the airline while landing at the port of entry in the US. Make sure that the Immigration Inspector properly staples it in your passport. If it is not stapled, ensure that you staple it opposite the US visa entry stamp or in the next page because this is really your visa. What you get in India at the US Embassy/Consulates is a stamp of entry that entitles you to travel to the US but does not give indication of your entry in the US and does not show the length of stay. The Immigration Inspector will review your case after discussion with you at the entry point and write D/S (Duration of stay) indicating number of days or years you are authorised to stay in the US as a student. This indeed is your visa that legally explains your authorised stay. Ensure that you make multiple photocopies of this portion of disembarkation card, which is called I-94 form. Always keep a couple of copies on you, in your purse at all times. This is your identity as a person living in the US legally. Any authorised person from immigration, police and government can ask you to prove your legal existence in the US and you can at once show this to prove your authorised stay in the US. Unexpected inspection at public places is not uncommon. If you loose this card, inform your DSO (Designated School Official) at once and apply for a fresh I-94 by filing Form I-102 with the USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services) and pay fee of $ 160.
Under SEVIS (Student Exchange and Visitor Information System), the US electronic database records details of students on getting visa at the US consulate in India, on arrival at port of entry in the US, on registration at the US university of study and place of residence. Any change in residence, change in course of study and change in university of study need to be registered with USCIS through DSO. Form AR-11 has to be filed whenever residence is changed and informed to the nearest immigration office, within 10 days of change of residence. Registration is also done when study is complete and the student selects Optional Practical Training. Final registration in SEVIS takes place at the time of departure from the US. The burden of all these registrations lies with student. Ignorance of law is not an excuse. It is the responsibility of student to ensure that all data relevant to registration requirement is periodically entered in his/her SEVIS record.
Let us now look at American Education system and relevant aspects that one needs to understand before one starts studying in America.
Semester or Quarter System
Most of the US universities work on an academic year of nine months - September to June. However, most of the courses are of the duration of a semester; a semester is one-half an academic year, or eighteen weeks.
Some other universities have the quarter system. A quarter being twelve weeks long and each calendar year is divided into “quarters”. Under this arrangement, courses are given during all four quarters. Accordingly, a student may attend school throughout the year. Thus under this quarter system, the student can fulfill the requirements for his study in a shorter period of time. The student may also leave out any one of the four quarters of the year if he wishes to take a vacation.
Major and Minor
“Major” means the field of specialization chosen by a student. Usually a university has certain requirements and categories of courses from which a student must choose one or two and certain other courses. Major can be changed, if desired. Most students select their major at the beginning of the third year of their undergraduate education and at the beginning of the second year of their graduate education. The major is often what is used by recruiters to screen applicants for jobs.
A subsidiary field of specialization is called “Minor”. There are fewer requirements attached to a Minor than for a Major. What we understand by “subjects” in India are referred to as “courses” in America.
Credits or Semester Hours
A unit to measure a student’s progress in meeting his academic requirements for his degree is called a Credit or a Semester Hour. It takes about 128 to 140 credits, or semester hours to obtain a Bachelor’s degree.
The number of credits, or semester hours prescribed for the successful completion of a course is equal to the number of hours per week that the class meets. For example, a student enrolled in a two credits course would be required to attend class two hours each week throughout the semester.
Prerequisite
“Prerequisite” means that a student must have completed certain basic (usually undergraduate) courses to qualify in enrolling to a specialized course. For example, Advanced Management Course enrollment would require a student to have completed a basic course in Principles of Management in his earlier studies.
Accreditation
The institutions for higher education in the US are not controlled by any agency or government department. They are independent and maintain their own high standards by memberships in accrediting associations. These associations admit only those institutions which meet the criteria of educational excellence and a high professional standard of instruction as per membership rules. It is advisable to obtain your degree from an accredited university or college.
Education System
The American education system offers unimaginative flexibility and unbelievable facilities for research and self-development. You are free to choose your ‘credits’ according to your physical, intellectual and financial capabilities. Student-workers may take longer time to complete a degree program vis-à-vis a full time student.
Moreover, depending on your personal habits (getting up early or late), you may choose the time of a course that is offered twice or thrice in a day. In other words, you can make you own time-table to suit your needs and preferences. The normal pattern for an average American student is to take 5 courses per semester; each course meets thrice a week, with each meeting lasting 50 minutes. Students are expected to study two hours out of class for each hour in the class.
Use of libraries, laboratories and audio-visual equipment are extensively made as tools of learning. Research papers called ‘term papers’ are required to be prepared in certain courses. The teaching method of the same course may vary from teacher to teacher. Some may prefer straight lectures, some would like to undertake case-study whereas some would encourage role-playing and field work. The case-method, used originally in law schools, is being increasingly employed as a means of instruction in business administration and the social sciences. Basically, it presents the students with a series of specific practical situations which require solution. Precedents, additional facts and good theory are drawn upon to solve the problem. Cases may be discussed in class. A written report, giving a reasoned solution for the situation, is usually also required.
Time for Study
American students are required to study hard with daily average reading of 75 to 100 pages. In some colleges, there are specified study periods in the evening. In most institutions, the student is left free to study as and when he pleases. However, as a prescribed course of study must be covered to obtain a degree, students are compelled to study of their own accord. When a student is properly motivated, the compulsion to study comes from him and not from without; that is the general American ideal.
For the undergraduate or the graduate and research student, the library of the American university is near the heart of the academic life. With its extensive, well-catalogued collections, its inviting halls, its browsing room, and its helpful librarians, it is a place where he gladly spends a good deal of his time.
Teaching Methods
Much of the instruction in colleges and universities is given by the lecture method. Professors skilled in this form of teaching, lecture to groups ranging from 50 to 100 or more. In order to measure the progress of individual students as well as to permit their active participation, the larger classes are often divided into discussion groups of 10 to 25 students. Each discussion group meets once or twice a week with an assistant or associate, to discuss the lectures and the assigned reading and to clear up questions about material covered in the lectures. To develop initiative and to challenge the student’s reasoning and organising powers, some instructors assign projects for the students to investigate and report upon.
Professor-Student Relationship
Relations between students and teachers tend to be informal. Students are often invited to professor’s homes for tea or dinner, where discussions are continued. The respect given to the professor by the student does not necessarily present a barrier nor preclude social intercourse. The closeness of the relation between teacher and student generally varies with the size of the institution.
Personal guidance to students is provided in one or more of the following manners
- Students are assigned to a faculty adviser who assists them in selecting the courses to fulfill their degree requirements.
- Many colleges have the system of upper class students assisting the new student to adjust to the new college environment.
- Many universities have, in addition, a foreign student adviser.
- Many institutions have guidance counselors who study individual pupils thoroughly and advise them on their choice of courses, out-of-class activities, plans for further education, and their vocation. Counselors confer with pupils, parents and teachers about the qualifications and problems of individual students. The role of the counselor is purely advisory and final decisions are left to the parents and students.
Study Evaluation / Grade Point Average (GPA)
In many colleges, careful cumulative records covering observations of personality, character, health and physical fitness and extracurricular activities as well as academic progress are kept for each student and are used by various personnel officers and instructors in guiding the students’ development.
The quality of the student’s achievement is indicated by marks assigned by the instructors. The most common method of marking is on a five-point scale, with letter grades indicating the various levels of quality. The highest mark usually is “A” indicating very superior accomplishment; “B” indicates work that is above average; “C” indicates average quality; “D” indicates work that is of passing grade but below average. “F” is used to designate work that is not of passing quality. Other marks are “Inc.” for incomplete, in which case the student will receive a letter grade after completing some work that was unfinished at the end of the course; “Def” for deferred, which indicates that the student’s grade is withheld until some action is taken by the instructor; “Wi” for withdrawn, indicating that the student withdrew before the end of the term.
Colleges typically require the student to maintain grades of a designated average quality in order to be graduated or remain in school. The common plan is to assign certain “quality” points for each of the letter grades, for example: A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1, F=0. The student’s total “quality points” are calculated by multiplying the grade points associated with the mark received in each course by the number of credit hours assigned to that course, and summing these products for all the courses for which the student has been registered.
It is advisable not to convert your marks in the Indian system of grading to the American Grade Point Average (GPA) system since the conversion will not be accurate. You may attach an explanatory note from your college to indicate your rank in your class and/or university. The letter may also indicate your place as compared to the class and the university average and the number of students in the class and the number of colleges and students in the University.
Examination System
There is in most cases no system of external examinations. The professor who gives the course is responsible for preparing the examination and grading it. Final examinations are given at the end of the course (semester or quarter); they are usually written and last from two to three hours. Moreover, a mid-term examination, also written and lasting one hour, is usually given. In addition, many professors give weekly quizzes. In undergraduate classes, most examinations are undertaken by objective methods (multiple choice questions).
The final grade is usually based on the instructor’s judgment, which takes into account not only the several examinations given, but also written papers, participation in oral discussions, field and laboratory work. Frequently, the final term examination counts for about one/third in determining the course grade.
The bachelor’s degree is ordinarily awarded on the successful completion of the various undergraduate courses, without further general examinations. General examinations are sometimes required for the B.A. degree, the Master’s degree and customarily for the Ph.D. degree.
Dr. Arun C. Valkil
Associate Director
Valmiki Group.
Send your comments/feedback to: visaexpert@valmikiedu.org
Note: This was given to us by Dr. Arun Vakil for student’s benefit, before his untimely death on 31st January 2008.
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