Chinese student get accepted by AU!

Colleges and Universities A-Z American University
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<p>Hi Everybody,
I am so excited that I could find a place like this to communicate with current students or their parents. It is my first thread here! </p>

<p>I am a Chinese high school student and was an exchange student in Ohio for a school year three years ago. During my exchange year I went to DC two times and I simply love the city! </p>

<p>I was admitted to the school of Public Affairs majoring in Political Science. I probably will go to AU since they offered me some scholarship annually and I like the school pretty much. However, I have several concerns about AU and my future. Since I am a foreigner, I may ask some questions that seem pretty silly to you guys. So, thank you for your answers!</p>

<ol>
<li>Job concerns.
I like subjects like Political science, international studies… But in China we think skills-related majors will get you a good job after graduation, such as engineerings. I am always afraid that I would be out of job if my major in political science. So, I am thinking about double major. Is anybody doing it? I heard it is very hard, but how hard it is?
( oh, by the way, my dream is to go to law school since I love laws~, but Im not certain what type of law I intend to study, if possible)</li>
</ol>

<p>2.Final decision about majors.</p>

<pre><code>I’ve always heard that many colleges let their students decide what to major at the end of the freshman or sophomore year. But I was told my major was political science in the school of public affairs. Why it is so certain? May I change the major after enroll in AU?
</code></pre>

<ol>
<li><p>Money</p>

<p>I don’t know whether the international students are allowed to work off-campus or not, but I 'd really want more money from job or scholarship or anywhere else possible legally. My scholarship is 20,000 annually so that means I have to pay 30,000 dollars. 30,000 dollars is a lot of money for Chinese currency. So, do you think I can get a campus job or scholarship or something like that? </p></li>
</ol>

<p>Well , thank you for your time!</p>

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<p>I’m not a student but I can answer some of your questions.</p>

<ol>
<li>There are a lot of jobs available for that major. You just have to look. But if you want to go to law school, then you don’t really need to worry about getting a job with your BA or BS. And as far as I know, law school is very …generalized. (I don’t really want to use that word, because it gives law school less emphasis.) Anyways, in law school, you study a certain set of courses. When you get out, you can practice whatever you would like.</li>
</ol>

<p>For example, my father started out as a mostly personal injury lawyer, but has since turned out to be a real-estate/will/corporations lawyer. He only goes to court when he is appointed by the state for a case. Those are two completely separate fields, but he studied them both in law school.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Most students change their majors multiple times. Your first two years are supposed to be a lot of general education classes so that you can find out where your true interests are. Your major is only certain for the last two years, because those are upper level courses that are specifically designed for your major.</p></li>
<li><p>I <think> that international students have to apply for a work visa, but I am not totally sure. The financial aid office should be able to tell you the specific requirements for jobs for international students.</think></p></li>
</ol>

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<p>AUgirl, Thank you for your information. The last one is particularly helpful!!!</p>

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<ol>
<li><p>Double-majoring isn’t too hard, depending on what you combine. There are subjects that have a convenient amount of overlapping requirements, such as environmental studies and international relations. IR has pretty decent job prospects, what with all the government agencies and NGOs based in DC. Then again, I’m not sure how that degree will serve you in China. We don’t have an engineering school, haha. </p></li>
<li><p>AU requires you to declare a major by the second semester of your sophomore year. If you’ve been labeled as a PoliSci major, it’s because you marked it in your application. It’s not binding; it’s just used to assign you to a relevant advisor and spam your e-mail with SPA-related things. If you decide early on to switch majors, you may want to make sure you get a new advisor who knows more about that area. </p></li>
<li><p>As long as you have a visa, I’d imagine you can legally work anywhere. There are also restaurants that pay under the table, but you didn’t hear that from me. The embassies hire students, too, sometimes. The school offers plenty of work-study and non-work-study jobs, and we have a really impressive career center (and a special separate one for business students) and an online job board for local things (like babysitting and tutoring).</p></li>
</ol>

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<p>[Study</a> in the USA - Student Visa’s](<a href=“Student Visas | Study in the USA”>Student Visas | Study in the USA)</p>

<p>I stumbled upon this. It might be helpful to you. According to it, you can work up to 20 hours a week on campus.</p>

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<p>ajlpenguin, Thank you. I think DC is the perfect place for me. I am right now choosing from GW and American.</p>

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<p>AUgirl , Thank you for your link.
I think that would be a good aid for my financial situation. Are you a graduate from AU?</p>

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<p>I’m not. I just hope to go there.</p>

<p>My name is kind of a double meaning… One being AU as in American University… but the other being AU… as in the chemical element of gold. lol. Just a chemistry joke.</p>