<p>so this is my particular situation. i've been out of school for two years, and now i'm going to a university in the US to study engineering. i am currently trying to brush up my knowledge of subjects like physics and chem... i really worked hard in high school and was a straight A student, but i'm afraid it might be very different in college. </p>
<p>so, i wanted to ask you fellow int'l students, how do you adjust to that all the subjects are taught in english? how much have your study habits changed? were you having hard times at first or was it easy?</p>
<p>and, most importantly, how much do professors expect you to know on your first day of classes? like, do they usually start from teaching the basics, or go straight to hard problems assuming you've already learned the basics in school?</p>
<p>Relax. At my college we tell European students that freshman year will be an adjustment - that they will have less work than they were used to in high school. Language-wise I was having a hard time at first with reading- and writing-intensive classes, but that was not an issue in science classes.</p>
<p>One easy and entertaining way to practice your English is to watch movies in English (as opposed to translated versions)!!! Put subtitles if necessary.</p>
<p>It can also help you with immerse in the american culture…</p>
<p>anyone has suggestions for must see movies for our friend here?? </p>
<p>“Old School” is definitely one! I don’t think immigration will let you in as a student unless you’ve seen it! :)</p>
<p>Buid, thanks for the advice!
what about regional accents? i’m just wondering if it’s OK if i can’t understand different accents sometimes? like when i was watching The Departed i couldn’t get a thing, although i’m quite fluent in english… boston accent was hard to understand. is that normal? would a person be offended/irritated if i asked him or her to say things slower again? </p>
<p>B@r!um,
bryn mawr?? funny thing, my friend and the only student from my country russia i know on CC is going to bryn mawr this fall :)</p>
<p>My biggest piece of advice is to get organized. Get a planner & put all of your important dates & homework in there. Even put countdown dates (to a big paper or test) in the planner, so that your don’t wake up at 3am after remembering that you have an 8 page paper due at 8am. It happens! Lots of students also have dry erase boards on the back of the bedroom doors with to do lists. Invest in one!</p>
<p>American colleges love to assign lots of reading, so invest in a good dictionary if you feel that you may need one. I often read stuff a few times, so that I can be part of group discussions, etc. Don’t buy your books for the college book store, you’ll pay far too much, so get them on eBay or Amazon & have them shipped to school. Your school library should have most books, so if money is a problem, just check out the book, renew it for as long as you need it, or just photocopy the necessary pages out of it. It gets pretty frustrating when a professor makes you purchase a $150 book, when you just need a couple of chapters from it. </p>
<p>If you’re worried about not understanding dialects: make lots of friends! Make time to hang out with new people & to get to know your new home. Don’t spend all of your time in your bedroom. Don’t be a party animal either- school comes first! </p>