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Tuesday, November 15, 2016

How to Become an International Student at MiraCosta College (USA)

Application Process for International students 
     I applied to come and study in the US from Cameroon. I also got my student visa from the U.S. Embassy in Cameroon. Just to add to this I believe a lot of the African countries will go through the same procedure I went through to get my visa or to come and study here at MiraCosta college.

Putting Your Documents Together For college 

Tip #1: Take a TOEFL test and get at least a score of 46 or higher. If you don't have a Pass TOEFL Test score, you can apply to study English before starting college classes.  Once you have your TOEFL score, make a copy of all educational diplomas, and birth certificate and get them certified by a government official

Tip #2:   Complete applications at least 4-5 months before you want to study
At MiraCosta you can type and print the International Student Application form. Click on the  link and type your answers.

Tip #3:  Keep in touch with the International Office  Please If you have any questions make sure to contact the international office.  either by email or by phone
Image result for students calling an office on the phoneiip@miracosta.edu
P 1.760.795.6897   
F 1.760.757.8209
Don't forget that most countries don't have the same time as the US, so when calling take that into consideration. (Time difference)

Tip #4  After you get admitted to college, you can get help to apply for the F-1 student visa
MiraCosta College will send you forms you need to apply for the student visa at the U.S. Embassy. If you have any question please don;t heisted to call or email us, we are more than happy to help you.

Image result for pictures of US visa
Tip#5 Once you get your visa What do you do?
Once you have your visa, the earliest you can come to the Us is one month or 30 days before your school stat, that way you can get use to the weather, and take care of the other documents that you need once you reach the US.
Unfortunately, MiraCosta College does not offer housing facilities. Therefore you need to look for where you are going to house before you come to the US. That is why it is important to start the your application early. So you have enough time to plane and do what you need to do. One of the most important thing to remember is that if you have any questions please contact us and we will be ahhpy to help.
Hope to see you soon at MiraCosta college, "the place to be".


How to prepare yourself for your first semester or year as a student in the US By Delia from Africa

Very Important Material, Make sure to read every thing.
The Time to Live Your Dream Is now, Start By Applying To MiraCosta College and Let Us Make those Dreams Happen.
     
New students must come on time to attend orientation. This is mandatory for new students. We have pictures of International Student, New Student Orientation on Instagram

One good advice I can give to everyone coming to school in the US for their first time is to come at least two weeks before school starts. The US government allows you to come to the US up to one month before your school starts.   There is a reason why they do that;
 When you come in the US as an international student (F-1), one of the first thing you need to do is to go to your school international student office and let them know that you are now in the country. You will need to give them a copy of your I-94 and maybe some other documents. but it is very important that you go to meet them as soon as you get in the country.

1.  You need to get use to the environment. That is the different climate, and a different way of life.


    Image result for bus picture oceanside
  •  Drive, Bus or train You need to figure out how to get around and to make sure where you will live is witting reasonable distance from the school. Most of the time you will need to get the bus or drive          

Image result for a confused baby2.  The International Office can help you with your academic adjustment. I am very sure they will tell you something you did not know or they will at least help you get set up with your classes.
3.   knew little or nothing about the process. The US college system of education is very different from other countries. (On more information about the difference between the US educational system and other countries, make sure to follow up with my next blog).
     

Image result for picture of people meeting with counselorsWhen you come in one month before school, you have the opportunity to meet with
  • a counselor, that can help you set you your classes and help you pick the best classes and professor ( hint: all the professor at MiraCosta College are really good at least the once that I have taking a class with) the question is do you like math in the morning or in the evening, do you prefer a male or a female professor. When you come early, the staff in the international office will help you pick the classes you want (need) at the time you want with the professor you want. Again read my next blog for more information.



The Time to Start Your Application Process is Now.

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Why MiraCosta College? $$$$$$

        In this particular blog you have to do a little bit of Math.

   This is a very simple way to understand why colleges exist in the first place and why you might want to consider going to a college like MiraCosta instead of going to a four year university.
    In order to get a Bachelor degree in the united state, it might take you about 4 years or more. Now let us talk about the $$$$$$.

  • The average cost of a university for one year, for an international student is about $35,000 tuition and fees only.   For the first two years you will spend about $35000 X 2=$70,000, which is a lot of money.
  • The cost of attending a community college like MiraCosta for an international student is $6800 (tuition and fees only) for one year.  You can spend the first 2 years in college which will cost you about $6800 X 2= $13,600. 
Now this is where the magic of college comes in.


          When you obtain this transfer degree, you can now go to a university and get in to your 3 year. When you transfer you complete 2 more years and end up with a bachelor degree.  Take note that, college does not make it slower or faster to obtain a bachelor degree, it simply gives you an opportunity to get a higher and quality education at a cheaper prices.


      One of the biggest advantage of going to college is that you are going to save about $56,400
($70,000 - $13,600) just by going to MiraCosta College. Come to MiraCosta College and save some money$$$$$. We are also one of the best and most fun college to attain in California.
 
     Hope you found this blog interesting!!! Come to MiraCosta College and get you college degree at an affordable price.

It is Halloween Time!!! A Different Culture from "Delia Africa"

Halloween!!! Halloween!!!! Halloween!!!

Halloween is a very popular holiday in the western countries. It is highly celebrated in the US. At MiraCosta College, a lot of offices and building decorate their offices to celebrate halloween.










I don't know exactly why Halloween is celebrated in the US,  there are different points of view about how to celebrate it. But the one thing I love is that I get to experience a new and different culture. Because in my country (Cameroon) we don't have this type of celebration. Also candies and chocolates are really cheap during this time.


Happy Halloween !!!!!!    

How To Prepare for a New Semester

        Getting ready for a new semester, is something that most students talk about but they actually don't do it or take it serious.  We sometimes say ohh I need to get ready for my next semester,
 Or for someone like me I will probably say I am not ready for the next semester (LoL😊). In order to get ready for a new semester, you need to know the classes you want to do ahead of time, if you don't know them, then try to meet with a  counselor to help you. Every student needs to make a full Educational Plan, that will show all the classes you need to take until you graduate. This plan can be changed but it is a good idea to have one so you know what clases you are going to take a head of time. It will also help you to be more prepare for every semester. For more information about counseling please read my previous blogs or some of the blogs written by my other collegues.
      If you are a new student, make sure to attend the new student orientation.The new student orientation this year was fabulous. There was so much food, and a lot of fun things. Below is a picture of one of the international peer leader, her name is Scarlet, and she is from Honduras, she speaks Spanish and English. The photo on the left is a picture of some of the new students that attended orientation and had the great opportuinty to meet with other new students and make new friends from all over the world. For more information, make sure to read my next blog about orientation.

New Student Orientation, Fall 2016

love love love

Thursday, September 1, 2016

So many choices! Differences in U.S. Colleges versus Other Countries

The one thing I have noticed with the US educational system is the fact that they give students too many choices. It can be confusing.

  • what classes (subject) you want to study each semester. 
  • what time do you want to take that class (Morning afternoon or evening)
  • who do you want to be your teacher (do you prefer men or women; writing assignments or lots of quizzes)

The list continues.  But is also super helpful for students to choose classes based upon their professional goals and to find a schedule that works for their family, or transportation, or work schedules.  Now take note, not every subject or class have a large variety but a lot of the classes do have them; especially Math and English.  You could be having the same major with someone but never take or seat in the same class with them. Below is a screen shot of what my fall schedule looks like.  I like to take classes in the morning.


Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Monday, July 25, 2016

What I did this Summer


As I said in my last post, as an international student you have the choice to travel during the summer or to stay in California just like me.
Studying for summer classes 
 
My mom came to visit me this Summer and it was wonderful. I did not travel because I wanted to take a summer class and I also decide to do and internship and an on campus job during the summer, which is pretty heavy.


  To be sincere with you summer classes are not easy, you have a lot of work to do in such a short period time and it is very stressful. You have Exam 1, midterm and Final to take, all that in about 6 or 8 weeks, and this classes are regularly for 16 weeks. So you have to go two times as fast as in a regular semester. However I love Summer classes because this gives you an opportunity to catch up if you failed a class, or an opportunity for someone like me to graduate faster and transfer to a University. Aside form classes, spending the summer in the us is fun with great Holidays and good places to visit.
The  4th of July is the US independence day and it is one of the biggest Holiday in the US, you need to be hear to actually understand what it means.
 

San Diego Beach 

  Saturday and Sunday is a good time to enjoy the beach and to visit museums and parks.   In San Diego or in Los Angeles, Oceanside(MiraCosta College) is almost in the middle of both of then, so it is pretty easy to go to either of them. In Los Angels there is Holly Wood were some of the best movies are made. In San Diego there is one of the best beaches in the world and there is a lot of touristic Military ships all the way from World War 2, so you have a lot of place to visit and a lot to learn.

Balboa park ans San Diego Musume of Ar
On Every First Tuesday of the month, The san Diego Museum of Art is Free for students and military people. But you will have to bring your student ID, or Military ID, you get a lot of discounts when you are a student in the US.














You can do it




You wish to come and study in the US, you wish to become someone, then just do it.  

If you want something tomorrow then you have to work for it today.

MiraCosta is a please of great opportunities and this was exactly the kind of school I was looking for when I was thinking of coming to study in the US. So I applied at www.miracosta.edu and I got accepted and now I am here. It is as easy as ABC. Do something today if you want to be somebody tomorrow.

Friday, July 22, 2016

Perfect place to study (library)

The Library gets restocked with new and current books every summer.  The library is also one of the best place to study on the Miracosta Campus. It is very quiet and lovely. 

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Summer=Travel=Fun

Summer Summer Summer!!!!!!
            This is a very important time and period of the year both for international students and for Americans. This is the best season of the year, especially if your in California, because it has some of the best beaches in the World.









If you don't want to stay in California, you can go to other sates and visit and the best part is you don't even need a visa if you want to travel within the US. But it will be a good idea to let the international office know. You can go to New York and see the Statue of Liberty.







Also, you can decide to go back home and visit during the summer, then comeback for the next semester. When you come to the US to study it is not a prison. You have family and friends that you probably miss, and the summer is a great time to go pay them a visit. If you decide that is what you will like to do for the summer you definitely need to go to the international office to talk to them about your trip, before doing anything.
           For someone like me, I decided to take a summer class (Film101H), and go to the beautiful beach in Oceanside during the week end. Read my next blog if you will like to know more about summer classes.



Monday, May 30, 2016

The answer to the Question about scholarship, from a student perspective.

Scholarship Scholarship Scholarship!!!!!!!!
I know almost every one wants to know if the can have a scholarship from MiraCosta college or any other college. Before they even attend it. Well I also went through that. First of all I can only speak for MiraCosta because that is the only college I have attended here is the US and I am not willing to change that for nothing.
  I know a lot of international students love asking about scholarships, I am a student, scholarship was also one of my first question. I will answer you very sincerely and from my experience. You need to attend at least one semester at MiraCosta college before you can be eligible for any form of scholarship offered by the school. That dose snot mean that after you first semester you will automatically have a scholarship, No No No!!!!

  1. You are not eligible for a MiraCosta scholarship if you are not a student. So my best advice to you is to first of all apply and get admission then.........
  2. You need to take a least one semester of full time classes and have good result before you start talking about.........scholarships 
  3. If you are a MiraCosta student  and you have good grades, then you can apply for a scholarship. Wait wait wait don't be too excite sorry but I need to tell you the truth, applying for a scholarship does not mean that you are automatically going to receive it. 
  4. But being a student at Miracosta with good grades makes you eligiable for some types of scholarships.
Rihanna performing at the Coachella Festival in California in April 2016.
Rihanna recently announced the launched of a scholarship program on Instagram. that is aimed helping eligible  international students. with an amount between US $5000-$50000

 http://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2016/05/10/477491644/rihanna-launches-college-scholarships-for-foreign-students

In the US it is call free money, but first like most scholarships you need to be a student. So if you are not yet a student go to miracosta.edu and apply. If you are already a student don't miss out on this amazing opportunity.

How To Be a Successful student Off campus

How To Be  Successful Student Off campus
I did a blog on how to be a successful student on Campus, but I really want to make it clears that the thing you do off campus can greatly influence you performance or  your grades at school. what are some of those thing????
  Go To Bed On time. 


 You are surly thinking to yourself, that is not true. Maybe because you are use to texting all night and going to bed late. But if you did't know going to bed late makes you worn out and tired the next day and most of the time angry. Which can lead to bad grades.





 Go to the beach or somewhere nice, go play some games.


MiraCosta College is very close to the beach. You can literally see the beach form school. School is very important but taking a minute out and relax is very important. I helps relax your nerves, it gives you the opportunity to meet new and interesting people. By the way the people in the picture is the MiraCosta Beach Volley ball team and also won the championship against other school that year. so if you want you can be part of the school team. Basket ball, volley ball tennis swimming etc.
     Don't go party the eve of an exam, this are little things that people thing don't matter but the affect you directly. You need to be able to do the right thing at the right time. Know when to relax and don't relax to much. Never forget you are a student and your primary focus is to pass those classes and get out of school.s