Like we did last year, and earlier this year, a bunch of us hopped on the phone over the weekend to chat about whatever was on our mind about studying in the U.S.  But this time, the conversation turned in particular to racial and ethnic issues, driven by this question that we received on our Facebook page:

What is your view to the relationship between Asian students and black American students?

We ended up having a wide-ranging discussion about stereotypes and prejudices – both the ones we’ve encountered and the ones we hold ourselves.  In particular, Simba and Alex discussed the negative or uninformed perception of Africans in America, and the responsibility of African students to help change the narrative.

Take a listen and then share your own opinion.  What stereotypes have you had to confront about people from your country? Have you ever had your own misconceptions about another culture challenged?

Or listen to the mp3

Dandan, who is from China and coming to the end of a one-year exchange program in the U.S., has her own opinions on the matter.  Her close friendships at school have mostly been with other Asian students, but its her close relationship with American friend Maya that is most revealing as to where some of the cultural differences lie.

Listen to our candid discussion as Dandan discusses why she prefers the concept of friendship in China, and what she’s learned about friendship in America.  Do you agree with her ideas on friendship? Can the cultural differences be overcome?

Or listen to the mp3

UPDATE: Friend of the blog Homayoon asked on Facebook why we have been giving so much attention to this topic of relationships between Chinese and American students. It’s a valid question. This was my response:

A couple of reasons. First of all just because I think it is interesting. But also because the population of Chinese students studying in America has gone up dramatically in recent years and is still rising, and as a result this issue has become a really prominent one for schools and students. How to make sure that Chinese students adjust well to studying in the US? How to make sure that American students are learning from their Chinese classmates? And what Qian asked, how to be sure that fair admissions standards are being applied to both groups? These are all suddenly very important questions.

I think also, though, that this question of whether friendship is a different idea between different cultures is much broader than China. It might be most prominent for Chinese students, but it applies to everyone (even between Americans and Americans, as you’ll hear me talk about if you watch the video), so it’s interesting to talk about.

In this second conversation, we start out talking about American culture, but with prospective student Vladimir on the line, quickly switch to sharing advice and opinions about applying to study in the U.S. We talk about where to find reliable information, everyone’s experiences taking standardized tests, and what criteria people used to decide where to apply.

And as a special bonus, you’ll hear two horror stories from taking the SAT. Hopefully yours won’t be anything like these!

Or download the mp3

You’ve heard the advice our bloggers had to give – what’s yours? If you had to pass on one piece of advice about applying to study in America, what would it be?

If you haven’t listened to those, check ‘em out.  They were lots of fun: Pete and Repeat are on a Boat…and Other Adventures in American Culture

In fact, they were so much fun that we did it again!  Here’s the first of two phone conversations we had recently. Take a listen:

Or download the mp3

In this one we discuss why the bloggers chose to study in the U.S. and some of the pieces of American culture they’ve found most difficult to get used to (yelling and oversharing). We also share stories about the problems with having an accent, and share some tips for getting rid of it.  Plus, Thuy tells us about what it’s like to study for an MBA.

Of course there’s also tons of advice for anyone thinking about applying to U.S. colleges or business schools in the near-ish future. If you’re only looking for the advice bit, it starts at about 21 minutes in, and there’s lots more coming in the second conversation, so stay tuned for that as well.

Oh yeah, and we almost burn down an apartment! (Just in case the other stuff wasn’t exciting enough for you…)

Up until recently, Iranian students could only receive a single-entry visa, which meant their visa would allow them to enter the country one time only. If they left, they would have to reapply for a new visa.

“It’s been very tough for me,” she says. Throughout most of our previous conversation about applying to the U.S. and getting her visa she has been giggly and upbeat, but when we turn to this topic, it’s clear it hits home for her.

I know some people that changed their mind about coming to the U.S. just because of the visa issue. They never could imagine that they couldn’t come back even if something happened.

Azadeh tells me her parents have thought about coming to visit her in the U.S., but the family member she’s closest with is her sister, and it’s likely her sister would be refused the travel visa to come over.

If I cannot see her it doesn’t work for me.  And she cannot come with my parents.  There is a very high risk to all of them be refused, rejected getting a visa because of my younger sister that wants to come with them.

I give her a confused look, and Azadeh explains it’s because the visa officer might assume the family is trying to immigrate.

Making the change

The State Department announced in May that Iranian students would now be able to receive multiple-entry visas to study in the U.S. The EducationUSA Iran advisor, who joined Azadeh and me in our discussion about visas, says that after the announcement, EducationUSA received hundreds of emails from grateful Iranians.

But, “it doesn’t work for me,” Azadeh reminds us.

The multiple entry visa is a great change for incoming students, but Iranian students already in America face a dilemma – if they want the multiple entry visa, they must return home and apply for a new visa.

When I ask Azadeh whether she plans to do that, she and the advisor start discussing the pros and cons of making this move:

Azadeh: If I want to get to get my multiple entry visa I have to apply again for a visa. … And for that one, I have to stay for a long time to be cleared.  And if it doesn’t clear, what’s going on, what happens to me?

Advisor: You can’t come back with one entry.  That’s the problem.

Azadeh: I still don’t have the feeling I can go and visit my family.  I haven’t met them for more than 3 years.  I’m thinking about coming back home next summer, which is gonna be my 4th year and it’s going to be almost impossible to stay without seeing them.  You know, it’s hard, but I’m so stressful about that process.

Advisor: Make sure you get a valid I-20, a new I-20.  Make your schedule before you leave the United States so you have an interview date.  And if you’re willing to take that risk, make sure you have enough time for the clearance.

But again, it’s a risk that the student if they are willing to take for a multiple-entry, they have to take that risk.  There’s no guarantee.

Azadeh says she’s also worried about the conditions of the multiple entry visa. Only students in “nonsensitive, nontechnical fields” are eligible.

Azadeh: I also worry about some different issues that they have.  Like, they talk about the sensitive majors or sensitive research areas.  That makes me so uncomfortable because in engineering, if you’re doing electrical engineering, computer or mechanical engineering, everything that you’re doing can be used in another way.  Everything can be risky, can be considered as sensitive.
…
Advisor: I’m pretty sure they will not issue or release any official list.
…
But for Iran the technical is fields that are in proliferation.  So I would say nuclear physics is one of them, but you can do physics. … And also, even if you’re doing specific fields that they are in that physics, if you explain to the consular officer that you’re trying to do a certain research that has nothing to do with the proliferation, you may succeed.

But the technical – every field in engineering or even computer sciences can be considered technical. At the end of the day it depends on the judgment of the consular officer.

It’s not a perfect answer for Azadeh, who remembers waiting 3 months for her visa to be cleared the first time around.  But she says she thinks she’s going to take the chance and apply for the new visa.

Besides allowing her to see her family, it would also help her in her education. She says with a multiple-entry visa “I feel more comfortable applying for conferences in Canada, Europe or every other country. I can easily go attend the conferences that I couldn’t go before.”

More changes to come

The advisor says the new multiple entry visas are part of a trend she’s seeing towards encouraging Iranian students to study in the U.S.:

What I know is that every year they’re trying to make it easier for students from Iran to go through the visa process.  And the wait time although it’s now 2 weeks to several months for the clearance, they’re trying to make the scheduling of appointments for interview easier – they’re trying to facilitate a lot of it.

And the number of Iranian students in the U.S. has been increasing in recent years, which the advisor calls a “good and promising thing.”

“All the advising that you do to help students to come here, if they don’t get their visa doesn’t mean anything,” the advisor says. “They can get admitted to 10 great schools fully funded, if they don’t get the visa it doesn’t really count.”

[For some parts of our conversation not included here, check out the podcast of our chat on educationusairan.com]

Submit your own stories about education or studying in the US in the comments or using the form below.

“People say that if she takes the, for example, the yellow page it means she’s going to issue the visa for you, if she takes the blue one it means she’s gonna reject you.”

The US embassy in Ankara, Turkey has a special section for Iranian visa applicants

But there’s one rumor Azadeh tells me that’s unlikely to go around in other countries:

“Everybody says, ‘Oh don’t go to Dubai,’” Azadeh says of her friends back in Iran. “‘They don’t give you a visa.  Everybody that went to Cyprus they got it, but in Dubai it’s so much harder.’”

Where to go to get a visa is just one hurdle students applying to the U.S. from Iran encounter that most other international students never have to consider.  There’s no U.S. embassy or consulate in Iran, so students have to travel to one of a select number of neighboring countries where the embassy will accept Iranian applicants.

Azadeh is a 3rd year PhD student in mechanical engineering at the University of Maryland. We meet to talk about what it’s like to apply from Iran to study in the U.S., and are joined by the EducationUSA Iran advisor (who asked to remain anonymous).

A common ambition

Azadeh and the EducationUSA advisor agree that studying abroad is as highly valued among Iranian students as among students anywhere.  It’s particularly common among high-achieving Iranian students, says Azadeh:

I can say that almost 90% of my friends are now overseas – the friends from my undergrad school.  There’s a very big motivation in people in good universities in Iran to apply for their graduate school in different countries.

Azadeh laughs as she says the only reason she didn’t come to America sooner is that she was “lazier” than her friends.  I find that hard to believe as she tells me she researched American universities by putting together an Excel spreadsheet with information about every school she was interested in.

Ultimately, though, she says:

When I made my mind about to apply there, I just thought of some universities that are located in some specific areas that I had some friends or family or someone close by.  It’s not a good criteria actually, but for me it worked very well.”
…
“I was so lucky because I just applied one, and I got it.

Uncommon hurdles

However, the politics between America and Iran can complicate matters.  When I ask Azadeh whether studying in the U.S. is viewed negatively by any in Iran because of the political relationship between the countries, she says no, but adds, “There are few people that are very…what should I say? Politics people?”

She looks for guidance to the advisor, who fills in the rest:

The relationship because of the politics, you’re right that they may not see it as a good thing.  And that is a problem because those people are usually the people that students go to to get their transcripts translated, to get their transcripts stamped and certified.  And those are the people who create obstacles as soon as they find out the student is trying to plan to come to the US for the study.
…
Contacting the United States, paying admission fees online, because of the politics … there are always problems you can feel in every step of the way.

Azadeh and the advisor tell me the mail between Iran and the U.S. is unreliable, which can make something as simple as sending money between the two countries prohibitively difficult.

“I had this problem, and everybody has it, since they have to pay the application fee somehow, they have to send their documentations,” Azadeh says, and proceeds to tell her story of applying for her F-1 visa:

On going to the embassy: There is no American embassy in my country.  So we have to go to other countries to apply.  For some reason that I don’t know, the number of countries that we can apply for getting visa is very limited.
…
If I wanted to go to Cyprus, I needed a visa for Cyprus as well.  And if I want to get the visa they ask me for financial support.  There are some other issues for a single lady traveling abroad for some countries.  They ask you to have one of your parents with you.
…
And then I just quit and go, ‘Ok I’m going to go to Dubai.’ It’s easier for me. And everybody says, ‘Oh don’t go to Dubai. It’s much more harder to get a visa.’ … And I didn’t care.  I said, Ok, I don’t have time, I have to go to Dubai, so bye.

On her visa interview: Less than 5 minutes.  She just asked me, what is your plan after graduation?  And I was talking about my plan after my graduation, and that’s it.

On getting her visa cleared: My visa took like 3 months to be cleared and I didn’t know that.  I didn’t know that happened to me.  I had no idea it was going to be more than 2 weeks or so.  Actually, I quit my job, I moved out my apartment, and I sold my car, everything was ready to fly to U.S. and it was not cleared.

So I missed the semester for that and I had to defer it.  And it was my second time to defer a semester because first time I didn’t get the funding in the first admission and I asked for the funding and had to wait a semester to get the funding.

On getting her I-20: I got my I-20 twice, because the first time I missed it because of the visa problem, and then when my visa was cleared I had to get another I-20.  And both two times was a headache.

The first time I asked my friend, she used to live here, to grab it for me and post it to Dubai – the place that I was supposed to go for interview at U.S. embassy.  She posted it there and I was lucky because I had some other friends there and I used their address and got it easily.  But it was my luck.  If you don’t have them, you have to just wait to see if you can get it at home or not.
…
The second time that I asked for the new I-20, I asked someone who was traveling from here to Iran to bring it for me and I went there and got it.

A full year after she was supposed to start at the University of Maryland, Azadeh finally began her PhD studies.  Even then, her visa problems were not over.  Stay tuned for Part 2 of this story, in which Azadeh talks about the struggle of having a single-entry visa, and what the recent decision to allow Iranian students to receive multiple-entry visas will mean for her.

Azadeh says thinking about the visa process still stresses her out.  “When I came here, even after 2 years, I was having bad dreams that I was stuck without a visa in my country and I cannot come back,” she says.

“It’s a very bad feeling that I still have.”

» Listen to part 1 of our interview, recorded by EducationUSA

» Continue to part 2 of this story

Submit your own stories about education or studying in the US in the comments or using the form below.

Chris talks about undergrad v. grad school in this fun chat

Before summer vacation started, a bunch of our bloggers got together (via Skype) to chat about how their experiences over the past school year – the ups and downs, challenges and victories, and what they learned.

We had some fantastic conversations, even digging into a few topics we hadn’t really covered in the blog posts – AND they agreed to let me record the Skype call so you all could listen in.

If you haven’t listened to the first one yet, check it out – it’s hilarious. But now, I’m excited to present:

Conversation #2: The Times They Are A-Changin’

Or download the mp3.

Senzeni discussed her first year in the US, and Farima and Nick chimed in to talk about how their experience is different now after a few years in America than it was when they first came. We also discussed where international students fit in on campus and how that differs at the high school, college and graduate school levels, and Chris talked a bit about other ways grad school is different from undergrad.

We were working with a combination of telephones and computer microphones, so sometimes there’s a bit of an echo. Sorry about that – hopefully it won’t bother you too much. Also, sometimes you’ll hear keystrokes in the background; typical Type A personalities – we were all multitasking during the phone call!

Part of our Student Union family

Before summer vacation started, a bunch of our bloggers got together (via Skype) to chat about how their experiences over the past school year – the ups and downs, challenges and victories, and what they learned.

We had some fantastic conversations, even digging into a few topics we hadn’t really covered in the blog posts – AND they agreed to let me record the Skype call so you all could listen in.

Our first of two phone calls is below (with links to download if you’d rather do that). I am SO excited to share this with you!

Conversation #1: Pete and Repeat are on a Boat

Or download the mp3.

In this first conversation, Nareg, Alex, Jaime and I talk about integrating into American society, including a hysterical discussion about jokes that define cultures and jokes that cross cultures. “Resident sociologist” Nareg also talked about America’s relative wealth and why that means many people have silly problems, and Alex discussed being an African among African-Americans.

Plus, Sebastian popped in late in the discussion to answer questions about how he got his financial aid package to KU, and how he turned around a quiet first semester to blossom into a social butterfly.

P.S. On the topic of silly American problems, I came across this funny video by an American kid who pokes fun at exactly this issue – the types of “problems” people have in a relatively wealthy society, jokingly referred to as “first world problems” by Americans who understand they are lucky to have them:

Also make sure to check out our second conversation…

Shu Wen Teo (Photo from her Twitter account, @shuwenteo)

Shu Wen Teo is a sophomore at Colby-Sawyer College in New Hampshire, where she studies biology (and chemistry, and business administration, and would study political science too if she had the time).  She comes from Malaysia, and in addition to keeping up her busy academic schedule, she has devoted a lot of time to helping other Malaysian students learn about studying in the U.S.

Shu Wen has participated in education events back home in Malaysia and runs the Malaysia Scholarship blog – a blog devoted to finding and publicizing scholarship opportunities for Malaysian students.

We talked over Skype recently about her struggle to adapt during her first year at Colby-Sawyer, why she’s grateful for her liberal arts education, and how studying in the U.S. has changed her as a person.

Have you had a good experience so far?

The first year, not really.  I was really passive when I first came here, probably because of the culture shock. … Then the second year I started to get active and I got involved in the cross-cultural club particularly, and promoting cultural differences in the college.

I’m looking forward to the junior year, actually, because things have been getting better.

Did you ever regret your decision to come here?

A little bit, actually.  Because the way of teaching and learning system here is really different and I was not used to it.

A view of New London, New Hampshire, where Colby-Sawyer College is located (Creative commons photo by Flickr user Bev Norton)

We had a course called “Pathway,” where there was a lot of discussion and participation in class.  I think I got a B- because I was so passive that I didn’t speak up in class, though I got an A in essays every time. But my discussion and participation points really pulled the grade down.  Then after that I kind of got familiar to that kind of system.  And so we had another Pathway course again this semester, and I would say I am definitely improving.

Here, where Colby-Sawyer is so small, the professor will even notice if you are missing from the class.  So they will realize if you don’t speak up in class.  That’s really scary.

Why did you choose to study in the U.S.?

Originally, like all Malaysians, after I graduated from high school I applied for a government scholarship, and I got an offer to study English degree in Australia.  But I think this is not what I wanted.  Because if I take that offer and if I graduate, I have to serve the government for 10 years, because it’s a bonded scholarship.

So I realized that there’s no wiggle room to do what I’m interested in if I study in Malaysia.  So I started to attend a U.S. education workshop organized by a bunch of students from Ivy Leagues.  They talked about how free the U.S. education is and they talked about liberal arts education where if you are undecided of what your major is you can try a couple of disciplines first until you find your passion.  It kind of struck me, so I just took my chance and applied to several schools in the U.S., and finally got in. …

Shu Wen talks to EducationUSA about the Opportunity Grant she received:

Actually, a lot of Malaysians would not even think of Colby-Sawyer or even Swarthmore or these kinds of colleges because they only aim for Ivy Leagues. So if you talk about Bates College or other liberal arts colleges, they will think you’re going to study painting or drawing in that college, which is a misconception among Asians, actually, among Southeast Asians. So that’s why when I went back last summer, I joined a U.S. education workshop to promote the liberal arts education to those Malaysians who are interested in pursuing their education in the U.S.

Tell me more about that, and about the Malaysia Scholarship Blog…

I worked with a group of other students to promote U.S. education in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia.  I think about 200 high school students came, along with their parents.  Actually, a couple of them even got into Cornell and those prestigious colleges.

Screenshot of the Malaysia Scholarship Blog

And besides that I have been advocating U.S. education on websites as well, and especially Colby-Sawyer.  That’s why the number of international students applying to Colby-Sawyer has increased dramatically this year.  So I got a Sawyer Fellowship award for that contribution to the college. …

I have a lot of people contacting me, for example, people from other countries and say they have these scholarships because they came across my blog. So they contact me regarding the information, so I just help them to put out the information. And also every day I spend a lot of time Googling.

What compelled you to start doing this?

Since I came here I’ve undergone significant personal transformation, especially in terms of my knowledge.  Because before that I was very – I wouldn’t say closed-minded, but I wasn’t aware of the issues around me and the global issues.  So when I came here I was very much exposed to a lot of global concerns through my Pathway course, which was citizen leadership, and also through my internship experience, which is not emphasized in Malaysian education.

So I want to bring this to the attention of Malaysians and I hope they will benefit from this and go back to Malaysia and serve the country in the future.  Because I’ve found that the brain drain issues have been quite serious actually, and I think the quality of education has been degrading dramatically over the years because of some political concerns – the racial issues.  So I hope it will kind of open up their mind when they study abroad and bring back what they learned and serve the country.

Is studying in the U.S. the right choice for everyone?

I would say different people have different ambitions.  Those who aim to just make more money, which is the ambitions of most Malaysians, they would prefer to pursue education in UK or Australia so they can obtain their degree earlier and faster and go into society and work.  But for those who are interested in increasing their knowledge on different breadth of disciplines, I‘d encourage them to pursue their education in the U.S., particularly because the education system here is really different, due to the teaching and learning system.

» Listen to the full interview

Submit your own stories about learning English or coming to the U.S. using the form below, or email jstahl@voanews.com.

Excerpts of our discussion will be used in an upcoming Upfront show, but here’s the full 20-minute interview for your listening pleasure.

Download