Eee, while I'm not disgusted at Malaysian who just stick to Malaysian, I know for sure that the bolded part is a very lame excuse. It's in fact an excuse born when politicians, psychological and sociological on the 20th century try to give a scientific sounding terms or explanation for every small problem.

In reality, while cultural and language barriers do exist, I do not think it's anything like a 'barrier'. It's at the most a short period of uneasiness, unless you set it as a barrier in your mind. In Malaysia, there is a huge cultural difference between many races and in many areas, Indians and Chinese do not speak the same kind of Malay that Malays use to speak among themselves. I mean the slang words and such. While we may not be very integrated, I don't think anyone see it as a big problem to make friends with or talk to members or other races, or feel particularly uncomfortable if one is invited to a cultural festival or another race. So really it isn't much harder to mix with whites or blacks.

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Added on April 10, 2011, 10:40 amHonestly I haven't really met anyone who has been culture-"shocked". And you don't need to speak English competently to be able to communicate with them. Sometimes I don't get half the things a black person is speaking is they use ebonics to the full. There are alot of people who are very poor at English and mingle around very well. There are alot alot of people who speak good English by have an accent. Alot of white have a hard time understanding what I say if I talk too fast cause my accent sounds weird to them.

And erm, some colleges do accept IELTS, most don't. Of course you should email your college. And I don't think it's too hard to persuade your sponsor to pay for your TOEFL.

This post has been edited by mumeichan: Apr 10 2011, 10:40 AM

Then take IELTS lor... As long as the school accepts it and you're above the cut off point, I don't think it makes a difference which you take.

Err no, they don't. And for casual conversations, the level of English hardly matters. Some international students write very well but have a hard time stringing sentences in speech, that doesn't matter. And honestly, does anyone not use colloquial language when they're speaking. And I guarantee you, even if someone ended every sentence with "la" it wouldn't hinder the conversation one bit, they'd just get used to it. In fact, even if you pronounce the word wrong, they'd get it, cause language is flexible. You can say fla for flour, sal-men for salmon and they'd still get you despite the large difference. If they have negative prejudices against international people, that's one thing, but if they're willing to be friendly from the beginning, language is their least concern.

I'm not in for the 'disgusting' deabte but...you have a few misconceptions. I feel it's partly due to the mass media.

First, many people go to the bars on Saturday, after exams, freer weeks and such, but it's not like the bar is the de facto hanging out place. Most people hangout on campus, the dorms and local restaurants, not the bar. Not everyone drinks. The people who actually party are even rarer. No one needs to mix with that crowd if it isn't their thing. And I mean even for people who drink and party, it's not like they are doing it 24/7.

I'm not saying their all nice and good, like any place in the world, you can find saints and angels down to bastards and b****es. But there are enough friendly people around.

And just because you're friends it doesn't mean you need to hangout with them 24/7. If one likes movies, then go for movies, but one might not like football, then just skip the football game. It doesn't mean ditching Malaysian, but it means not living in a Malaysian coconut shell exclusively. Of course we're Malaysians, and we should get acquainted with the Malaysia there and be friends with them. We can promote out culture and language too and we can always invite them to our place for Malaysian festivities.

There are ALOT of Jews in US and the religious ones also follow all kinds of strict rules like Muslims. I don't see them complaining about making friends? ANy Muslim person can easily friends Americans who will go out of the way to a halal restaurant, or hangout at an ice-creame shop or drink shop or buy stuff from the halal shop to cook.

Yea it requires compromising and understanding, everything does, even here in Malaysia. It's not doing anything unusual or bizarre by being compromising. And like spunkberry said, Americans are crazy over Asian culture. Sometimes you wonder why Malaysia has so many tourist right? They just like it, seeing different things. If you tell them you're from Malaysia, the first thing they'll say it "wow cool" but they don't even know where Malaysia is. But as it goes along they'll take an interest in it.

And again, by no means I think it's all roses. Sure I've experience discrimination and such before. But I really don't see it as a hindrance, and I think having that mindset keeps one for being really open to other people.

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Added on April 11, 2011, 12:53 amSee, why does it require "alot" of compromising? Do you feel like you're giving up a whole lot by not eating char siew with your Malay friends? Do you think you Malays are giving up alot when they hear Chinese and Indian people speak Malay in their accents?

I'm not arguing with you about me being right and you being wrong. I'm saying that some implicit attitudes like this, feeling "alot" when there really isn't alot of compromising does make it harder to make friends. People may not be consciously aware of everything they do, but the amount of smiles, the way we smile, the tone of our voice and alot of body language comes into play. This is believe is far more of a hindrance to making friends than language or culture can ever be.

I've nothing to gain or lose by arguing here, so that's not my reason of posting, I do sincerely wish they you guys who will be spending a hell lot of money on your education get the most out of the cultural experience. That you'll make close friends from all over the world, not just US, who you'll be calling back 10 years from now. A Lot of people do come here with ideal of making friends and such but suddenly fall back to their own culture pocket, why because they really have some mental block in going out, and not everyone realizes it or even wants to admit it. I'm not free from that either.

This post has been edited by mumeichan: Apr 11 2011, 01:00 AM

I'm sorry if it sounded like a 'malay thing' to you. I really didn't intend that.

That parts really applies only to a very small fraction of colleges in US which have foreign students in it. And even in very good schools who have some or all of those, only a small number of students make use of these academic opportunities. I've been in a class with less than 30 people and they don't even know the lecturer's name. So I think immersion into the culture is as important as realizing one's academic goals. Even research professors know that academia is only half the story. I really don't see how it's secondary. American Education is only 'high quality' if one makes use of all the resources and making use of the resources is inseparable from building relationships with Americans. You don't learn much by just sitting in the lecture, you learn by meeting personally with he lecturer, discussing your ideas, involving yourself with research where you inevitably need to work harmoniously with others. How do you have a good discussion about politics and other social issue without getting to know American culture and how there viewpoints are shaped? By relying on sociology and anthropology textbooks about America? No one gets to use any state of the art equipment unless you're close to a professor. Otherwise you're just using normal equipment that can be found everywhere else. Google doesn't come to campus to give people a project they can do at home on their couch, they hold events, competitions and internships where you'll really need to interact and make friends with the people around you, who are mostly going to be Americans. The culture part is inseparable.

spunkberry may be harsh sometimes, but she's not poking "Malaysian groups", her point is going there and setting up a closed Malaysian village is a not something desirable. There's nothing so special about American culture, it's just their culture, something different, a different way of life people ascribe themselves too. A way of life that shapes their perspective of the world. A way of life that has produced a great nation. Do you think all their achievements today came from simply being in a land that became to be known as America? Their culture did produce some grad dreams and their culture pushed them into making those dreams a reality. That success made them what they are today. It's ingrained into their culture. There's good and bad to it, some with out Malaysian culture. Knowledge can be found in any book, but culture is what pushes the society forward. In business all depend on the culture of the company to keep its employees as a cohesive whole. We can stop being to grand and mighty about our culture. It has it good and bad. It has brought it alot of peace and very much less violence compared to many places in the world. But our economy can do much better, we can become a stronger political power and out culture is lacking in those drives. So we learn and bring back difference aspect of foreign culture that is beneficial to the field we are in. Alone it's a very small piece, but a whole of all the Malaysia who study overseas and bring back their small bit, it can create a big effect. Look at Japan, from being a totally closed country, it open up to various foreign culture that it saw was beneficial to them and adapted they way of life. Yet they still remain distinctively Japanese. We don't have to lose out identity by assimilating with Americans for a few years. Being friends with all the Malaysians you can find on campus is a totally different thing with forming a closed group with only Malaysia and being so timid about venturing out. There's a difference between having 100 best friends who are Malaysian and having only 100 friends who are all Malaysia. It's not about putting whites or blacks about anyone, it's about including them in our circle of friends.

If the greatness of American education is attending lectures, taking test and staining some bacteria red and basking in the great things one's university has but never participated in, then it's simply no different from reading a textbook quietly in one's room. Does listening to a Harvard professor and then using the latest DNA spectrometry machine automatically make a person do great things in the future?

The VISA is given to you because your sponsored (I don't mean financially) by the school to stay in the US to study. In some sense, the school assumes some responsibility in letting the government know whether or not you're a person suited to be allowed to stay in the US for a long period of time.

Hence, when you apply for your VISA using an I-20 issued by AAU, it means you're applying for the US government to let you stay in US to study at AAU and you're backing up your application with the I-20 from AAU.

If you get into SDSU, then you will need an I-20 issued by SDSU. I believe you do not need to reapply for a VISA but there is some paperwork you will need to do. I also think there is some rules concerning studying in a another college(usually a community college) over summer for credits to transfer over to your 'main' school.

The VISA and Immigration page has info on this for SURE because I was thinking about a similar thing about half a year ago but I just don't know the details. And if there is anything left unclear, email/phone them. Immigration law is very important to be adhered to. Not understanding it isn't an excuse!

Actually it can take less than a week. Once you've completed all the paperwork and paid the fees in advance, you just need to schedule an appointment for the interview. Scheduling is as simple as clicking on a day that isn't full in your web browser. You'll have your interview early in the morning and you'll know the result on the spot. Your VISA will be ready the next business day and can be collected at WISMA MCA. However, what can happen is that you forget to do something and your information isn't complete and you are asked to come back again. Another that can happen is you're a male and you get chosen by random for the 1 month extended screening where they will research your background first and only issue you the VISA after 1 month even though you've already been approved. Hence, applying for VISA last minute is a big no-no.

If you;re in a research university, it's not hard to do research as your OPT.

No, some universities do not require SAT/ACT/whatever standardized test scores. You have to check with the universities you are applying to.

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Added on June 30, 2011, 12:02 pmHuh? The person who tells you your visa is ready is the officer at the US embassy when you go for the interview. He will say you got the visa and you can pick it up at Wisma MCA the following day. the only expception if you are placed under a 30 day security clearance, which means you get to pick it up 30 days later.

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Added on June 30, 2011, 12:04 pm
Even freshman in my university can get internships. I don't think you need anything grand on your resume. And honestly, why wait for people to contact you. Even if the site works, can't you just apply for what you want?

This post has been edited by mumeichan: Jun 30 2011, 12:04 PM

I'd love to give suggestions, but don't think too much now la. You have 8 months of school and you will meet many people during that period of time. You'll probably get involved in some activities too. Those experiences will shape what you want to do for the summer. Most people begin planning their summer around late February.

Err, birth cert and certificates don't need la I think. I never brought them over also. If you really want a copy of your birth cert and a copy of your most important certificates is sufficient.

For cash I would say 400 is more than enough. Spread it over your body and bags so you won't be screwed if you are unlucky enough to get mugged. Keep a copy of your passport and visa in each place you keep the cash. Those two are the msot important things no matter what.

Yup I mean 400 dollars. And of course, you can bring as much traveler's checks as you want, but I don't because they are expensive. If you've the money northing's stopping you from buying the luxury of loading your self up with cash, credit card or traveller's checks.

Opening a back account is very simple. Just bring your documents and go to the bank. You'll get your account and some checks in less than an hour. I think I just needed my passport and student ID. The first account I opened before I even got my student ID. Wiring money over(TT) is very simple. They will surely give you an infromation sheet when you sign up and even if your parent's know nuts about banking, you can jsut email the sheet over and let the bank staff here read it and get all the necessary information. The money shouldn't take more than 5 business day's to arrive.

I pay my rental deposit and 1st month's rent before I fly over. You can mail the check over even if this is your first time flying to the states. My school fees aren't due until the end of September. I buy books used on Amazon after I've determined what books my professor actually used. I assume your bedroom is furnished.

400 can easily pay for your taxi(let's say so cham la it cost 100), food for 10 days and a microwave oven. And please make sure you settle your health insurance before you arrive or the very minute the offices open upon landing.

Hardly. The reason they want a SSN is because from your SSN, they can lookup your income and credit history. If you have no SSN, you wouldn't have a credit history anyway because no bank will issue you a credit card. Why, because you need a SSN to work or something like that.

In total I get taxed 27% for my part time earnings.

Generally it's very low. I don't think the recession has that big of an impact on the the employment of foreigners because the employers of foreigners are normally very big companies and there is an annual cap on the number of work visas that will be given out by the government. So really, the limit is being placed by the visa cap even with the bad economy (which isn't very bad anyway)

Lol no. I got credit for that.

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Added on July 1, 2012, 8:34 amSo who is coming to the US this Fall?

This post has been edited by mumeichan: Jul 1 2012, 08:34 AM

where are you going to?

Yes I'm in Michigan now.

It's up to you what standard you want. If you've already set your mind to IVY or not, then regardless of what other people's experiences are, you're probably not gonna be very satisfied.