In this issue:
- Introduction
- Staying in touch - International Communications
- Find your Spanish course in the Spanish world
- TOEFL Scores Open More Doors
- Featured Program: Iowa Intensive English Program
- Student Sound-off - HOT Topics from the mail bag
- Student News - from around the world
- International Financial Aid
- Subscription Information
- Final Note
1. Introduction
Welcome to this month's newsletter - crammed full
with information and news about some hot international student topics including keeping in touch with family and
friends with our international communications blurb, a Spanish language article from Language Course Finders, and a
focus on the new Canadian off-campus work rules for international students.
Also - keep an eye out for International Education Week coming next month! We have some great prizes and
giveaways lined up...
Ross Mason
Editor, InternationalStudent.com Newsletter
Post comments on my blog - http://www.InternationalStudentBlog.com
See me on
MySpace.com - http://www.myspace.com/international_student
2. Staying in touch - International Communications
As the new semester is well underway,
keeping in touch with your family and friends is really important - but it can be expensive and finding the right
option can be time consuming and will make you want to pull your hair out! At InternationalStudent.com we have done
the hard work for you and found the best options:
Internet Calling:
There are two services that are head and shoulders above the rest, Skype and
Gizmo:
http://www.skype.com
http://gizmo-project.findmysoft.com/
Calling from the USA:
The best service we have found is InternationalCallingCard.com with low rates,
great connection, pin-less dialing and much more:
http://www.internationalcallingcard.com
Calling from the rest of the world:
If you need to call from other locations or your parents or friends
want to call you from outside the US then check out the InternationalCallingCard.com rate search to find the best
product:
http://www.InternationalCallingCard.com
Sim Cards
The cheapest sim card available online for the USA, which comes preloaded with T-mobile
service, is available at:
http://www.internationalstudent.com/sim_cards/
Let us know if you use these services, or if you use other options:
http://www.internationalstudentblog.com/2006/10/international-communications-keeping.html
3. Find your Spanish course in the Spanish world
Find your Spanish course
in the Spanish world with "The Language Course Finder"
With a database of more than 10,000 schools teaching 88 languages in 115 countries, The Language Course Finder
features a language course search engine with an extensive range of search criteria. The fastest-growing language in
the world, Spanish currently has about the same number of native speakers as English. By 2050, it is estimated that
550 million people around the world will speak Spanish. There are a great variety of Spanish-speaking destinations
in which to take a language course, from Spain to Ecuador to Mexico, Peru or the Dominican Republic. Most language
schools offer Spanish courses for complete beginners as well as for people who want to brush up on their existing
language skills.
You can combine language learning with certain activities from a particular region or country. For example,
learning Spanish in Spain might include learning Flamenco dancing. If your plan is to learn Spanish in Mexico, you
might find out about Mexican cooking, while in Argentina you might partake in wine tasting, and in Venezuela, a
language course might include a trip to the Amazonian jungle. To find the right Spanish course, The Language Course
Finder offers you the opportunity to search for language courses according to your personal criteria (e.g.,location,
course type, group size, accommodation, supplementary activities).
Click here to find your Spanish course now and be part of the Spanish world:
https://www.internationalstudent.com/learn-spanish/
4. TOEFL Scores Open More Doors
The TOEFL test is the best academic English-language test in the world. It is accepted by 6,000 colleges and
universities in more than 100 countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the
United States. And that means more opportunity for your academic success.
Why do so many schools recognize the TOEFL test? Because it measures the English-language skills you'll use
when you study, so success on the test means success on campus from day one. And it provides fair testing, with the
unbiased, objective scoring schools rely on to help them make vital decisions.
No wonder the TOEFL test has been taken by more than 18 million students worldwide!
Open the door to your future. Register for the TOEFL test NOW.
http://tinyurl.com/qafp3
Copyright 2006 by Educational Testing Service. All rights reserved.
ETS, the ETS logo and TOEFL are
registered trademarks of Educational Testing Service.
5. Featured Program: Iowa Intensive English Program
The Iowa Intensive English Program (IIEP) provides international students with intensive English instruction and a
cultural, social and academic introduction to the U.S. It focuses its training on improving students' grammar,
writing, reading, listening comprehension, pronunciation and conversation skills. The curriculum consists of 20
hours of instruction per week. Small class size allows instructors to give students individual attention throughout
the program.
For more information, please see:
https://www.esldirectory.com/detail.php?program=302
6. Student Sound-off - HOT Topics from the mail bag
As you can see we have
changed our "Student Sound-off" topic slightly as we are now going to scan our forums, blog and mailbag for topics
that are interesting you during the last month! This month our hot topic from our message boards is about how to
afford to study in the US:
Q: OK, so i got a phone call from my gf her tuition ends in december and her parents will no longer pay for
her tuition because of me, shes korean and from korea and im american - because she will not have the money to
continue school her visa will void and she will be forced to return to korea. Is there anything i can do? Is there
anything she can do? moshe615 http://www.internationalstudentforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=3221
A: Moshe615, thank you for your post on our message board. You certainly do have some options but you will
need to be proactive and work hard to find funding and opportunities for your girlfriend. One option, as one member
of our boards has already pointed out, is to find a co-signer for an International Student Loan
(https://www.internationalstudentloan.com) - this can be your parents or any other credit-worthy US citizen or
permanent resident. Ask your family and friends - you might be surprised who would like to help you and your
girlfriend.
You can also check out some other financial aid opportunities such as https://www.iefa.org
or https://www.internationalscholarships.com where they list
scholarships and fellowship information.
For options regarding her visa and ability to stay in the US, you can contact Bill Kadarusman, the immigration
lawyer on our message board, and see what insight he can provide from an immigration point of view - you can post to
him at http://www.internationalstudentforum.com/viewforum.php?f=15.
I hope this helps!
If you would like to help out and post comments and suggestions to Moshe615 please visit: http://www.internationalstudentforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=3221
7. Student News - from around the world
Canada Allows Off-Campus Work for
International Students
In an effort to improve life for international students and to make Canada a more desirable study abroad
destination, Canada Immigration and Citizenship announced new rules that permit international students to work
off-campus. Canada has over 150,000 international students and the new rules will make the majority of them eligible
to work off-campus for up to 20 hours per week while in school, and full-time when school is not in session, like
summer and winter break. The rules were announced late last spring, so the effects are just beginning to be felt
this semester.
To be eligible, you must be a full-time student on a valid study permit, and you must have studied full-time
at an eligible Canadian public, post-secondary institution for at least six months out of the 12 months preceding
your work permit application. You also must maintain satisfactory standing at your school.
To learn more about the new off-campus work opportunity for international students in Canada, visit the latest
post at the International Financial Aid blog: http://www.internationalfinancialaidblog.com/2006/10/work-opportunities-for-international.html
8. International Financial Aid
Finding International Financial Aid can be
hard! International Student Loans require a co-signer and are a good option if you have one, but if not then your
best bet is to search for scholarships that are available to international students. International Education
Financial Aid (https://www.iefa.org) provides you with a searchable database of scholarships from around the world.
They also have some great resources and articles to help you in your search.
Learn more at: https://www.iefa.org
9. Subscription Information
You are currently signed up to the
InternationalStudent.com newsletter which we send out once a month (and occasionally we send out mid-month special
emails) containing information, news, resources and events for international students from all around the world. You
can fully manage your subscription online via the link below or from the information at the end of this email.
http://www.internationalstudent.com/newsletter/
10. Final Note
Thank you for reading the International Student
Newsletter!
Please help us spread the word about the site and our newsletter by referring your friends - it's quick and
easy! Simply visit: http://www.internationalstudent.com/socialize/
Alternatively, we always welcome your feedback either online or by snail mail: http://www.InternationalStudent.com/contact/
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The End