Being accepted into an American college is a significant event and it is normal for an international student to feel both excited and apprehensive. Although initially it may seem that you have plenty of time until the start of your first semester, the months will pass quickly. It is best to prepare for the start of term, as this way you will get the most out of the experience and avoid any pitfalls. So what should you do to prepare for studying at a US college? Let’s find out.

 

1. Practice your writing skills

If you have been accepted into a college, this means that your writing skills must be good, right? Not exactly. While you may consider yourself to be pretty good at written English in your current environment, your skills are most likely not on a par with those of the majority of native speakers.

After all, natives been using their first language since childhood and have been writing in it long before you began. Even more importantly, their knowledge of the language isn’t limited to writing academic essays.

Many international students learn so-called patterned writing – that is, they learn not to write in regular English, but to write essays in English following a particular pattern that they repeat time and again to achieve optimal results.

 

It may be enough when everybody around you uses the same approach, but US college students will be freer in their use of language and expression, and patterned writing will be immediately perceived as stilted and unnatural.

When preparing for college, try to spend as much time as possible practising your writing skills – the results will be worth it. You could research online and read books about writing styles and academic referencing. This will give you guidance on writing style, which can be useful when preparing your own work.

2. Practice listening to lectures online

Listening to lectures and taking notes can be a huge challenge even if you are studying in your first language. Lecturers aren’t going to slow down their speaking pace simply because there are international students around. This means that you will either have to learn how to keep up with the rest of the students or resign yourself to lagging behind.

In addition to that, professors in different countries have different approaches to teaching and lecturing in general and their methods may be quite different from what you are used to.

Listening to online lectures can somewhat alleviate the problems with the transition to a new learning environment. Try not only listening to them but also making notes in real time and repeating the content in your own words based on your notes. This will teach you how to extract the gist out of what you hear and write down only the most crucial parts of the lecture.

 

3. Arrive a few days early

There are several reasons to arrive early at a new college. Firstly, there may be problems with local weather and jet lag. If you come from a drastically different climate, you may need a few days to learn how to cope with the new conditions and jet lag can make you sleepy and lethargic when you need your energy most.

Secondly, you cannot just arrive the day the classes start and immediately jump into action. There are many preliminary activities international students have to take care of before they can start studying.

These include being assigned to a dorm and moving into it, choosing a mobile phone carrier and a service plan, learning your way about the campus, finding out where your classes will take place and so on. It is much better to take care of it all beforehand than to run around like a headless chicken at the last moment.

4. Visit your freshman orientation

‘Freshmen’ is what the Americans call the new first year students – the term is used for both male and female students. (In the UK, first years are called ‘freshers’ and this orientation time is called ‘Freshers Week’).

Freshman orientation in US colleges is important for all new students, but especially so for international students. This is an excellent chance to deal with the culture shock of a new country, lets you get to know your future classmates, learn more about the college you are about to enter, its activities and the opportunities it offers.

You also will be able to use this orientation week to transfer to ‘study mode’ a bit earlier, so that you start your term at full power instead of slowly getting into the spirit of the things, while dealing with all the new aspects of college life.

 

5. Be ready to take part in classroom discussions

In many countries, the relationship between lecturers and students is a strictly hierarchical one: professors speak, students listen and write down what they say. In the United States, things are quite different. Active interaction between both parties plays a significant role in the learning process and you are expected to participate in classroom discussions.

Usually, being more active in classroom discussions will result in your receiving a better final grade. Some courses specifically deal with collaboration and debate, and classroom participation is even more important in those classes. So if this feels a bit unnatural and unfamiliar to you, you should make an effort to learn how to participate more actively in the classroom when preparing for college.

 

6. Research your college library

You should definitely place a library on the checklist of things to research in your new college. There you can find an excellent place to study and get support with your learning process and borrow textbooks for free, which can save you a significant amount of money in the long run.

Moving into a new environment, both in terms of location and language, is always challenging, but if you prepare properly, you can deal with anything. Good luck!