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Updates: Romanian Students in the U.S.
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Irina Craciun Louisiana State University |
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Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
Class of 2008
Why the U.S.? For me, this question was answered early on in life, as I had grown up watching my parents, both college professors in Bucharest, struggle with life in Romania. Having followed in my mother's footsteps, I knew I wanted to be a mathematics professor. But I also knew I wanted a better life - not a life of luxury, but a decent life, where I could practice my profession to the best of my abilities, without having to worry about the basic necessities of living.
Why Louisiana State University? The story of how I came to be at LSU is not your typical one: sure, I took all the SAT's under the sun, and thus spent a lot of time at Fulbright, I wrote millions of essays and financial aid applications. I only applied to 8 universities, all Ivy League, and as it turned out, none of them offered me full financial support. To me, it was the end.
In the summer of 2003, I happened to attend a series of lectures on Gravitational Physics, taught by Mihai Bondarescu, a Romanian graduate student from Caltech. He gave some mathematics tests (which I later found out were GRE tests!) on which I apparently performed very well for an 11th grader. We exchanged email addresses but that was about it. A year later, in 2004, the day my last refusal from the 8 universities arrived, and when I thought my dream was over, Mihai emailed me and asked me if I had accepted any offers. When I said no, he told me about a research center at LSU, Center for Computation and Technology (CCT) that was looking for some good students. He put me in contact with them, I sent them my resume and an essay, and 2 days later, I got my acceptance letter from LSU, with an offer for full financial support from CCT. A month later I was getting on a plane for the first time in my life.
The lesson in all this? Make contact!!! Find professors, students, researchers in the U.S. who study and research in the field you're interested in, and just talk to them! Tell them about yourselves, about your past achievements and your future intended achievements, about what you wish to do and learn, ask for their advice, read scientific papers they've written and comment on them. I've learned that in applying to schools in the U.S., whether at a graduate or undergraduate level, nothing is more important than human contact. When you are merely an application folder to them, while it can still work, your chances increase tenfold when there's a real face and person attached to that folder, and someone there knows who you are!
All I knew about LSU when I left was that it wasn't the Ivy League school I had hoped for. I didn't know what to expect. But I was pleased to discover that I was going to get a top education at LSU: I met wonderful professors who changed my life, both mathematics professors and from other subjects. I can't think of a single teacher here who had absurd expectations, who practiced favoritism, or who was in any way unfair. Surely expectations were high in all disciplines, but there was also a lot of help and support available: all professors have their office doors open to their students for questions and help, there are tutoring centers and a great big library with thousands of books and hundreds of computers, and students often form study groups where they help each other study. And no one cheats here: at all the tests, even in classes with 300 students in an auditorium, there is no professor playing policeman, students sit next to one another, and it is understood and accepted that no one will try to cheat. Because if you do cheat, even if you escape the professor's punishment, you will lose all your classmates' respect, and basically no one in your class will talk to you ever again. Not to place blame on the Romanian education system, but it was refreshing for once to not be the "loser" if I chose not to cheat.
People in the South are the most welcoming people in the world, and they care much for international students who have no family here. For all the holidays, whether it was 4th of July, Thanksgiving or Christmas, I got warm invitations from professors, students and co-workers to spend the day with their families, and bring along other internationals, so that we wouldn't be alone.
The 4 years I was an undergraduate at LSU, I had a job as a research student at CCT, working alongside top professors, publishing papers, presenting them at conferences across America, and winning awards for my research. Not many undergraduates get to work in research, but the options are there at any university, if you look hard enough: try to get a research job, as it will be a priceless asset if you plan to apply to graduate school later.
Was it hard? Yes, it was tremendously hard, especially in the beginning. Adaptation is tough, and I miss my family and friends from Romania terribly. But was it worth it? Most definitely!!! At the end of those 4 years, I graduated Summa cum Laude in mathematics, I got married to a wonderful American boy who is also a mathematician , and I got a great financial offer for a PhD here at LSU. Although I got offers from other universities (some much better rated), I love LSU so much, that I decided to stay here. I am so in love with this university, with this town, and the people here, that I now call Baton Rouge my home. And more important than anything, I am happy, fulfilled and at peace with myself.
Irina |
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Iulia Sprinceana Middlebury College, VT |
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Iulia Sprinceana Middlebury College, VT Class of 2007
When people around me ask me simply, ‘’Why Middlebury?” I sit back and think thoroughly, but I rarely come up with a satisfactory answer. I have been studying at Middlebury for three years* and I have come to realize that its campus and entire atmosphere are ineffable, in other words, one must be there, fully immersed in the Vermont scenery to comprehend that the climax of this experience overcomes any words. Middlebury is not just the typical liberal arts top college, engaged in challenging students’ way of thinking. In these years, as an international student, I have been involved in many activities, from the jobs in the library, the research assistantships, the peer tutoring, the summer internships, the cultural shows and events that the ISO (International Students’ Organization) or the COA (Christian Orthodox Association) organize, to my own J-term** workshop of glass icon painting, etc., that it is now that I finally grasp and cherish the extent of the Middlebury commitment with its students. Perhaps the most rewarding experience has been my junior year abroad in Madrid: here I have had, once again, the opportunity to discover the liberty of spirit that Midd promotes by encouraging and supporting us to study at one of its campuses worldwide, and to take courses at a prestigious university, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, but also to rediscover myself, as a student and as a person. Middlebury’s renown comes from its large international population, both in the student body as in the faculty; indeed, international students account for 8-10% of the entire student body. I am proud to say that Middlebury is a top school, considering its constant struggle and endeavor dedicated to its international kids and their ‘special needs’. Middlebury has thus become my ‘home sweet home’ away from home-and if Home is where your friends, fellow colleagues and much loved and admired professors are, then, for sure, I have gained a second Home. “We have always had such great students from Romania”, professors and staff unanimously admit at Middlebury. I believe this is a splendid and unique gateway that prospective students must take advantage of: after all, why not choose to study at a school that is so open, that not only fosters students’ capacity to remain on campus and explore the great jobs, internships and fellowships available, but, moreover, allows them to open their wings at 180 degrees by sending them abroad, recognizing that the individual’s growth potential is encountered through diversity and multiculturalism. I love this school. To paraphrase president John F. Kennedy, “ask not what Middlebury can do for you, but what you can do for Middlebury”, how you, as a student, can bring your own input and contribute to the shaping of this wonderful Vermont community. *) I have spent my first two academic years (2003-2004, 2004-2005) in the Middlebury main campus in Middlebury, VT, and then I spent my junior year, 2005-2006 at a study abroad site in Madrid, Spain **) J-term stands for “January Term”, a special term in which a student only registers for one course”
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Serban Tanasa Harvard College, MA |
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Serban Tanasa Harvard College, MA Class of 2007
My greatest shock upon getting to the Harvard Campus four years ago wasn't the awesomeness of Widener Library, despite its seven million volumes. It wasn't even the postcard-perfect campus itself, with its old trees, forged iron gates, well-kept grass, red-brick buildings and frighteningly smart people frolicking about. I had seen it all in the movies. What really surprised me was my first interaction with the Registrar, as they call the school administration (the US equivalent for our Secretariat). I was shocked to find that the people working there were actually friendly and thought of students as human beings. Time it took to obtain a transcript: 10 seconds (they're available online). I am not hitting on Romania here. Try pretty much anywhere in continental Europe and you'll find the school bureaucracies just as unmanageable. Sure, Americans on average will not know anything about Romania, save the occasional remark about Dracula and gymnasts. But they are friendly, welcoming people, and will recognize and reward talent and dedication. It gets even better: in many schools, both the faculty and the people who give them tenure actually pay close attention to student feedback on the courses. This means two things: courses actually get better from year to year, and horrible professors don't stay around for too long. Americans have a lot to teach us, and we have quite a few things to pass on to them as well. In exchange for your Old World wisdom, they will share with you their optimist can-do attitude, a certain inability to be idle, and most amazingly, their way of being pro-active about things. There's none of that "What's the Government doing?" nonsense around here. If something doesn't work, a bunch of people get together and fix it. My point is, when you get here, you shouldn't just study Economics, Astrophysics or whatever you fancy. You may also want to submerge yourself in the American culture or, for those reluctant to use that word, the American way of getting things done. Whether you go back and help build up Romania or stay here for a while and get a house in the suburbs, it's a useful talent to have.
From the land of the Red Sox and bad beer, with love,
Serban
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Diana Hasegan Lafayette College, PA |
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Diana Hasegan
Lafayette College, PA Class of 2010
It began way back, I think in the sophomore year of high school. I knew I needed something more than Romania could offer me. I was inclined to do engineering because I loved sciences and math. America in general has great opportunities for engineering study because of the higher amounts of money that are spent every year on education. So I said "okay, let's do it." In the process I found all kinds of people, some that inspired me and some that tried to undermine my efforts. But I had a vision: I wanted to study abroad right after high school, and nobody could convince me not to. This is probably the first and most important ingredient someone needs in the process of application.
I chose to go to Lafayette College because they offered me a very good financial aid package which is the most important factor for a Romanian student. Although Lafayette was not my first choice, now I realize I was very lucky to be offered this chance because the college is an excellent match for me.
Lafayette is a small private school with faculty and staff trained to help you do the best in your studies and activities. Every fall a group of peer advisors are waiting new students at the airport to pick them up and take them safely to the campus. They make sure new students get to campus earlier so as to adjust to the time difference; they plan a wide variety of activities so as to help them get smoothly integrated in the community. Students have an academic advisor and one can also apply for a career advisor as well as a peer advisor.
The most awesome fact is that you can choose. You can choose your courses, sometimes even your professors if more than one section is offered. You can choose your activities. You can choose your hobbies. You can choose your roommates. And in each of these categories you have a wide variety of choices. And if you think you will be overwhelmed by the incredible amount of decisions you will have to make, don't worry. There are trained persons to help you make the right choices.
You are also offered second chances. For example, if you choose a particular major and find out at the end of the first year that it is not for you, you can still change your major without losing one year of your life by starting again.
I don't have enough room to talk in details about all the aspects that I like on my U.S. campus. So, I will just list some of them: going to the library at any hour and studying in a private room with wireless connection, adjustable temperature and boards and windows on which you can write and review your material renting movies, TV series and documentaries from the library's DVD collection with no charge on your part renting free of charge fully equipped cameras, laptops, headphones, microphones and other electronics receiving money from the student government to organize activities and parties with your floor or social group going to lectures during lunch, getting free food and learning about interesting facts and issues going to yoga, Pilates, fitness or many more exercise programs for free having an interesting job such as calling alumni or tutoring students and making 7 or 8 dollars per hour. doing research which means being paid to learn interesting stuff and help professors getting training on topics such as time management, study skills, team work, effective presentations, stress management, communication, etc. always being asked for feedback.
If you share the same vision and passion, I wish you good luck and take the battle to the very end. It's worth it.
Diana
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