Welcome International Questrom Students - Boston ...

Welcome
International
Questrom
Students

AGENDA
Student Welcome
Success Across Borders
Academic Conduct
Advice From Past Students
Q&A

STUDENT WELCOME
        WELCOME TO SENIOR YEAR

                  KIMBERLY MARREROS
                  CLASS OF 2021

KIMBERLY

           • Sophomore
           • From Peru
           • Has studied on three
             continents!
           • Speaks English, French, and
             Spanish…and is learning
             Mandarin!

WELCOME TO BOSTON
UNIVERSITY
Here you will…
1. Find opportunities
  Clubs
  Careers
  Classes

2. Make important decisions
  Leadership positions
  Making friends

BUSINESS

             +1             +2               +2

Consulting        Finance        Marketing

SOCIAL AND SPORTS

  Fraternities   Dancing    Sailing

                     And many more…

REACH OUT TO ME!
Kimberly Marreros
kimarch@bu.edu
Class: 2021
Concentration: Undecided
(we have until Junior year to choose one)
Question me!

SUCCESS
ACROSS BORDERS
        WELCOME TO SENIOR YEAR

            FREDERIC BRUNEL
            Faculty Director of the Undergraduate Program
            Office HAR 659
            Brunel@bu.edu
            (T) 617 353 4609

Nimes   De Nimes       Denim

        And so what?

Presentation Title                                    9/6/2018

You have an incredible ability to adapt to new things
                    and strive.

                There is beauty and joy everywhere.

You are so privileged to have this opportunity, fully
                    embrace it.

Presentation Title   9/6/2018

Presentation Title               9/6/2018

# 1 Ride the Culture Shock Wave

Presentation Title                                         9/6/2018

                     Culture shock is a good thing. Why?

Presentation Title   9/6/2018

#2 Go Native

Presentation Title   9/6/2018

For Class

Outside of Class
 Presentation Title   9/6/2018

Presentation Title                                        9/6/2018

                     I’ve been there, I’ve done that,
               I understand what you are going through.
                    So reach out if you want to chat.

ACADEMIC CONDUCT

        KABRINA CHANG
        Clinical Assoc. Prof. Business Law and Ethics
        kkchang@bu.edu

You’ve come from a different
country. What does that mean?
 Some things are obvious: language, culture,
  weather, opportunities
 Less obvious: Different countries have different
  theories about education
   Different classroom experience
   Different expectations from teachers
   Collaboration v. independent work

Different Educational Culture
 Different classroom experience – we like and
  expect you to get involved in what you are
  learning
   Most classes have participation as part of your grade,
    some as much as 30%
   Better understanding of the material through
    discussing and teaching others
   Arrive on time

Different Expectations from
Professors
 Specific rules on exams
  No cell phones, no notes etc.

 Specific rules on assignments
  Attributing others’ work, easy to do
  Exact words (a quote) = “ … ” + citation immediately
  Paraphrase = citation after paraphrased material

Collaboration v. Independent Work

 Expectation is that all work is independent
  unless told otherwise
    This might be very different than your old school

 Collaboration is great!
    Learn concepts more thoroughly
    Learn the language
    Make friends

Success at Questrom
 Understanding those differences and embracing
  them will help you get the most out of your time
  here
 Tutors: It helps to hear things explained different
  ways and you will learn from trying to articulate
  your questions
    ERC (Educational Resource Center): www.bu.edu/erc/
    LOCK

Success at Questrom
 TALK TO YOUR PROFESSORS!
     It’s our job to help you learn
     Can develop strategies
     Can help avoid larger problems
     We love getting to know you!

ADVICE FROM PAST
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
         WELCOME TO SENIOR YEAR

Prof Chang asked some former
students what they would tell you
 The following slides have quotes from the emails I
  received from those students
 Keep these slides and read them occasionally.
  You will find that you discover new things to help
  you and new ideas each time you read them …
  because you will be changing and learning and
  adapting!
 Different strategies will work for different people –
  if one thing doesn’t work, try a different suggestion

How students felt at the beginning…
Remember – these are students who
did well!!!!
 “The first class was a nightmare”
 “The second after you threw out one question,
  all the American students raised their hands. I
  didn't even have time to process the question in
  my mind, lol”
 “everyone seemed to talk so fast” “there was so
  much reading”

Suggestions from those students

 “Don’t stress yourself too much”
 Go to office hours
    “After class, I couldn't stop worrying … However, I
     came up with an idea. I went to you and explained my
     situation.”
    “After speaking with a professor, I felt like the distance
     between me and the class became shorter.”
 “Try not be shy or afraid, and try to participate in
  class as much as possible.”

Suggestions from those students
 “Never give up. I was struggling much because
  of the differences in cultures, languages, and
  education systems. I have to spend more time
  on studying, and I asked for a lot of help from my
  TAs and classmates. Now I am glad I kept the
  class, getting a fair enough score in the end.”

Suggestions from those students
 Study Groups (with students who speak other
  languages!)
   “Booking a team room once a week and gathering a few
    classmates (2-3 people) would help studying. We gathered the
    notes that we took in class, took out repetitive parts, and organized
    everything on a google doc so that we could all have it. Studying in
    groups, for me, is much more effective than studying by myself.”
   “Work with native classmates. You encouraged foreign students to
    communicate more with classmates who are native speakers. I
    tried and I got higher scores. Exactly like you said, when people
    with different cultures and languages work together, they can learn
    more from different way of thinking. Especially, I think this is more
    helpful for international students because we can understand how
    Americans think about things.”

Suggestions from those students
 Talk to classmates
   “BU has such a large body of international students. Almost
   half of the SM131 class was international students. We
   understood each other's concerns and helped out when one
   was in need. So did the American students. They were happy
   to explain the questions to us if they weren't clear.”
   “Make friends with different people. Friends are extremely
   important for foreign students. I made many last year. Some
   of them are Americans, some are international students who
   have been in states for several years, and some are first year
   students in the US like me. For foreign students always
   having problems in a new circumstance, they are our first-
   hand problem solvers.”

Suggestions from those students
  Lecture Slides:
   “Be really serious about every slide. Don’t just try to
   remember the content； that is just the first step. Use
   your time to really understand each slides， and figure
   out the logic between slides. You need to really learn that
   stuff， not just think how to pass the exam.”
  Class Participation:
   “I was really shy to talk in class due to the reasons like
   bad pronunciation， frequent grammar mistakes.
   However, I pushed myself to talk no matter what.
   University is just a part of experience in the life. I have to
   leave comfortable zone to grow.”

Have a Great 1 Year
              st