After browsing business schools’ websites, making lists of their advantages and disadvantages, and investigating admissions requirements and tuition costs, you probably began envisioning yourself living abroad, experiencing the new campus, wondering what your peers are like, how you’ll communicate with one another, and who your instructers will. It’s an exciting moment, but it can also be overwhelming with mistakes along the way.
These common mistakes international students make as they plan, apply, and throughout their experience, will help you avoid them.
International Students Don’t Learn Enough About The Host Country
Make sure you know everything you need to know about your host country before you leave. This will assist you in determining what you should and should not do, as well as ensure a smooth transition. Prepare by learning about your school, the neighborhood where you’ll be living, maps, and public transit.
What about the language?
No one expects you to learn a brand new language in a couple of weeks but it helps a lot if you learn the basics to work your way around when you first land. A common mistake international students make is that they do not learn the language of the host country.
Remember to study and appreciate your host country’s language and culture. It is not necessary to be proficient in the language if you master basic greetings and expressions in their native tongue.
Moreover, it helps if you make friends with students from the area and listen to them speak the language. People are linked through language after all, so learn as many as you can, and even be proud of sharing yours as well!
They Don’t Step Out of Their Comfort Zone
Being adaptable entails venturing outside of your comfort zone and attempting new experiences. Learn about the new culture and try their food, their activities, best spots to check. You never know, it’s possible that the next thing you try will become your new favorite. This can help you form a stronger bond with your new surroundings and adapt quickly. Regardless of your character, you’d want to look back and have no regrets about missing out! So avoid not getting off campus and sticking to an uptight and safe routine, and this leads us to the next point.
They Have No Study-Life Balance
When visiting a new place, international students may become overly focused on academics or overly focused on having a good time rather than acquiring a decent education. When in fact, they should aim to achieve a balance between education, work, and leisure, as well as other key parts of business school life such as polishing their soft skills, socializing, and networking. Students should also be realistic about how much time they will need to complete specific projects and shouldn’t be embarrassed about asking for help. Learning how to manage your time and take charge of your schedule is an important part of education.
They Only Hang Out With People From Their Own Country
The most typical blunder made by international students is confining their social circles to persons from their native country. You’re missing home, of course. You long to hear your native tongue spoken. You’re in a foreign nation, far from home, and you miss your family. You’re at a loss for what to talk about with kids from various countries. It may appear to be easier to stick with pupils from your native country, especially if there is a language barrier. However, if you don’t strive to fit in with students of all ethnicities, it won’t help you. You’ll miss out on one of the most important aspects of studying abroad: being exposed to diverse cultures.
They Don’t Participate in Campus Activities
Perhaps you choose to focus only on your studies in order to stay on track; however, you don’t want to miss out on on-campus activities just because you want to focus on nothing other than attending classes. With so many student organizations and groups, getting involved on campus has its own set of significant advantages. Participating in campus events sets the stage for a lifetime of learning, reaching out, and forming cross-cultural connections. It’s an opportunity to put your skillset together.
EMLV encourages international openness and has developed numerous partnerships with foreign universities. The development of these partnerships has resulted in thousands of academic exchanges that have allowed French students to study in partner universities and foreign students to study at EMLV.
Discover all the world’s cultures in one place, and make the best out of your experience abroad!
