A huge step based on the kindness of friends

Unlike their American counterparts, most international students do not get the opportunity to have a grand tour of the college they plan on attending before enrolling. Therefore, they normally have to trust the information sent to them by the respective colleges. As a result, most students do not know what to expect from a college and enrolling normally involves a huge step of faith.

However, some international students are fortunate to be acquainted with people who have studied at colleges in the United States in recent years and are willing to furnish them with information about the college. One such student is David Guati who hails from Valladolid, Spain.

“I am on an exchange program known as FISPE,” said Guati. “Under the program, I had the choice of either attending GC&SU or the University of San Diego.”

He chose GC&SU because his friends who spent a year in Milledgeville recommended Georgia College & State University due to its pleasant climate and quiet environment, which is very appropriate for learning.

His friends also introduced him to some of their associates at GC&SU. Having no family in the United States, it was these new friends who helped Guati assimilate to life as a college student in the United States.

Guati likes the way GC&SU instructors approach course material.

“They possess a positive attitude towards students,” said Guati, who majors in marketing. “They also seem genuinely interested in helping students learn.”

Guati is also very impressed with the preparation instructors put into their classes.

“They prepare slides and hand-outs which are extremely important tools for learning,” said Guati.

“In Spain, colleges are not very firm on class attendance policy,” said Guati, a senior from the University of Valladolid.

As a result, most students normally skip classes and study the texts for the various courses. In most cases, students do very well in these classes; however, Guati likes the strict class attendance policy at GC&SU because it helps students grasp the material, which might be useful for one’s career.

Valladolid, Guati’s hometown, is located in northern Spain. Spain is a 195,364 square mile country, approximately 10 miles North of Morocco. It has a population of about 40 million people and a climate that is marked by extremes of temperature.

Spain is also a member of the European union, an organization of European countries dedicated to increasing economic integration and strengthening cooperation among its members. Citizens of European union members are free to move from one member country to another with only the Identification Card being required from one’s country. Guati took advantage of this free movement and spent a semester of his college career in Ireland.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Oct 11 2002. Filed under Other. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry