Every year thousands of students from India go to the United States for higher education. As is often the case in such a large group, the success rate of these students varies. In the 10 years that I have been in the United States, I have had the privilege to serve in teaching-related positions in four institutions—Pennsylvania State University; University of Missouri; University of Nebraska at Omaha; and Binghamton University, State University of New York. I have interacted with thousands of students, and observed hundreds of international students navigate their way through the U.S. academic system.
Study Skills
Students who have had success in the past may believe that it will come just as easily in another country. However, different teaching methods, a different language, different academic background, and a different campus culture can affect your ability to be successful.
Most colleges and universities offer free short-term classes to help you be a successful student. Topics may include utilizing your school’s library resources to write a research paper, navigating the Internet, developing good study skills, and practicing effective time management. If English is not your first language, you might help your grades by visiting the university writing center, by taking an ESL course, or by joining an informal English conversation group. There are also excellent study-skills Web sites on the Internet.
My experiences—first as a student and a teaching assistant, and later as lecturer and professor—and interactions with a variety of students have led me to realize that success in the U.S. academic environment requires a systematic approach that starts even before the first day of class.
Follow the 5 + 2 P framework to increase your chances of success.
Plan: The first element refers to developing a coherent and consistent line of action with regard to the field of study. This phase starts early with thinking about how the academic major to be pursued in the United States fits into your academic and professional goals. It continues with thinking about how each course during the program will play a role in your academic life. Foreign students in the United States are allowed to enter the country for a limited time. For this reason, students from other countries, including India, do not have as much room as American students to experiment with the various options that exist in U.S. universities. In such a scenario, students who have thought deeply about their preferred academic field and understand how it will lead them to their goals have a significant edge over other students.
Prepare: Syllabi for almost all courses in U.S. universities are available on the first day of the semester. In some cases, students can also request professors for the syllabus before the start of the semester. The syllabus provides information about what topics will be covered, required and optional books, and the assignments and tests students are expected to complete, often with due dates. This information is very useful in helping students prepare for the course in advance.
Participate: This is an important aspect of the U.S. academic environment. Although the rate and nature of participation varies across majors and colleges, almost all courses require students to show some level of class participation. In addition, most professors expect students to make meaningful contributions that further class discussion.
For participation to be constructive, students can share insights from their work experience or knowledge gained from extracurricular reading related to the course. As Indian students going abroad for higher education generally lack actual experience in the workplace, the reading approach—gaining relevant knowledge through extensive reading—is arguably more viable for them.
Proact: Indian students tend to be reactive, waiting for things to happen when it comes to academic issues. This is the opposite of a proactive approach, which requires students to step out of their comfort zone and take charge of the situation. A very critical aspect of being proactive is networking with peers, professors, alumni and others on campus. Networking can be virtual, through LinkedIn and Facebook, or face-to-face in campus socials and professional events. More opportunities for assistantships, internships and jobs are available to people who are good at networking.
Project: These days, early to bed and early to rise is no longer enough. It’s also important to work hard and advertise. I refer to the willingness to advertise about one’s achievements as project. Just as it is useful to stand out by pursuing unique activities, it is also important to ensure that credit for those activities accrue where it is due.
Students should make it a point to tactfully share information about out-of-class activities with their academic advisers and professors, projecting themselves in a positive light. They should also frequently update their résumés and use them as tools for self-assessment as well as to project their name in a positive manner.
Two other Ps are important for success in an international environment. The first of these isproud. This involves taking pride in one’s country and culture. I have come across several Indian students who criticize their country and culture in international settings, oblivious to the fact that such criticism undermines their own image. Some Indian students leave their country with little intellectual understanding of the events that shaped their country and provide the underpinnings of their culture. I strongly encourage students to invest time and effort in learning about their country and culture, and take pride in its unique heritage.
The second element for success internationally is perspective. We live in times of unprecedented globalization. To compete effectively in such an environment, Indians should develop a global perspective. This involves learning a foreign language, becoming aware of historical and social issues in other countries, and reading about developments around the world. Today, a person in Mumbai or New Delhi is not just competing with those around him, but with his peers in Shanghai, Paris, Rio de Janeiro and New York. Developing a global perspective helps one become a potential manager and leader for companies and organizations competing internationally.
The 5 + 2 P framework presented here is neither comprehensive nor a conclusive guide. They simply reflect my understanding of some of the essential areas that young adults need to focus on as they embark on a new course in life.
In addition, they are tools to enable students to think about what they can do to thrive in an unfamiliar system in which missteps can be costly in terms of time and money, while the right steps can take their career on an upward trajectory.
By VISHAL GUPTA
(from New Delhi is an assistant professor of strategy at the School of Management at Binghamton University, State University of New York.)
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