How to Buy your Textbooks Smartly

Photo and Essay by Abdulrhman Hiazaa

Congratulations ! You are now an Aggie. Whoooooop !! As a student at English Language Institute, it is my pleasure telling you how to buy your textbooks as smartly as I do. To me, there are three ways to get the textbooks which are buying them from the bookstores, ordering them online, or buying them from a friend who has already taken the courses before you.

First, bring your syllabuses to the bookstore. There are many bookstores in the town. One of them is located at the Memorial Students Center on the university campus. The textbooks are located downstairs. You will find that books organized by the department name. For example, you are in Advanced Grammar class. You will find your book in the row labeled ELIG 300. ELI means English Language Institute. The G represents the grammar and 300 means advanced level and so on for the rest of your books.

Another way to buy books is ordering them online. “Amaazon.com” is the most popular website offering this service. All you need is the title of the book, the author's name and a valid credit card. It is a good idea to sign up at amazon.com. They are going to give you a discount and more flexibility in the delivering process. However, delivery may take two to five weekdays. If your teacher asks you to bring the books as soon as posable, you had better not order them online. Anyway, buying a book online is more cheaper than buying them from bookstores.

What if you can't get the books? Maybe the book you are looking for at the bookstore is sold out and buying it online takes a while. In this case your friends will help you by giving you their books or selling them. However, make sure that the book is clean and the questions in it are unanswered or able to be erased. The aim of owning books is to learn and master your new language. If the book is answered, how are you going to learn?

To sum up, these are the three main ways to own your textbooks. I wish you have a great, successful semester.

Finding a Comfortable Spot to Study

by Majdi Alghamdi

Finding a comfortable spot to study is significant for effective learning. Students from different countries have different habits for studying, but the students who are coming here to Texas A&M will face many problems, because many habits that can work in their countries cannot work here, especially if they were studying at home with little noise and they grew up with that. If they try to do the same habit, it will not work here in Texas A&M. Environment changing is really difficult to adapt to. For that you should prepare before you come here. At the A&M campus there are two good spot that are made for the students who cannot study in their home or who do not feel comfortable studying in their own room. MSC and the library are the two good places you can study in.

The first spot that you can study in is the MSC. The MSC is a short name for Memorial Students' Center. It has been built for the students who cannot study in their own apartment. The reason I chose the MSC is that it has all the facilities for a good spot that the student can study in comfortably. For example, it has many spots for the students, who like listening to a piano playing to feel relaxed, and a really quiet spot for those who like the quiet places. It has Starbucks for those who like to drink coffee while they study. There are many good restaurants. The designer knows that too much studying can make a person feels hungry. For that reason he designed to have a restaurant inside a learning spot. What I actually do when I have homework that I cannot do at home or a major test, I directly schedule my time to go the MSC. When I arrive there I go directly to the Starbucks and buy a coffee with extra sugar and extra milk and go to the piano spot, sit there having all my resources on the table, and start doing my homework, I feel like I am studying on the air flying with my books, and I feel that the more my mind learns the more my mind asks for more. I realize after I changed my habit from being at home studying to studying in this spot, I learned more than I expected. It was a beneficial experience to study there, and my new habit too.

The second spot that you can study in is the library. The library has more educational sources than the MSC. For that reason, if you have a major project that you need to work in, but you do not know how to start, start from the library, it has more than thousands of books about all the subjects. The library is the quietest place to study and has many facilities. For example, the internet there is very fast, and it has a printer that students can use and scanner. The books are available for the students all the time. It has a coffee shop too, that makes a wonderful coffee. If you try to study late go to the library. It is open until midnight. Before the MCS opening I tended to go there. Seeing everyone studying around me makes encouraged to study. When I go there I buy a coffee and I directly go to the first floor spot, having all my books on the table, my laptop on plugged in and charging. After clearing my mind, it then starts working, and the same thing happens to my brain: as much as I learn my mind asks for more. It is a great place to study and do a major project.

In sum, these places are beneficial to study in, and there are many another spots, but these are the best. This is an honest talk. If I had known these places when I first came here, my English would be better and better. I do not want anyone to be in the situation that I was in. Doing well in school depends on the environment that you study in.

How to Get a Student ID as an ELI Student

by Hind Alshammasi

In almost every university, it is mandatory for students to have a student ID as proof for his/ her enrollment in the university. The student ID is used for residence hall access, registration, fee collection, financial aid disbursement, dining halls, athletic event and recreational sports admission and library privileges. There are several steps to take in order to receive an ID.

First, once students get their acceptance (I-20, for international students), the admissions office at the English Language Institute sets a date for students to hand it over with their passports. After that, the students will fill out a form that states their official enrollment at the institute. Also, they’ll sign a paper agreement for the institutes’ rules and regulations.

Second, a staff member will then escort each student to one of the computers to help them make their Howdy accounts. This website is to let students check their assignments and exam dates. Professors and teachers contact their students through it. The staff member will soon give each student a different university identification number (UIN).

Third, once students have finished setting up their account and received their UIN number, they head straight to the General Service Complex. The student can ask for help if he or she doesn’t know the way. They can also use the map. This building is open from 8:00am till 5:00pm, Monday to Friday. In that building students will be asked to give their UIN numbers to the staff member. They will take a photo of the student on the spot and access his or her account information to fill in the ID.

It is not as difficult as it sounds. Following this process will not get a student lost and there will always be staff members there to help him or her. Also, anyone who lost their IDs should report the loss immediately and deactivate their card online at aggiebucks.tamu.edu or by contacting: (979) 845-4661.

These guidelines will surely help out students to get on with the process. These clear steps are simple once they’re followed correctly. Plus, students will also get the chance to walk around campus.

How to Be a Safe and Legal Driver

Photo and Essay by Mohammed Alharthi

Many international students, who want to study in the US, consider driving a car to be a main part of life in America. It helps them to accomplish all their tasks, to travel easily, to save money, and to enjoy their time in the US. In order to drive a car, there are three points that should be taken care of: tips for purchasing a car, the requirements of driving a car, and tips for driving safely. These are the three points in order to drive a car.

The initial point, how to buy a car, depends on the buyer, if the buyer wants a new or used car. There are really different choices. To get a new car, there are many branches available for getting a new car. They differ in their offers. The other choice is a used car, there are three ways to get used cars: dealers, certified used car companies, and a person who wants to sell his or her own car. There are many websites that help the student to buy cars and give them more information. Cars.com, Yahoo motors, and EBay motors are the best examples of trading cars on line. In my perspective, buying a car from certified used car companies is a great idea because they guarantee the car for a long time, just like new cars. In addition, their cars are much cheaper than the new cars. To sum up, buying a car isn’t an easy task. The students should do research about the desired car.

The next point, which is the most significant, is to drive a car in a legal way. The American government requires a driver’s license which is available for people who are above 16 years old and insurance for a car, which is highly important for drivers. First, there are many types of driver’s licenses. For example, there are Unrestricted Licenses, Restricted Licenses, Chauffeur Licenses, Motorcycle Licenses, and Enhanced Licenses, but what I will discuss is the unrestricted one, which is the usual license for driving a car and the license which most Americans own. To get a driver’s licenses, the first tip is to take a course online, and it requires some money about 55$ and it takes about 6 hours. The second tip is to go to the official department to take the exam to make sure the person drives correctly. Second, insurance is an important requirement. The driver should pay monthly for a company, so this company will cover his bill if the driver gets an accident. To get insurance there are many choices. There are a lot of great insurance companies. GEICO, Allstate Car Insurance, and State Farm Car Insurance are good insurance companies. There are monthly and yearly plans, so the driver should visit one of these websites and fill out a long form and payment. In conclusion, these are the requirements for driving in a legal way.

The last point is how to drive safely in the US. There are many rules that should be followed by drivers. After getting the driver’s license, the driver should do what he or she learned. For instance, always buckle your seat belt. If the driver doesn’t buckle his seat belt, the driver will get a ticket. It is a great tool and it saves a lot of lives. The second rule is speed limit. Each driving road in the US has a speed limit. For example, the American highway speed limit is always between 60-80 miles per hour which is about 100-130 km. In addition, speed in driving is the first cause of death. The last rule is to respect the red, traffic light. Fortunately, red lights don’t last a long time. In the last two years, there were about 200,000 reported traffic light accidents in the US. In conclusion, dealing with driving rules is easy to deal with. It also saves our lives.

To conclude, driving a car in the US or outside it is the same in general, but some requirements differ from other countries such as car insurance. However, students should be aware about all of these points, which are how to buy a car, how to obey the US government driving requirements, and how to drive safely in the US.

How Can You be Successful in America

by Nawaf Algamdi

For any learner, being successful is the prime concern. The American education is deemed the best education in the world. Therefore, many students, including me and you, chose America to be the next step of their academic life. Many changes are detected by those international students. In order to be successful, you should follow three pieces of advice, which are time management, choosing friends, and entertaining yourself.

One piece of advice to follow is managing your time. When I came to the United States, I had a difficulty to be the balanced individual that I am today. The longitude of Texas, which is an American state that I live in, is very different from the longitude of my country Saudi Arabia. This change caused an arduous period of time that made me depressed and disappointed. Going to school, eating, and sleeping on time are matters that had seemed so unreachable. However, I overcame these hardships by two ways. Firstly, I bought an amazing clock. Being on time, doing the tasks, and relaxing are simple advantages I have gained by this inexpensive and small device. I really encourage you to buy a clock just at the time your first step occurs in America. The easiest way to buy a clock is to go to Best-buy, which is the most famous store for the electrical devices, and searching for the one you like. The second way that helped me to gain time management is sleeping on time. Not sleeping on time affected my academic performance by causing many of my grades to lower. This happened because I was sleeping late. Due to this bad habit, I was suffering of waking up in the morning. I was attending classes with no energy regardless of being late. Moreover, sleeping late at night is excessively painful that it will lower your academic performance. Therefore, it is good to keep in mind not sleeping late in America.

Another piece of advice is having a rich social life. I strongly encourage you to interact with Americans. Smile and talk to any American you may pass by. You may have conversations in a taxi or a restaurant. I guarantee that you will be surprised by their tremendous kindness. There are four steps to have a good conversation with an American. Firstly, you should greet him/her with a smile, and you should look directly to his/her eye. Then, say hi, however, it is better her in Aggieland to say howdy. The third step is to ask about him/her by saying, “how are you doing?” Then he/she will ask you the same question, and you should answer that question by a good answer such as, “fine thank you”. By answering this question you will have completed the last step. Furthermore, I have many American friends, who are kind, helpful, and honest. It is very easy to make friends here. There are two pieces of advice you should follow in hopes to have a rich social life. First, you should invite the people who you meet regularly to a dinner or a movie. The second piece of advice is to tell them about you. Specifically tell them about, your habits, personality, and stories. The rich social life made me happy and pleasant. In fact, with the American spirit that I gained through my American friends, I could get rid of my shyness.

Entertaining yourself is the last piece of advice in hope of being successful in America. I was extremely bored in the initial weeks of the ELI classes. This feeling adversely affected my academic performance and weakening my grades. I did not enjoy the educational life. Nonetheless, thanks to an American friend’s sympathy, who accompanied me to the rec center, which is a sport center that has all sports the individual can imagine. Since then, I felt happy and started to laugh. There are two famous places her in College Station, which are the rec center and cinema. Accordingly, there are two descriptions of each place. The first place in hopes to entertain you is the rec center. If you want to know the directions, you should buy a map from any gas station. The map precisely shows the coordinators of the rec center. You can go to the rec center by a bicycle. The second place is the cinema. In order to go the cinema, you may call the taxi cab, which is a company that provide taxi services, whose number is 9795495319. You can just tell the taxi that you want to go to the cinema, and he/she will drive you there. There is only one cinema in College Station. Therefore, do not be frustrated.

To sum up, by executing these three pieces of advice, you can be successful and attain your ambitions. These three pieces of advice are planning your time, obtaining a rich social life, and enjoying yourself. From my perspective, success cannot be reached without making mistakes. I have done scores of mistakes. Thankfully, I have learned from them. Despite the unlikable results of the mistakes that I did, I know that it will benefit me in both my social and academic life. There are many hardships that you and I are going to experience. These hardships will make us come up with plentiful advantages that it will make us more wise and mature.

How To Join The English Language Institute At Texas A&M University

(photo credits listed below)

Essay by Abdullah Arfaj

Many students around the world now try guaranteeing their future by studying in a competitive school. Most of the competitive schools in the world are found in The United States. As a result of that, a person should have a perfect base of English to rely on. Texas A&M University has an intensive English institute that welcomes students from around the world. If people think about Texas A&M University as one of the great universities in the US, it should attract students to come into this institute. Before students come to this institute, they should follow a procedure to join the ELI. This procedure is before you come to the ELI, when you are on your way, and when you arrive to the US.

First of all, before a student comes to the ELI, he or she should fill in the application that is required for applying to the ELI. Then, a student should finish the student visa that allows him or her to enter the United States. When the institute accepts a student, she or he should receive the I-20, which is as important as the visa. All of these documents should be with the student before the flight day. These documents are the only identification papers for the international student.

Secondly, when the student is on the flight to the United States, the flight attendant in his or her flight is going to give him or her a paper that is related to immigration. The student should fill in the paper with the correct information. After that, the student will fill in another paper called the I-94. This paper is important when you want to go back to your home country, because the immigration wants to know your arrival and departure dates.

As the last step, when you arrive at the airport, a student should go through the immigration line. Sometimes when it is the beginning of the semester, the immigration line will be full of students who are coming after a vacation in their countries. Unfortunately, you will probably wait a long time. When your turn comes, you will have a small interview with the immigration employee. You will be afraid a little bit if it is the first time. However, do not worry. The immigration employees are very friendly. But even if you know that before, you will be still a little bit afraid. The employee is going to check your visa and the I-20 and ensure that your information is correct.

In conclusion, this is the procedure that a student will face to join the English Language Institute in Texas A&M University. After all of these difficult steps, you will deal with friendly people in Texas especially in College Station. The international students in the ELI and the instructors are really helpful and friendly. If you are looking to the best educational environment to learn English, come to the English Language Institute in Texas A&M University.





Photo References

1- http://www.google.com/imgres?q=george+bush+airport+terminals&num=10&hl=en&biw=1279&bih=582&tbm=isch&tbnid=TAp-LAdfxFjwIM:&imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:GeorgeBushAirportTerminalE.JPG&docid=2TcPnLuUegAWPM&imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/GeorgeBushAirportTerminalE.JPG&w=2272&h=1704&ei=UWl_ULPBA4H68QS50IGgDQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=581&vpy=261&dur=4398&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=161&ty=137&sig=101829674168378427922&sqi=2&page=1&tbnh=141&tbnw=173&start=0&ndsp=17&ved=1t:429,r:9,s:0,i:95

2- http://www.google.com/imgres?q=i-20+document&num=10&hl=en&biw=1279&bih=582&tbm=isch&tbnid=59lV9lRUwsklsM:&imgrefurl=http://international.missouri.edu/come-to-mu/students/travel-documents-port-of-entry.php&docid=_5VilaIRG6kluM&imgurl=http://international.missouri.edu/images/photos/i-20.jpg&w=552&h=806&ei=-Gl_UNSWHIX49gSGsYHwCw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=98&vpy=118&dur=784&hovh=271&hovw=186&tx=105&ty=154&sig=101829674168378427922&sqi=2&page=1&tbnh=148&tbnw=101&start=0&ndsp=23&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:68

How To Process the American Student Visa

Photo and Essay by Yousef Alqurashi

Understanding the immigration process is essential for international students. The immigration process has many steps; You must follow it to be a legal resident or student in the U.S. If you follow these steps you will pass the immigrant officer without any trouble.


When you are accepted by the ELI, they will send you an important package containing legal documents necessary to enter the U.S. Now, you may be asking yourself: what are these legal documents? Before giving you the instructions about the immigration process, let us define some important words. The first important document is the American F1 visa, a legal document issued from any US embassy that gives you the permission to enter the U.S. The second one is the I-20, a paper printed from the ELI that gives you the authority to apply for your VISA. The third one is the acceptance letter, a paper showing that you have been accepted into the ELI as a student. Once you have your I-20 and acceptance letter, you can now apply for your VISA .


The first step to getting your visa is filling out the DS-160 document through this web site : https://ceac.state.gov/genniv/. After you fill out this form, you will move on to the next step which is to complete the form of I-90 or SEVIS and pay the fee through this website: https://www.fmjfee.com/i901fee/index.jsp. After that, you will move on to the third step which is making an appointment in the nearest US embassy or Consulate through this web site : http://travel.state.gov/visa/forms/forms_1342.html. Remember, you have to pay the fee for making an appointment; otherwise the appointment page will not open. After making an appointment, you have to go to the US embassy where you made the appointment ON TIME; they will not let you enter the embassy before your appointment. At the date of your appointment, take your passport, I-20, scholarship letter and the financial guarantee with you and follow what they tell you.


After your VISA is issued, try to find a flight to the US because if you book your flight sooner the price of the ticket will be less. Also, usually the flights to the US are full especially in the summer. After that, try to get the ticket as soon as possible and keep it together with your important documents. on the date of your flight, keep all of these important documents in your hand bag and keep it with you throughout the flight. Before you reach your destination, you will be asked by the flight attendant to fill out a form called the I-94, a paper that showing that you entered the US on this date. When you reach the US airport, the immigrant officer will ask you for the I-20, VISA, passport and I-94. After the officer stamps your documents are complete, you will enter to the US safely.


To summarize, It's important for international student to be familiar with immigration process. Try to keep all of your important documents in a safe place. Also, double check your documents regularly before your travel to avoid any complication that you may face if they are incomplete. Furthermore, when you reach the US, try to visit the ELI as soon as possible to complete your registration and to give them your address. Finally, enjoy your study at the ELI.

Meal Plan for Students

Photos and Essay by Mika Konishi

How is your dietary life? A healthier food is one of the most significant factors for your health. Well-balanced meals offer you a lot of advantages. However, people’s dietary life is worse because of the popularization of instant foods or frozen foods. Especially, it is more difficult for busy students to have a balanced healthy diet. Therefore, I would like to introduce Texas A&M’s meal plan for those students.


First of all, the meal plan is a dining plan on campus, and it provides all students various foods and highly nutritious diets for their health. For instance, there are diverse countries’ foods, such as American, Mexican, Italian, Chinese, and Japanese food. If you register for this meal plan, you can purchase a meal with your ID card like a credit card. The meal plan has multiple plans, and you can choose a plan that matches you. Moreover, you can also receive a 10% discount in almost all venues if you purchase the dining plan. This plan is greatly useful and simple, and it can economize students’ time and money.


It is quite easy to register for the meal plan. You access the Howdy page and click the “Student Life” tab. You can buy meal plans in the Dining section in this page. You should deliberate your life style and determine on your plan because you cannot make this plan smaller. Then I recommend that you choose a bit smaller plan for yourself. You can add a plan or change to a larger plan later if you exhaust the money. After deciding on a plan, you can purchase the plan with your credit card.


After obtaining the plan, you can purchase any meal on campus with your ID card. In addition, your dining dollars can purchase not only meals but also beverages and some daily goods, which are writing materials, first-aid supplies, detergents, and so on. Then your receipt contains information on your current balance, and it can also be checked on the Howdy page. If you want, you can always add money to your plan. The only thing you have to caution for is that you cannot lend your ID card to friends.


Finally, you can enjoy food with your friends on campus. Students do not have to go off campus to have lunch, and they can also accept balanced food at the lowest price near their department. In fact, there are about 30 places to eat on campus. Time and money saved will make your student life more useful and comfortable. The meal plan supplies all students with great advantages.

How To Use The Texas A&M University Transportation Service

Photos and Essay by Inhee Kim

If you are a future student, you might need to plan many things at the same time. One

of the most important things is buying a vehicle. Do you know that Texas A&M University

provides fabulous transportation service? So even if you don’t have a plan to buy a vehicle,

there is an economical, safe, and easy to use alternative.



First, you need to decide where you want to live. If you want to live off-campus, the bus

routes should be considered when you get your place. Texas A&M currently provides 36 bus

routes including on-campus. So you can use them flexibly. We recommend that you visit the

website to look around yourself: ” transport.tamu.edu” It will be helpful to figure out the

route that fits you. Bus routes cover many areas in College Station and Bryan, TX. Of course

it’s free for students.



Second, if you decide to live somewhere based on a bus route, you need to check the route

timetables. For the students’ convenience, the university provides a short- term schedule.

This will make you feel comfortable. In addition, according to the timetables, you can use the

transfer to an other bus. Printing out your bus route would be recommended. Also, don’t

forget to check the timetable often if there are factors such as football games, construction,

holidays, or weekends since timetables might be changed temporarily. It’s available to check

status of bus at smart-phone.



Third, when you begin to use a bus, you should be at the bus stop a little earlier, especially

during rush hour. From time to time, the bus’ arriving time is different due to traffic. To get

off the bus, you need to pull the line or push the button to request a stop. You can hear

the announcement of each bus stop. For example, it is announced like “ Next stop: The

First Baptist church” or “ Antelope”. It is based on a landmark or street name. So you can

recognize when you get off without nervousness even if you are visiting somewhere for the

first time.



Many students use shuttle buses conveniently. Please feel free to use our fabulous

transportation service and don’t forget to say “ HOWDY “ when you get on the bus. For the

prospective students, Texas A&M University hopefully will do our best to make your

school life dynamic and comfortable.

How Students Rent a House

by Salem AlJoaib 

Have you ever rented a home in the US? Many students, who study away from their families, change homes more than once. This is because they look for special houses that are friendly and suitable to the student's life by providing a good atmosphere, amenities, and services. There are three main steps the students should follow to find satisfying homes, which are searching, visiting, and moving in.


The student who is looking for a place to live needs to start a long process of searching, which is the first step. He has to write down features for the home he is looking for such as price, location and amenities. According to that, the search starts by using several ways such as the internet, newspaper, or asking for advice from the housing department in the school. In brief, the searching step will reduce the numbers of possible houses.


After the long first step, the student has to make visiting appointments from the leasing office for each of the options he identified in the first step. When he visits these places, he should evaluate the places according to distance from school, neighborhood, facilities available, contract rules and the distance from daily needs such as a supermarket. To explain, a good housing must be in a neighborhood which has people having a clean criminal background. Moreover, the housing should be close to the school, a bus stop, and a supermarket; and has satisfactory facilities such as fitness center, car parking, and secure gate. In addition, leasing conditions must be appropriate such as leasing term, deposit and rent rate. After that, he should decide the suitable place for him. In sum, this step is the most important step that affects the life of the student in the future.


When the student chooses the accommodations, he will move to the last step which is to move in to the new accommodations. The student now can add his touch to his house by purchasing the furniture if necessary, some accessories, and electronic devices. For instance, he can shop from the internet websites since he already has the address or visits shopping malls and shops. Thus, this step is the easiest step since the student has enough time.


In conclusion, incoming students have to choose affordable housing which encourages them to have a good atmosphere for studying. Moreover, choosing housing is done by two difficult steps and one easy step. These are seeking, check by visiting, and dwelling. These steps may be changed according to the student's knowledge and his experience.

How to Succeed in English Proficiency

Photo and Essay by Hamed Abbas 

International students usually come to the USA to study at universities. The majority take English courses before they apply to university. The main reason is to improve their English proficiency. That helps them to get a higher score on some English exams such as the TOEFL and IELTS. So, the new students who come to the English Language Institute (ELI) may grab the optimum benefits if they employ some strategies. In these cases, the student might alternate between the ELI courses and the TOEFL preparation, managing his time during the day, and the understanding the best time to take English exams. Hence, there are some strategies that help any freshman to improve his English proficiency.


Generally, any university requires English proficiency to ensure that the student has the ability to study and understand his course material measured by test such as the TOEFL and GRE. The ELI offers many courses, For instance, Reading, Speaking, Listening, and Writing. Those skills are already required in the TOEFL or ILETS. The student has to take those courses when he studies in the ELI. Meantime, he should be improving himself in each section of the TOEFL. Also, he takes Grammar and Vocabulary in the ELI. The students, especially grad students, have to get high score on the GRE. They obtain the benefits particularly from vocabulary course in the verbal section, also, from grammar and writing for the analytical section.


It is very difficult for students to prepare for the GRE and TOEFL while studying at the ELI in the morning every day. For example, a student may attend 6 classes or 7. So, he has to manage his time efficiently. He should divide the day into three sections. First, attend the classes. That is usually from the morning until noon or after noon. Second, take a rest for lunch and watching TV. Finally, study for the ELI courses and the TOEFL or GRE. If he can manage his time he will feel better, and also, he will feel that he is enhancing in his English during the time.


Some students are confused about the best time to take the TOEFL. It depends on the period of time they have. If they have over a year to get the admission that means the student has a lot of time. On the other hand, if the student has less time, he has to study hard and follow some strategies that could help him. For instance, he can take the exam at the beginning to evaluate himself, and take it again after several months. Surely, he will see the difference between them. The students in the level 250 (upper intermediate composition) are able to take the TOEFL test immediately. They have the ability to understand and recognize the TOEFL material.


I believe that each student has un opportunity when he comes to the US for studying English. He will improve himself gradually. If the student takes the feedback from ELI instructors and applies these in his TOEFL, he will get a high score. He should study seriously. Moreover, he has to manage his time between the ELI classes and rest time and study time at home (self-study). The best time to take the TOEFL or GRE depends on the period of time staying in the US. In my experience, if anyone wants to develop the English proficiency, he or she should stay in the country in which the English is the native language.


Key Words:

TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language

ILETS: International Language English Test System

GRE: Graduate Record Examination

How to Succeed in Studying Abroad

Photo and essay by Abdulmjeed Almisfer

Before you decide to study abroad, you should be aware that there are steps to succeed. Studying abroad is a complex process. Not everyone is able to complete his educational life studying outside his home country. Leaving your friends and your family will be the most difficult issue in this process. However, there are many other factors that could make our educational life fail. In order to be a successful student, you have to consider many aspects related to your personality, culture, and habits.

First of all, when you make the decision to study abroad, you must think about what kind of life experiences you are going to live in your future. Many students cannot adapt to the new circumstances. I believe that the student has to be able to take care of himself. If he cannot take responsibility for himself, he should not study abroad. You will not find your family next to you when you need support or assistance such as your parent won’t help you each time you need their assistances because they will look at you as an adult not as a child any more. In fact, studying abroad makes you an independent person in all areas of your life, not just the education one.

Second of all, when you believe that you are able to study and live overseas, you have to find the appropriate location to fit yourself in. Some people prefer cold weather over hot, and there are some people that like to live in small towns more than large cities. The student should look carefully where he is going to achieve his goals. It is not only about the size of the city or the weather, it also depends on where the student will feel comfortable. I recommend looking for a city, which is similar to your home city. That will help you to adapt quickly. Furthermore, you should look at a good school, which has a good ranking in your major, to apply to. All the above will support you to succeed to obtain the university degree.

Third, when you find the suitable country and school, you have to do all their requirements. You must follow two steps in this situation. The first is you need to complete all the country’s qualifications to be able to enter this country. For example, if you want to study in the U.S., you have to get the visa and the I-20. The other step is you have to complete the application and take all the tests that allow you to attend this school such as the TOEFL, SAT or GRE.

Fourth, when you arrive at your city, you have to choose your new friends carefully. In my opinion, this is the most important part. Maybe you will keep in touch with your old friends, but it won’t be as much as the previous days. When you select the new friends, make sure you find the good people. They will help you to adapt rapidly in your new life. In addition, they will encourage you to study and do better in your tests and assignments.

In conclusion, studying abroad is one of the hardest decisions student is going to take it in his life. Anyone has his own way to succeed. However, I believe that if you do well in your life as an expatriate student, you will be able to handle all the life difficulties that will face you in the future. Maybe you will be tired in the beginning, but you will forget all your bad experiences when you earn the degree.