Student Tips

Part-1 How International Students can save money while being at GCC by Zerin Firoze

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I was born and raised in a developing country, Bangladesh, and it was my dream from a very young age to study in the US. A lot of youths like me from developing countries also aspire to study in the US. It is extra challenging for poor students from developing countries to be able to afford to study in the US. Students from developing countries cannot remit money to a foreign country. The US government is also notorious for imposing sanctions in certain countries. Exchange rates plus foreign transaction fees by banks also add up. For example, 1 US dollar is 84 takas in my country Bangladesh. There is no legal way to remit money and corrupt middlemen charge high fees. I am a student from a developing country and here are the following things I have learned after coming in the US. I hope these tips will help you to save both time and money.

Choosing the right college

I would encourage all students to start at a community college first. You can literally save thousands of dollars and still get the same degree and classes at a cheaper price. Many community colleges like GCC do not even charge admission fees. It is completely free to apply for admission. You just need to apply online. So, apply to as many colleges as you want.

Learn to drive in your home country

Many cheaper colleges in the US are located in rural areas with little to no public transportation. You can save a lot of money by choosing a rural location. The cost of living in large cities is extremely expensive. It is not possible for students to pay out of state tuition fees and still afford thousands of dollars per month for rent, food, and other basic necessities. According to American Infrastructure Report Card, the US infrastructure is crumbling and has a rating of D+. Driving schools in America are very expensive. Private one-hour driving lessons are also very expensive and are not available in all rural US counties. So, try to get some driving time before coming to the US. Ask your family members or relatives in your home country to teach you driving for free.

Try to learn about car maintenance and repair before you come to the US. Then, attend a defensive driving course and Driver’s Education course in the US to get your license. You will be very busy being a full-time student once you come to the US. So, try to learn basic life skills while waiting for your acceptance letter from US colleges or for your visa interview.

Learn how to cook and preserve food before coming in the US

I lost thousands of dollars in wasted food. I had no idea how to preserve food. I had no experience in estimating the shelf life of certain food items. I cried when I had to throw away tons of fruits, frozen meat, and cartons of milk. I have been in the US for two and a half years now and I still did not find the time to read all the articles or watch all the videos that I always wanted to watch about food preservation. You can save a lot of money by learning to preserve food. Cooking skills are also important. Next time, hit the grocery store with your mom and learn about basic spices and ingredients if you are not a cooking pro.

Learn how to use coupons and rebate apps

I remember how overwhelmed I was when I first landed at JFK airport and very quickly I became busy with campus life. I had no time to read blogs about saving money in the US as a full-time student. I had no leisure reading time outside college textbooks. Hence, do yourself a favor. Read blogs and website articles about saving money in the US while you are waiting for a decision from US colleges or for your visa interview.

Coupons and rebate apps are not used in my country at all. I became familiar with coupons and rebate apps after coming in the US. It took me two years to learn to use coupons and rebate apps. Now, I am the ultimate coupon queen. I received $54 cashback from Ebates and $55 from Ibotta just for buying groceries and other necessary items. Groupon is also a great website to save money. Learn to use coupons and rebate apps before you even come in the US. Read articles about rebate apps and coupons on the Internet.

I will share more secrets and life hack in part-2 of the same article next week!

 

 

 

 

Everyone Has A Hidden Agenda. Except Me!

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If you’ve read my previous blog posts on the GCC site, then you know that I thoroughly enjoy sharing my tips with you to be successful academically and otherwise. You also know that I love organizing my school materials, especially in such a way that helps catalyze academic success. My planner is basically my life written down! Everything about my school, work, and social life goes in this little book that follows me everywhere, and it is amazing!

I used a planner throughout high school, but I kept it quite simple. I just wrote down homework and anything school related I didn’t want to forget. However, when I entered college I really needed to step up my planner game.

Not only do I recommend that you have and use a planner, but I’m also going to share some tips to use it the most effective way!

To start I’ll share with you what planner I use, mine is by the brand Ban.do. This is the second “agenda” I’ve purchased through this ‘girl boss’ company and I love it! There are stickers and illustrations among other things that make organizing fun and aesthetically pleasing to look at. If you aren’t about the glitz and glam, or the higher price there are tons of options that can suit anyone! Agendas can be found at any store that carries school supplies or online.

Note: I recommend an agenda with weekly layouts, and a monthly calendar view.

Daily Organization: 

As for daily organization, I recommend highlighters and pens in multiple colors. I personally write everything down in black pen, but another technique that would prove extremely helpful would be to get an assortment of pens, and dedicate a color to each class; then write each classes assignments in that respective color. Another extremely useful technique I use is to use highlighters for due dates. On the day that an assignment is due or I have an exam, I write on the top of that day what is due or exam is scheduled and highlight it bright yellow. This allows easy scanning to see what is coming up.

weekly view

A peak inside my agenda! This is a old weekly layout.

As I mentioned before, I recommend writing down all of your homework or reminders for classes in the weekly spread, and to keep track of what has been done, what you didn’t get to, and what you partially completed. I use a checkmark (finished), an ‘X’ (still needs to be done), and a check mark with a dash through it (partially finished). I then carry whatever I didn’t get to or didn’t finish to the next day’s box to be completed.

Monthly Organization:

The monthly view in my agenda wasn’t something I used at all throughout high school or even my freshman year of college, but as my life has gotten crazier so has my agenda. I have far more to write down and keep track off, so the monthly view has proven extremely useful.

monthly view

Another look at my agenda! This is my monthly view that I had set up for August.

This is another section of your agenda that I would recommend an assortment of highlighters or colored pens for. Similar to the weekly spread you dedicate a color to each event, and again this will make it super easy to know what you have going on throughout the month or on a particular week.

My monthly spread usually tracks appointments, my work schedule, and any social events. I would also recommend crossing off days that have already passed in the monthly view so when you give it a quick glance there is no confusion from extra data on the page.

Overall, my agenda has become my sidekick and my life would most likely be in shambles if I were not so extremely organized which is why I highly recommend you take the time to purchase and set up an agenda using these tips to help use it to its fullest capability.

There are tons of different ways to help organize your thoughts in agenda, but these are just some of the ways I’ve found most effective!

Being organized is being in control, so take control of your life now.

-Danielle