Should I study in the US?

If I want to study journalism or psychics at a university, should I go to America for undergraduate courses? I also want to get a job in America when I finish my studies. Many thanks.

Lyrids

Journalism or physics, huh? There is a pretty big divide between those two subjects. However, that might be a great reason why you should go to university in the United States. American universities do not expect students to know what they want to do with their lives at age 18. This gives students the opportunity to explore and experiment and discover what truly motivates and interests them. In fact, most universities will not even expect a student to select a major until the end of their sophomore year.

Given that you want to find a job in the US after graduation, you have even more reason to attend university in the States. You are far more likely to get interviews with recruiters on an American campus, and living in America will provide you with a much wider and more international group of contacts than you could hope to get at even the finest schools in China.

With the American economy struggling as China continues to soar, I might question your judgment in wanting to work in the US. However, if that is your dream, an American degree will be a huge asset.

Finally, I would like to make a general note about undergraduate majors. Many students choose universities based only on what they think they are going to study.

In reality, however, many people change majors midway through college. I had friends who set out to become engineers and majored in creative writing only to go on and work for banks on Wall Street. The quality of the school and your performance when you get there are far more important factors than your undergraduate major.

When you go to graduate school, the strength of the specific program is far more important. For your undergraduate years, don’t sweat it too much.

Students in the US work hard and play hard

There are some stereotypes about students in the US – that they have little homework, that their teachers are too nice, that they have no rules to follow, that they are bad at math, that they don’t work hard like students in China. I would like to break (打破) these stereotypes.

Let’s take a look at the lives of American students. They get up at six in the morning for school. Many students take classes that are higher than their current (目前的) grade level. There are lots of rules in their schools. Even nicknames (绰号) can be against the rules sometimes. 

When school is over, there is a small amount of homework. But there is more to do than that. Students have their choice of after-school activities, such as drama (戏剧), swimming, softball (垒球), golf, art, speech and debate (辩论), and many more. Students take these activities seriously. They don’t do them just once a week, as many Chinese students do, but for hours a day, every day of the week.

Students in the US might have more free time than those in China, but they are hard workers as well. Getting up early, skipping (跳过) grades, going to different activities… Students, whether in China or the United States, should not be underestimated (低估).