Reflection Paper on INTO Program
INTO Program: The Pathway to Get Access to American Universities
Introduction
As the saying goes, “Well begun is half done”. That is to say, a good beginning will open the straight path to success. Moreover, I had a deep understanding of this words with my experiences in the previous few months. When I decided to study in an American university, there is a program providing me the pathway to get access the U.S. academy. It is called “INTO Program”, which offers a platform for international students to increase their exceptional educational experience to be succeed in a fast-moving, globally competitive academic world.
Experiences in INTO Program
As an international student who was the first time come into the United States, what feelings full of my heart are nervous and scared. But when I arrived in the IAD airport, I obviously remember there were two leaders who are responsible for picking international students, waiting for me and helping me call the car to get to university. Their smiles calmed me down, and showed the American’s people’s friendliness.
Additionally, during this half year studying in the pathway course, I, an international students majored in Statistical Science, had not only studied professional courses, but also took the EAP and PROV classes to prompt my social skills and academic abilities. In PROV course, like other international students, I was so shy that I barely talked in the class, much less making friends with others. But the teacher often left much extra time for us to communicate and present our own opinion about the courses, she also arranged class presentation to connect students. At first, I just picked Chinese students to be as one group, and only took charged of one part of the presentation, but the teachers broke rank in the later and recombined us into different groups with different members. Hence, I begun to build up the specific links with other students who came from different countries: communicated, shared information and then made friends, which help me build confidence and integrate into the academic life.
However, what impressed me most is the EAP courses. In the class, I restarted to study English grammar, and academic writings. During the period, the professors firstly focused on the integrity of study, which required us to pay attention to citation and paraphrases when we wrote papers. Unlike in China, American universities emphasized the quotation from other sources and make sure using the right citation styles. Yet I remembered once I just ignored the correct usage of quotation, which resulted in being recognized as “plagiarism” and warned of “the last chance to caution”. Therefore, I prepared to practice my citation style of APA (in my discipline) by reviewing several literatures and asking advisors for help. Of course, in this semester, the EAP class also offered us the chances to do the research in our own field. I was guided to analyze professional papers and lead discussion activity, and then find out the problems what advance me to research in my statistical discipline.
Reflections
Looking back for the last semester year, I had undergone different lives on different culture background, which spur me to fall into deep thought: How the INTO program help me achieve success for the further study.
Firstly, studying abroad meant I would encounter various challenges, such as communication barriers and culture shocks, and also I might face the study stresses in the colleges. With these varied, heavy and thousands of loads putting in me when I arrived in the strange country, I just felt painful, choking, depressed and even despair sometimes. Although I had to grit my teeth and bear it, but I gradually lost my confidence, and occasionally wanted to give up and worse still be desperate for my life of studying. However, when studying in INTO program, which sets up the buffer zone for students to adjust the state and reduce the stress, I began to decrease my pressures of professional knowledge, and leave more spare time to relax myself to better adapt to American academic life. Therefore, I got the key to obtain success more easily in my further graduate study. What’s more, this system also provides several activities for students to learn the different culture and integrate into the new environment quickly. For example, I ever joined in the English Corner to practice my language fluency, increase the confidence to communicate with students or professors who have different background, and build up the relationships with others, which really expand my socialization circle to provide me many opportunities to get access to success (academic and career) in the future. Certainly, the PROV course I took also offered me the situation to communicate with students in the same discipline and closed field, so that I can share professional knowledge and achieve progress together. These networks will be the huge wealth in my graduate study and even the future. The last and most important, during the INTO program, I can spare enough time to learn and summarize the basic knowledge to prepare for my graduate study. That is, understanding how to use the right citation style, how to analyze and sum up the major articles, how to use the college facilities (e.g. library) to do the research, I can be familiar to adopting these professional skills to study or research in my discipline, which will reduce my time to improve efficiency and enhance my competition advantages in the future.
In addition, this INTO program also reminded me of the experiences in the similar system called the organization of Xindongfang Education Home. This organization trained me how to improve my English skills and overcome the adjustment issues experienced in American universities. Nevertheless, why there are many similar organizations to provide the pathway for international student to the U.S. There is no doubt in recent years with the number of students studied abroad quickly increased, international students will face stricter situation to receive the admission to the American colleges. Thus, as an international student, I believe these systems, including INTO program, aim to increase our competition in the foreign colleges through learning social skills and professional knowledge, so that we can be closer to enroll the higher education in the American universities.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the few months I studied in INTO Program, it acts like transfer station that deliver me to get access to the American universities, and even for the success in the future. It also provides the platforms for me to adjust themselves to the different country and reduce the stresses came from adjustment challenges. More importantly, the courses and activities I took in INTO program, offered me lots of chances to integrate into local study life, and learn basic academic skills to prepare for my further education, such as citation style, the methods and facilities to help do the research. Also, I also had the opportunities to build various social networks, which may be beneficial for my study and future careers. Thus, INTO program provides the key opportunity for me to enhance my competition abilities to get access to success.
What’s more, as an international student in INTO program, the benefits I achieved and academic skills I learned, can use for my graduate study. In the rest of the INTO pathway program, I will concentrate on and try my best to understand and learn the academic skills learning, and build social network, which can widen my social circle to improve my communication skills and personalities, which can prompt my academic competitive power to preferably achieve the success in my academics. After that, I will use what I learned in my graduate study and future.