Monday, June 25, 2007
Small Piece of Wisdom: ISIC
Before you book your flight to your school, register as a student: sign up for ISIC card (or Youth Card, if you are under 25). It may save you a load of money. With ISIC, I bought my ticket for NY for 30% of its regular price. If you wonder what kind of reference you should bring as evidence of your student's status, in my case an F-1 visa was sufficient.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Your Ideas are Welcome
Summer is all around, and blogs nowadays become a bit deserted, but if you happen to read this, fellow applicants & students, let's brainstorm the following question:
I want to bring some gifts with me to present them to the Adcom members and students who were in contact with me during my application process. Any idea what would make a nice gift is sincerely appreciated :) To remind you about my stats: I am in Russia and have about 1 month till my transition to USA.
P.S. Bringing a container of vodka is out of question ;)
P.P.S. Guys and gals, if you do not mind, mark your location on Bravenet Guestmap on the right side of my page - I wonder how disperse my readers are geographically :)
I want to bring some gifts with me to present them to the Adcom members and students who were in contact with me during my application process. Any idea what would make a nice gift is sincerely appreciated :) To remind you about my stats: I am in Russia and have about 1 month till my transition to USA.
P.S. Bringing a container of vodka is out of question ;)
P.P.S. Guys and gals, if you do not mind, mark your location on Bravenet Guestmap on the right side of my page - I wonder how disperse my readers are geographically :)
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Increase in rates on federal loans in USA & New subcategory for J-1 visa proposed
As reported by BusinessWeek.com
This year federal student loan rates increase in USA is one of the smallest increases on record. Both Stafford and PLUS loans go 0,08% up, which approximately equals to $1 increase a month for loan borrowers with $20,000 in debt. By comparison, last year the rates rose by 1,8%.
***
State Department proposed a new subcategory for holders of J-1 student visa. The new subcategory will enable international business students to apply for internships up to 1 year long. Currently, J-1 visa holders are also able to apply for internships in USA; however, the new subcategory will ease the process in terms of bypassing certain general requirements for applicants for temporary work permits.
Still, experts state that J-1 visa holders are in less privileged position compared to F-1 competitors, as the majority of employers believe that J-1 holders have limited potential for continued employment. This is due to the fact that in many cases J-1 visa forces students to take the burden of staying out of the country for two years following expiration of their visas.
This year federal student loan rates increase in USA is one of the smallest increases on record. Both Stafford and PLUS loans go 0,08% up, which approximately equals to $1 increase a month for loan borrowers with $20,000 in debt. By comparison, last year the rates rose by 1,8%.
***
State Department proposed a new subcategory for holders of J-1 student visa. The new subcategory will enable international business students to apply for internships up to 1 year long. Currently, J-1 visa holders are also able to apply for internships in USA; however, the new subcategory will ease the process in terms of bypassing certain general requirements for applicants for temporary work permits.
Still, experts state that J-1 visa holders are in less privileged position compared to F-1 competitors, as the majority of employers believe that J-1 holders have limited potential for continued employment. This is due to the fact that in many cases J-1 visa forces students to take the burden of staying out of the country for two years following expiration of their visas.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
ESMT "Managing Innovation" Master Class in Moscow
European School of Management and Technology's Director, Professor Francis Bidault, will hold the Master Class in Managing Innovation in Moscow at June 18th.
Innovation is an essential capability helping companies create competitive advantage and even change the rules of a whole industry. Prof. Bidault, who has done extensive research on innovation management and has been a consultant to numerous multinational organisations, will explore together with the participants how to achieve successful innovation.Registration
Friday, June 01, 2007
Wahoo
As you may know, many American colleges and universities have nicknames. Formally, University of Virginia's nickname is Cavaliers. Virginia Cavaliers were royalist supporters in the royal colony of Virginia at various times during the colonial period of the United States. Nowadays, it is the common name of UVA athletic teams, a title of a local newspaper, a name of a local PC distributor etc.
Less known but still very popular, an alternate nickname is Wahoo [wu:'hu:]. The official story says that it is a moniker of the athletic teams based on the University's rallying cry "Wah-hoo-wah U-V-A!". Wikipedia says:
The Wahoo is a scombrid fish, the largest of mackerels. It is large, up to 70-90 kg, one among the fastest pelagic (oceanic) species, reaching speeds up to 60 mph.
Less known but still very popular, an alternate nickname is Wahoo [wu:'hu:]. The official story says that it is a moniker of the athletic teams based on the University's rallying cry "Wah-hoo-wah U-V-A!". Wikipedia says:
The yell was invented as an Indian yell for Dartmouth College by DartmouthHowever, there is another story, popular mostly among students, explaining the origin of this nick. It says that UVA students were associated with a wahoo fish - the one known for its ability to drink amounts of water twice its weight without drowning in order to puff itself up for a fight. The parallel is obvious ;D
student Daniel Rollins in 1878. Corks & Curls, the University of Virginia
annual, regularly printed lists of the yells and colors of the various colleges;
in 1888 it included Dartmouth's school yell, a part of which was the phrase
"wah-hoo-wah." University of Virginia students soon incorporated the phrase
"wah-hoo-wah" into their own, longer school yell, and individual U.Va.
fraternities also adopted it and modified it. (It was common for "student
culture" to travel: the University of Illinois also adopted "wah-hoo-wah," and
the tune of the Yale "Boola Boola", for example, became the basis of the
"Boomer-Sooner" song of the University of Oklahoma.) (Dartmouth students,
meanwhile, largely stopped using the Indian yell during the 1980s along with the
accompanying Indian mascots, symbols, and nickname.)
The yell was already in use by the time Natalie Floyd Otey performed at the
Levy Opera House in Charlottesville on January 30, 1893. She sang a song
specifically about the town and University titled "Wah-Hoo-Wah" that began, "Oh,
Charlottesville, illustrious name,/ The home of Jefferson you claim;/ The lap of
learning, font of fame—" and was set to the tune of "Ta-rara-boom-de-ay," with
the catchy chorus sung as "Wah-hoo-wah you-vee-ay." Otey's song was popular
enough with students that Corks & Curls printed it in 1894.
The Wahoo is a scombrid fish, the largest of mackerels. It is large, up to 70-90 kg, one among the fastest pelagic (oceanic) species, reaching speeds up to 60 mph.
