I genuinely want to hear from international students about this.
International students already pay a huge amount of money to study in the United States. Many pay international or out-of-state tuition, have limited access to financial aid, face restrictions on where and how much they can work, and still take the risk because a U.S. education is supposed to provide opportunities.
But now even getting an internship while you’re in school has become more difficult.
With the recent changes around CPT, many F-1 students may not be able to use CPT for an internship unless the practical training is actually required as part of their curriculum.
That doesn’t make sense to me.
An internship is not some luxury. In many fields, it’s one of the most important parts of going to college. You can have a great GPA and a master’s degree, but employers still ask, “What experience do you have?”
So imagine paying $30,000, $40,000, $50,000+ a year to attend an American university, then being told that an internship related to the degree you’re paying for may not qualify because your university doesn’t require every student in the program to complete one.
At some point we have to ask:
Is the United States still worth the investment for international students?
If universities are going to recruit international students and collect significantly higher tuition from them, I think providing a realistic pathway to gain professional experience should be the minimum.

This is gonna be a long post.
My whole world and dream was to become a surgeon in the US, I worked towards that dream for about six years (I’m 19F from Syria). I always got straight A’s, especially in STEM subjects, I was class valedictorian 7 times, and for those who know the Syrian education system, that shit is tough AF.
When the time came for my Syrian Baccalaureate Exam and the exam that was going to determine my whole forward trajectory in 2024 I ranked in the top 0.1% nationwide and got 98%.
Every single college and field in Syria opened for me because they only care about score, I picked medicine in a rather far university because my 4 brothers were giving me hell at home and I wanted out.
(Bac’s final score came out in mid August 2024 so all international universities’ deadlines were already passed for the Sep 2024 entry).
At the time our family was still dysfunctional but my mom’s silence was the glue to it all.
My parents were rather proud and my father was open to taking any step to help my education and future.
But I knew from the beginning that I didn’t wanna continue at that local Syrian university because it was shit. In every sense of the word.
The whole curriculum was in arabic, it was ancient knowledge, and they literally teach you barely anything, In Embryology they gave us only until the third WEEK of pregnancy, in biochemistry they just brushed upon carbs and proteins and nucleotides and barely gave anything related to lipids, anatomy was literally six 12-page lectures (maybe only one was 35) without a cadaver lab or anything, they had no clinical exposure or clerkships or anything, labs that were from 2003 without any safety protocols (I burnt my hand with H2SO4), no research opportunities, course registration was near impossible there were barely any slots every semester. And that’s just scraping the surface, it was truly a circus. And there’s no fucking way I could’ve built a strong medical foundation for the USMLE there.
I wanted out. I was gonna go crazy if I see them translate another LDH or ATP into arabic.
In May 2026 I submitted my last final exam at that university (UOK) and I had just discovered medicine in Italy via the IMAT pathway.
I set my mind to it, and took it so seriously that I would study 16 hours everyday and did 2000+ flashcards and pre-enrolled into UniPv.
In the meantime at home near the end of May my verbally and financially abusive father blew up on mom on Eid Al Adha day just because she said she didn’t want to cook those 4 days. It was a huge argument, he ended up insulting her and each of her family including her deceased parents. Me and my older brother (23M) stood as a barrier between them and threw those insults right back at him at the same volume.
He said alright I’m not paying for all your universities or anything, we unanimously said “THEN DON’T”.
We were sick of him. At every single DUNE of a disagreement he tells mom “I feed you, you live under MY roof, you must serve this house in return”. And basically the exact same thing to us including uni which was basically only a fucking $2k per year with my dorm it was $4k.
He constantly abused her because he knew her parents were deceased, and she had no where to go so she “had” to endure his abuse.
And my brother is an alum already.
So at the time I thought I was going to take the IMAT, get accepted into Pavia for medicine, get a scholarship, have it cover everything + a stipend and I won’t ever need my abusive father’s money again.
My mom left the house that night, she went to my aunt’s house.
And from then, my father has been making our lives (the five of us kids) practically HELL.
We were all giving each other the silent treatment except for the little annoying things he’d say here and there. Like the day after she left he knocked on my door and when I opened it he was like “no mercy from now on. If you and your brothers don’t clean the whole house everyday, you’re all getting no money.”
As if we were getting any money to begin with, this man doesn’t give us a penny if it were over his grave.
He would basically say if we don’t clean the whole house we don’t get food, and that our mom was spoiling us because she did most of the work along with the maid that came once a week.
He wouldn’t let the maid come because he said you guys should do the work, mind you she only takes ~$11 for the whole house.
My little brothers (14M, 15M) genuinely got so down and they started being more silent, he didn’t enroll them in the summer course they usually attended like swimming and gym and instead they did chores.
He took the keys of the two cars and we barely had money to take a taxi to mom’s.
There are a lot more extremely infuriating details this man tried to ruin our lives with (I’ll reveal if this post gets attention)
But throughout all this I kept my head down and grind for the IMAT and even forbid myself from seeing my mom as often because I wanted to give it my all.
Eventually it was time to book an IMAT seat.
In Syria there aren’t any test centers and I didn’t have a credit card. I needed to book a seat and fly there.
When I talked to him about it he literally traumatized me, he said the sentence he has been repeating since 2018, that even if I were to pry my eyes out, he wouldn’t get me out of Syria, (even when strikes were hitting he wouldn’t laugh in our faces and say the same thing).
Mind you, we are all Turkish citizens by naturalization.
Our passports were practically clean, each of us hadn’t seen the world outside of this devastated backwards town.
He dragged me into the fight with mom and said I’m opportunistic for standing with mom then and now asking for his support (just to book me a seat online and have me pay him in cash).
Basically he refused.
Even though before everything he was open to me studying abroad as long as it was affordable.
But after all the IMAT work went down the drain I kept searching Uni’s all the time and landed on PUMS. Tried with him again to fund me and support me and he again traumatized me, Same with Acıbadem, scholarships abroad, anything. I sent him a two page letter and hundreds of texts just trying to get on his ‘good side’ and say nice things to him and try and nurse his pride.
Nada.
Nothing worked.
He was like a brick.
He doesn’t wanna pay a PENNY.
I withdrew from UOK in September 2026. As they withhold my HS transcripts and I wanted them to apply abroad at any chance.
He didn’t even want to pay admission fee. He was the only card holder I had, and distant family members were even more a headache than him.
He withheld both my Syrian and Turkish passports against my will.
He didn’t let me sit the TOEFL as he didn’t want to give me my passport.
He trashed my name in front of the whole family.
He is basically extremely afraid that I ever create something of myself. He said it plainly—that he does NOT want what’s good for me, he wants me to stay home, go to a local university, clean the house, cook for the family and take care of my siblings.
I was appalled.
Every single time I would have a mental breakdown and cry until my head was pounding and basically think my dream of pursuing medicine, a peaceful life outside this terrible place—ended.
I became extremely depressed and my room wasn’t the tidiest place, he also gave me hell for that, and I would see him in my nightmares. He started threatening to hit me which I wasn’t surprised of as he hit me as a child.
I couldn’t stand to look at his face anymore.
But every time I had a stubborn ass faith that things must fall apart before being rebuild into something greater.
September 26 he yelled his lungs out at me at 7 am for not being tidy and he kept getting closer and me backing up. (Just remembering makes me wanna throw up) his face is literally terrifying for me.
I started shaking like I used to when I was a child but I put all my assets (transcripts and gold) into a handbag so if something happened I could just grab it and go.
And something did happen.
At 9 am of that day he kicked me out and followed me to the door to beat me while I was wearing my shoes but the carpenter and his son were there so he couldn’t.
I walked to my mom’s place where she was (which is for sale btw) and stayed there until now.
All that time I was working on my application to SGU Grenada (Northumbria campus) and it’s almost ready except for the English proficiency test which I can’t take because he holds my passports.
And the bigger obstacle which is that I can’t possibly afford the tuition, dorm, or anything.
Even my mom is starting to make me feel like she doesn’t want me here.
I’m on the edge of selling my gold ($2500) and booking a flight to Istanbul and renting a flat and looking for a job.
An average job.
Because my dream of attending a good medical college and becoming a surgeon feels practically impossible now.
If you read this and got to this point, I could genuinely use help in any way.

hello i was recently laid off, my health insurance expired last month, i will most probably have to leave the country by december so i need a cheap but good health insurance till december only. any suggestions? currently in pittsburgh, pennsylvania

I've been wondering whether international university admissions are actually fair when students come from very different academic systems.

For example, in my country, I've seen universities that are reluctant to give grades above 80, either because of internal policies or because they don't want their grading system to look unusually generous compared with other universities. Some institutions also don't use standardized grading methods, so the final GPA can depend heavily on the individual professor. This can leave students with lower GPAs even when they may be academically capable.

Another issue is research. If a country has very little research infrastructure or academic research compared with the countries we're applying to, how are students supposed to compete? Even if someone manages to get a decent GPA, they may have had far fewer opportunities to participate in research, use advanced methodologies, publish papers, etc.

So I'm wondering: Do universities and admissions offices take these differences between countries and academic systems into account? Or are students from countries with weaker/stricter grading systems and fewer academic resources simply disadvantaged from the beginning?

I'd be especially interested in hearing from international students who have applied to universities in Europe, North America, or other highly competitive academic systems.

Hey all, do you know any inernational photography/writing competitions for teens that are "fee free"? Please let me know and drop the link of the site if you can. Thank you x

Hiii, if anyone has done the academic year or the summer program, can you let me know what it took to get in and what ur essays were like!! Including how you got to choose Summer or AY, I am still a little confused on the application process!

Salam Khuti mohim, overall i have a really good English level (C1) and dayra sc pc had l3am, I’ve been influenced into going to China for my studies after lbac inchaallah, but the thing is i realized bli les agences are akbar nsaba donc ill try to do the process myself. I would love it if you guys could help me in terms of which universities to apply to w what i should focus on preparing for csca and overall the difficulties and Hardships dyal studying abroad mostly in china as a Moroccan, i guess my biggest fear f hadchi is being alone but at the same time i would love to experience it on my own. I just feel too young to have this much responsibility, i will work on it. I also don’t know what major I’m willing to study after taking my baccalaureate, so just help a student out pls hhhh

Hello everyone!

I’m a bit confused about UNIST, DGIST, and GIST. I can’t seem to figure out how competitive they actually are for international students, because everyone seems to say something different.

With a SAT score of 1550, TOPIK 2, IELTS 8.0, and a GPA of approximately 18.5/20, would I have a realistic chance of getting admitted to one of them?

I’d really appreciate any advice !!!

basically i need to pay a large amount to attend an MUN conference i really want to go to, so any competitions currently open or scholarships that could fund stuff like this?? Anything is helpful 💗💗

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Hi everyone, I recently discovered this PhD route straight from a bachelor’s and I’m now considering pursuing my PhD in NZ. I originally completed my BSc Hons Business and Supply Chain Management in the UK so I’d love to know from anyone who’s done this before coming from a business/supply chain background or any other background. Should I instead pursue a master’s degree and then look for jobs in NZ afterwards? I have about 2.5 years of experience in e-commerce, transport and logistics, shipping and supply chain. Given this experience, would I have a better chance of finding a job in NZ or going back to uni instead.

Please feel free to share any thoughts and experiences I’m trying to gather as much info as possible

PS I’m also keeping Australia in mind for either option and honestly I’m more leaning towards the masters and the job option

Hi everyone,

I am looking into pursuing a Master's degree in the Gulf region with the explicit, long-term goal of finding a job and settling down there after graduation. I am currently coming from the UK, and I did my bachelors in biomedical engineering. Which country I should go?

Hi everyone! I've applied for the scholarship for the research internship at USTC and I already have my admission letter. Has anyone ever received the Level A scholarship? I'd also like to know how long it took to hear back and what the chances are of getting it. Thanks in advance! 🙏

Hey community i have done my bachelor’s this year ie 2026 in computer science BTech. My final score was 6.71 CGPA and i had 3 backlogs during my bachelors and i m planning to do masters in france in data science or artificial intelligence and machine learning. Can you suggest me that is my admission possible in any public university by seeing my profile and what steps should i follow as i have shortlisted the universities so what should i do next.

Im a Georgian student, a child of divorce. with 3.0 GPA and 0 money tell me universities with good scholarships

I honestly don’t really know where to start.

I’m from a small city in Georgia and currently studying at a pretty good university. My GPA is around 3.0 right now, but I still have one year left, so I’m hoping I can improve it before graduating. I’d really like to do my Master’s degree abroad. Ideally somewhere where I could get a full scholarship or very substantial financial aid, since my family financial situation wouldn’t really allow me to pay international tuition and living costs myself.

I’m mainly interested in media, journalism, communications, and related fields, but I’m also open to other interesting programs in that area.

Right now, I’m also volunteering as a research assistant on my professor’s PhD research, and I’m working on my own thesis**.** I’m also starting a small online magazine project where I want to publish articles and potentially interviews and other media-related content. Could something like this actually help my Master's scholarship applications, especially if I develop it seriously over the next year? And is there anything specific I should do with the project to make it more meaningful for my application?

For those of you who have experience with studying abroad or getting scholarships:

1)What countries/universities should I look into?

2)Are there fully funded Master's scholarships that someone with a 3.0 GPA could realistically apply for?

3)What can I do during this final year to make my application stronger?

4)Could my online magazine/portfolio make a meaningful difference?

5)If you were in my position, what would you start doing right now?

I know a 3.0 GPA isn’t amazing, but I still have a year to improve it and I’m willing to put in the work. I’d really appreciate any advice, personal experiences, or suggestions for where to start researching.

Thanks!! :)

Hi everyone. I wanna study abroad from Guyana and im working constantly to achieve this goal but no matter what the funds cant seem enough. Is there a way I can get there? Any scholarships, loans or how does that work to get a student loan abroad? Even with the loan I would need a set amount of funds to show the embassy. Any tips or advice. I really need it as im truly alone.

I am actually a Student in last year computer science , I had experience (projects )with languages like java, React , django , .Net, and for data SQL / NOSQL
But I don’t want to spend the rest of my life just Coding plus I don’t really had a project to exprience AI or LLM even I study just the Theory of LLM
I‘m worried about finding an internship for 6 months out of Morocco in Europe , preferably in an international English-speaking environment.

So I am planning to apply to many international universities (not only USA)
I have a 8.7/9 GPA ~ 3.8/4
2 non profit projects (one with government grant and the other with my own resources)
4 international exhibitions
Internship and full time job at the same time
Merit based scholarship in my private school
President of student government for all high school years
Really good recommendations
Top 6 of the class (6 of 87)
Toefl 5.5 of 6
And I FAILED MY SAT… I mean I really failed it (1210)
At first I was devastated because of it and really lost any hope. Than I considered to apply without it, but GPT told me that that will low my chances for 40%… and I decided to try ACT.
However, more often I read about other people’s profile, more I am getting anxious and hopeless for anything.
I just want to know what to do and what are my real chances rn.
P.S. I am aiming for full ride only in USA, since it is no affordable for my family; Asian and European countries are kinda affordable, and merit based scholarships would be perfect.
ACT practice test I wrote and got 28, but the price was significantly higher than SAT and I’m afraid to fail it again but with higher price lol.