We have moved!

We have moved and we are now sharing our stories on this new blog. 

Click here to read us and ask us question!

International Office Staff - by Miku

The International Office at MiraCosta College has three great staff to help international students.

Today, I will introduce them. 

Sayaka Neal (Secretary)

She is from Japan. She has a master degree from San Diego States University as applied linguistics major.  She has been working as this position in MiraCosta international office since 2003. Also, she is an advisor of the Japanese club.
A lot of students, not only Japanese but also many international students count on her. She always helps us kindly even if it is not about study. Now, she is taking a Spanish class, so we can expect that she will help Spanish speaking students more than now.

Aubrey Kuan Roderick (Student Services Coordinator)

She is from China. She has a master degree from Monterey Institute of International Studies. She is a student services coordinator of the international office, and also she works as a Chinese class professor. Her class is really fun and easy to understand!
There are many Chinese students in MiraCosta, they often come to her office and talk about all of their concern. She is always kindly and friendly for us.


















Mia Scavone (Coordinator) 

She is from the United States. She is a coordinator of the international office. She has a master degree from University of Michigan. She goes to many countries to recruit new international students. And also, if you are interested in applying MiraCosta and send email, she will receive it. So, every new students will contact to her and she will correspond kindly and friendly. Because she is an only native English speaker, all of international students count on her.

Japanese Spring Festival - by Miku

On March 30, we had a Japanese Spring Festival at MiraCosta Oceanside campus!

In Japan, spring is a really special season. Because the winter of Japan is so long and cold, we wait for the arrival of spring seriously. That is why, in many parts of Japan, we celebrate it as a festival called "Matsuri"   The Japanese Club at MiraCosta planned the activities on campus.  It was so fun for the club and the rest of the campus!

12:00-1:00... Taiko (Japanese traditional musical instrument) and Japanese jazz performance

1:00-3:00... Japanese cultural activities

During that event, we have some Japanese foods, such as chicken teriyaki bowl, and some Japanese treats, such as this picture, green tea cupcakes. Especially this cupcakes look so beautiful and there is the symbol of Japan; cherry blossoms on the top. Everyone enjoyed it with tastes and their eyes.








These are the pictures of cultural activities. We had Hukuwarai (making-face game), balloon catch, gold fish catch, calligraphy, and ring toss. A lot of children came to the event and everyone enjoyed these activities. That was really good opportunity to know Japanese culture. 

New Semester Begins! - by Miku

Spring semester 2017 is now beginning!
I hope every MiraCosta student is going well.  In the beginning of the semester, some students look so busy because of choosing their classes. Especially new students, because they are just learning how to make their plan and take classes.

International students have to take more than 12 units in one semester to keep their student visa. However, each classes just accept only limited number of students. So if you try to add classes just before the semester begin, you could not add classes you want.  To avoid such a situation, I recommend that you should add your classes before a break or at least one month before the beginning of the semester.

This is my current class schedule. I am taking five classes and it worths 17 units. BUS135 is the half of the online class.


How do we make our plan and take classes?
See my previous blog...Use Counseling Service in International Office! - by Miku

Can we take online class?

See Amandine's blog...Taking an online class, good or nah? by Amandine

If you drop some classes and become under 12 unit, what do we do?

We can drop classes with no "Withdrew" in your transcript and add classes around ten days after the first day of the semester. If you feel a class is so hard for you, you can drop and add another class. You will find the specific day of the deadline in academic calendar of MiraCosta HP.

How to find late start classes?

For international students, it is hard to add classes late and get good grade because other classmate have already start learning and you should study that part by yourself.

To solve this problem, late start classes are good for you! In MiraCosta, some classes are started in two~three weeks or more late.

1, Log in your SURF, in academics area, you will click "Search".

2, Click "Additional Search Criteria" to specify more detail.


3, Locate your cursor "Start Date", choose a day and "greater than", "greater than or equal", or anything you want to know.

4, You can see the list of the late started classes! If there are classes which you have interest, just click "select" bottom to add a class.















Use this great search system to success in MiraCosta!!!

To Go Back to Your Country - by Miku

Hello,

Winter vacation will be coming soon!

A lot of international students will go back to their own countries and stay with their families.

Before you leave, DO NOT forget to bring your I20 form to the international office!
I20 is a documents certifying that the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) accredited school has approved full-time applicants to attend school. We need an officer's sign on it.
And when you travel to some countries, you need to bring it.
If you do not do that, you won't be able to come back to the United States.









I hope everyone will enjoy their vacation with no trouble.

インターナショナルオフィスのカウンセリングサービス - by Miku

１２月１６日の秋学期終了まであとわずかとなってきました。そろそろ次の学期に向けてクラスを選び始めなければいけない時期です。日本の大学と違い、アメリカの大学では自分の取るクラスを完全に自分で選ばなければなりません。たとえ専攻が同じでも、それぞれの学生が、それぞれに違うクラススケジュールをくみます。自分の好きなクラスを取ることが出来る良いシステムなのですが、学位を得る為に必要なクラスを全て自分の責任で調べて取らなければいけないので、大変でもあります。学位に必要のないクラスをたくさん取ってしまうと、お金と時間を無駄にすることにもなりかねないからです。このような事態を防ぐ為に、私たち留学生はどうすればいいでしょうか？
ミラコスタカレッジのインターナショナルオフィスには、二人のアカデミックカウンセラーがいます。私たち留学生は、クラススケジュールを組むために、そのカウンセリングサービスを無料で受けることが出来ます＾＾

一人目のカウンセラーはKhrystyn Pamintuan先生です。

彼女自身、コミュニティカレッジから大学へ編入した経験を持っています。その当時の経験から、編入に関してたくさんの知識を持っています！

二人目のカウンセラーはJose Orrantia先生です。

彼はインターナショナルオフィスのカウンセラーだけでなく、トランスファーセンター（編入に関する相談専用の施設）のカウンセラーを何年も務めています。編入のスペシャリストといっても過言ではないでしょう！

ミラコスタに通うたくさんの留学生が彼らを頼りにしていますので、予約を取るのが難しいです。カウンセリングを受けたかったら、出来るだけ早く予約を取ることをお勧めします。自分の目標に直線距離で到達できるように、このシステムを有効活用しましょう！

Use Counseling Service in International Office! - by Miku

This fall semester will end on December 16.   It means that we need to choose the classes for next semester.  Did you know that in the U.S. each student has to choose their own classes??  Yes, that is right.  Each student a different schedule.  It is fun to choose classes because I can think about what I like to do. But I have to complete all the requirements or I will waste my time and money.  To prevent to choose wrong classes, what do we international students have to do?
In International Office in MiraCosta college, there are two academic counselors.  We can use this counseling service for free.

First counselor is Ms. Khrystyn Pamintuan.

She has her own experience which attended a community college and transferred to an university. Because she also think about her future at that time, she knows a lot of things about transferring!

Second counselor is Mr. Jose Orrantia. He is not only an international office counselor but also have been working as a transfer center's counselor for many years. So he is a specialist about university transferring!

Because a lot of international students count on them, I recommend you to book as soon as possible.  To achieve your goal smoothly, use this great service!