It’s important to get a good education during college, but it is equally important to put that education into practical use. Academic competitions are a common way to get students interested in a particular field of study and possibly be a part of something huge.
International students studying in the U.S. can definitely take advantage of academic competitions, which are usually either held by companies or by universities. Most of the time you don’t even have to be in a particular major to compete in a competition.
Academic competitions are a great way for international students to learn more than just book-related knowledge. A lot of the competitions are held every year, whereas some only come once in four years. I was fortunate enough to be involved with at least one academic competition during my time at Drury University.
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A lot of these competitions are leadership driven, and some involve making a change in the community. Here are some tips on how to get involved with academic competitions in the U.S., as well as the benefits of participating.
1. Start by browsing your college’s website: As an international student, you might not know everything that is going on around campus. If you go to a state school where there are thousands and thousands of students, you should go to your school’s website and look around for various academic competitions.
At smaller universities, it is easier to know about a competition, as the word spreads pretty easily, either in classes or among other academic groups or organizations.
2. Explore academic competition outside of your major or related field: Taking part in competitions is an advantage of attending a U.S. college. For example, a physics major with an interest in communications or writing could seek out a related academic competition focused on these skills.
[Learn about four ways studying in the U.S. challenges students.]
I am an accounting major and I recently got involved with Solar Decathlon, a competition held by the U.S. Department of Energy. The competition has various aspects to it, from architecture to communications. Students can choose whatever they are good at and then be part of the team.
My role in the team is mainly to write stories but I also help my other teammates with taking video or interviewing other individuals from the community.
3. Use college classes to get involved in competitions: As part of my graduation requirements, I had to enroll in a one credit-hour class in communications. This is how I got involved with our Project Shelter, which is part of Drury College’s Solar Decathlon program.
The goal of the project is to create a storm-resistant house, and the idea was inspired by the deadly tornado that struck Jopin, Missouri in 2011.
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I never expected that it would be a class that would allow me to be involved with a competition of this kind. I had an option to drop the class after the first day. But I decided not to, as it was hard to reject such a great project. Even though some of the required activities like public speaking, video editing and photography might not be my strong suit, the possibility to help the community is a great idea.
4. Use competitions as a way to network with big companies: Not only do you learn new skills during academic competitions, but you also get involved with companies off campus.
With Solar Decathlon, I managed to make new connections with various companies who could possibly help my team make our project a success. PricewaterhouseCoopers, which is a big accounting company, has a competition called “Challenge” that awards the winning team a cash prize in addition to providing connections that they would have not made if they weren’t a part of the competition.
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Explore Academic Competitions in the U.S. as an International Student originally appeared on usnews.com
