International Students and College Search
International Students and College Search
During the period of the late 20th century and up ‘till now, education has been a pressing concern for Middle Eastern countries. This revolution was led by three main purposes: allowing students to become abroad, giving women the right to an education, and expanding on the educational institutions in place. The country that has changed the most is Saudi Arabia. Sending an average of 89,000 students per year, Saudi Arabia is currently the largest provider of international students in the Middle Eastern region. However, Saudi Arabia remains one of the most sex-segregated countries in the world. Although women now have access to education, there are still several issues with that education because of the difference in quality in comparison to a man’s. Women have to fight to become international students because of the need for a male guardian’s permission to do so. I want to focus on these two purposes of the three in regards to this educational evolution. This project is the process of a Saudi woman applying for international studies and the struggles she faces in her country as well as my personal challenge with finding a college for myself.
Social Studies
Poetry
I created a series of poems about education in Saudi Arabia and the struggles of a woman becoming an international exchange student. Although the main focus of these poems is about the limits women face in Saudi Arabia and educational barriers, the the last poems are about abroad studies. When crafting these poems, I wanted to create a story with a lyrical element. These poems are not factly, but have references to actual events that have taken place. These poems granted the reader perspective of an international student moving to America, more specifically a prestigious college. My resources for this project weren't just internet-based: they were from the experience of international students, I interviewed and an international exchange student coordinator. This project is a more personal point of view on Saudi Arabia's education system and allots the opportunity to see different women's perspectives.
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English
College Essay & Resume
I created a research essay and resume based on college. I connected this standardized requirement to my history and art project. For my history portion, I created a series of poems, and the last one was dedicated to my findings concluded in my research. For art, I analyzed wealth and perspective as per my research conclusions when looking at Vanderbilt University. My research essay is based on colleges more so than criteria, so the the colleges I chose are very different: Vanderbilt University, Auburn University, and Emory University. The research paper delved into various aspects like cost, size, and unique opportunities search college provides, but the paper mostly revolved around discovering my personal standards for college.
"The community that grew from the roots of the civil rights movement in Atlanta was the most appealing prospect of living in this city. The diverse culture flowed through the city like blood in my veins: from the art featured on the civil rights trail to the streets Martin Luther King Jr. marched, I saw myself as a student of history."
-An excerpt from my college essay "I know who I was, I know who I am, but I do not know who I will become. I look forward to meeting the young woman I want to become."
-An excerpt from my college essay |
Art
Photography
A montage of pictures is a common fixture in a dorm room. You’ll often see it littered with photos of friends, family, vacations, and achievements, but I display the different views of wealthy college students point of view in comparison to a middle class or poor student’s view. These photos provide an insight into how they see the world. Although I want to look at colleges with a hope for enjoying all of the good that comes with it, I am not naive to the worse aspects of college. I delved into both the good and bad, as this project helped me put the writings of my research paper in front of my eyes. The connection to this is in the poems I wrote for Social Studies. For every photo I took, I wrote from my perspective of what others would see, what a rich person sees, and what a middle class person sees. |
This is a picture I took for this project. It is a simple picture we can make easy assumptions with, but when analyzed, there was a lot more than what meets the eye. When I asked 2 people for their perspectives on the photo, I was surprised by their answers. The first person noticed the first row had all white shoes, and the person in the last row had white shoes. The black shoes stood out more when there was that contrast. The second person noticed a person in the background had worn pants similar to her son.
There was no big difference in their answers. This revealed the prejudice against wealthy people is false: we don't think differently because of our monetary status. We think differently because of our experiences. These two viewers had made connections to the image, and they didn't notice flaws. |