Background

Hello, My name is Reda and I’m from Sale, Morocco. I graduated high school in 2020 from Al Nejjar High School where I studied for 3 years.

Now I am a junior at the University of Central Florida getting my degree in my dream major in the best place in the world for my field, computer engineering technology.

Why US

I was always inclined to learning all about technology and computer science, however this field isn't as developed in Morocco as it is in other countries and thus even the majors and studying opportunities aren't that much, when I started exploring my options abroad I was amazed by all the opportunities that a place like the US can offer for my desired path.

After researching all about the universities from the majors they offer to their location, I decided to pursue a major in Computer Engineering Technology at the University of Central Florida.

Application process

For me, applying to UCF was really a simple procedure, you just have to visit the website, pay the application fee for international students and they will connect you with an advisor who will help you throughout the whole process.

I didn't have to write any essays, just submitted the documents that they asked for before the deadline and presented a good school report.

Life at University

I found the American education system to be quite easy so I didn't really struggle to adapt, and meeting new people and making new friendships is also something that is really easy to do around here especially for an engineering majors because you will find yourself in a study group quite often which will make your experience easier, you just need to be careful about who you befriend.

In university there are a lot of extracurriculars available to every student and I took advantage of most of them but my top 3 extracurriculars that I'm involved in are: soccer, basketball, and Fifa video games.

Job Opportunities as a student

If you came to the US with a student visa you will be able to work 20hr per week inside the campus with a salary between 10-13$ hr so u will make around 1000$ a month which is not enough to cover the live expenses, and absolutely not your college tuition so don’t think about paying everything here by yourself because there is absolutely no way you can that, so you need to make sure that you are capable of paying ur costs here before coming because the US is one of the most expensive country in the world and you will need to have a plan beforehand to pay your tuition and living expenses.

And for internships, that's something that depends on you and your skills because a lot of universities like ucf don't assist students with applying to internships, you will need to search and apply for internships on your own.

No financial aid

You need to note that a lot of universities don't prove financial aid for international students and merit scholarships are really competitive and hard to get so you may end up having to pay full tuition for a lot of universities like UCF, so research each university properly and make sure that either the university can offer you financial aid, or if not that you can offer paying for it because otherwise you're just wasting your time.

Tips

My advice is to take this opportunity so seriously if you get in and don’t waste your time there on foolish stuff because this is your opportunity to make the most out of every resource available to you. In the US there are a lot of opportunities to young and skilled people so you need to use your time here to develop your skills making good connections with people who could offer them and help try to avoid problems.