It's been a great semester! See you in two months :)

This has been the most challenging semester so far for me, although I have been taking less units. In fact, I took 18 on my first, 17.5 in my second, and only 14 this semester. However, MATH 160 (Integral Calculus)— a 5-unit class— would be more precisely counted as 12 units itself!!!

So this semester WAS a lot of work, especially in terms of Math practice... But together with difficult challenges come high achievements and a great sense of accomplishment. I took my Math final today, and I hope I scored enough to keep the A I have earned so far! :)

MATH 160 is definitely an intricate adventure, but now that I am done with it I am really happy of having experienced it. Another reason this semester was one of the most interesting, fulfilling, and AwEsOmeeee is because I loved all my classes. Other than the personal challenge in my Calculus class, this semester I had an opportunity to develop my skills in Public Speaking (COMM 131 H), which definitely makes the list of my top 3 favorite classes so far. Click here to watch a video of my last speech! :)

My microeconomics class has definitely fostered my higher thinking by teaching me the way I look at the world is not necessarily the way other people do, and has enlightened new ways to look at the world and to make sense of consumer behavior.

Finally, my Physical Geography class has taught me really cool and interesting stuff about the world we live in, such as how waves, winds, currents, and earthquakes happen!

This picture is my background on my laptop <3

Most importantly, this semester has been the best so far because of the people around me, and the experiences I got to be a part of. This semester, I have joined the leadership of Phi Theta Kappa, which has allowed me to become friends with some of the most morally beautiful people I have ever met. As our Vice President once said, “individually, we’re drops; but together, we make the ocean!” To my friend Ganenthra… This is really cheesy man, but it is so, so true! Each of us is special and so awesome in a very unique way; and I love each of them. Honestly, getting to spend time together with my friends in PTK has been the most fulfilling experience for me, and I am thrilled to do the same next semester!

Phi Theta Kappa has also allowed me the opportunity to organize an event that put to the test many of my skills, including leadership, planning, teamwork, and much of that “figuring out what’s needed” that is so important to succeed in life.

Helped by a team of club leaders, the Beach Volleyball Club of which I am president was finally a successful club this semester, as we always had music, refreshments, and a lot of fun!! You should plan to join at the beginning of Spring semester! ;)

Finally, this semester was the semester I started blogging for SBCC, and I hope this has been a “plus” for my readers’ semester!! ;)

Oh, I almost forgot! My face is on a public bus!!! LOL!

I hope you guys also had an outstanding semester...

In case you’ve been wondering... My usual signature, “A presto” means “see you soon” in Italian…

In this case, I have to say,

Al prossimo semestre! (“See you next semester”!!)

- Fede

A few pictures about the tournament.

If you haven't yet, read about this tournament in my previous post!

Here are a few pictures from last weekend’s event, the beach volleyball tournament to raise funds toward United Way of Santa Barbara County’s Educational Program.

 Hearing how my voice sounds in the microphone was very weird, but also kind of cool!

Reading the rules to the teams.

8 teams were supposed to show up, but unfortunately one couldn’t make it. This was particularly bad because it is way harder to organize a tournament with 7 teams, so I spent much time trying to figure out on the spot how to make it work and what teams should have played against each other.

Student Ambassadors team killing the Student Senate!

When I wasn't at the mic, organizing paper, or planning the next games, I allowed myself to have some fun! The Phi Theta Kappa team had plenty of players, so I joined the Ambassadors team, which for 4th place… Not too bad lol!

Serve!

We like to joke around when with friends :)

 We also had delicious food provided for free, courtesy of our sponsor El Sitio, local Mexican restaurant owned by very nice individuals. :)

In the picture to the left, there's me eating a chicken taquito with my friend Adam. He's one of my best friends :)

 Definitely one of my favorite features of working  in Phi Theta Kappa is how much love there is.

That's just sweet. <3

 And here are two other studs whose contribution on the day of the event was of great importance. Vasu was our spectacular DJ, and Stephanie took care of teams registrations and liability waivers.

Every PTK leader made a contribution to this event, and we also had a huge number of volunteers who contacted me and were eager to help out. Their contribution was fundamental in running the show, as they improvised as referees, score-keepers, and helped with set-up and clean up. I am sort of a control-freak, meaning I need to know exactly what's going on and that everything is perfect, and I often end up wanting to do all the work. This experience has also helped me in my attempt to address this weakness, because it forced me to start relying more on other people, assigning tasks and trusting them to do it right!

To conclude, here is a video produced by PTK historian and photographer Ida Dahlgren. For best quality, I suggest you click here to watch HD it on Youtube. It's really worth clicking haha! Enjoy! :)

A presto,

- Fede

We raised over $500 for the education of local kids!

I can’t believe it finally happened! After hours of intense and dedicated work throughout the semester, my community project dream has come real this past Sunday. I remember presenting my project to my advisers at the beginning of the semester… They weren't too excited. They thought I would fail. “For my event, I want to make an impact on the larger community, I want people to have fun and actually enjoy the event, and I want a high participation rate, which is going to raise a significant sum in donations for a great cause—” I told the PTK leaders and advisers at our first official meeting. “That’s why I decided I will organize a beach volleyball tournament to fund-raise for United Way’s Educational Program.” Their response was to table my project proposal, which means to put it on hold, and they suggested I either scale it down or I change it altogether. Since the beginning, I was very aware it would have been hard. I knew there were plenty of obstacles I hadn’t calculated, which would have popped out from nowhere and moved the finish line farther and farther. But that was exactly what I was excited about.

I was excited about the process more than about the outcome; and with good reason. Making this event possible required a lot of planning, networking, and extensive use of intuition in order to figure out what was needed to make this happen. There were no guidelines, no directions, no rules. Just me, my skills, and my goal.

The first thing I figured out was that I had very limited resources. I had no money to begin with and I also didn't have much time available, working on two part-time jobs, volunteering 10-15 hours a week, and working on my applications and SAT prep… All while taking a full load of challenging classes… So that’s when the excitement begun. First I had to think… What do I need? How do I get everything I need in no time and for free? After figuring what to do, I just had to do it.

The volleyball courts needed to be reserved, a $300 expense that was covered by a grant I obtained from the International Student Support Program. I also needed balls, tables, canopies, and supplies, which I was able to borrow at no cost with precious help from Michael Ayres, SBCC Housing and Activities coordinator. A party is not a party without quality music, so we rented a PA system; PTK was able to cover this expense, and my friend DJ Vasudev drove the energy with his catchy mixes, which made the event special. (Check out his music, he is really good and a wonderful person!).

I also planned to provide free lunch at the event, a feature that was going to cost over $400… So I started talking about this to several people, until finally I talked to the right person: my friend Sophie, who through her own connections was able to get a delicious Mexican restaurant to sponsor the whole thing… For free!

The last main feature on my list was to find a desirable prize to be awarded to the winners. To do this, I obtained a $250 grant from the Associated Student Government. What I think is cool, is not really receiving the funds but rather the experience! That Friday I woke up earlier, dressed up professionally, and presented a project in front of 20 representatives of the Student Senate. I had to answer on the spot to questions like why some information doesn’t match on the grant application, or why should the Senate award us this grant in the first place. This “finding solutions to abruptly arising problems” is what I enjoyed the most in working on my project. I also really enjoyed working in a team with my friends-- and PTK leaders--, whose contribution was fundamental in setting up this event. And I was also very happy to receive much interest and help from a lot of volunteers on the day of the event. Overall, I have grown as a person and practiced many important skills, such as  time, people, and resources management; public speaking, networking, and problem-solving, and I have really challenged my self-confidence and leadership, which makes me very proud of this achievement. 

And to make it all sweeter, there's the fat that we also raised over $500, to be allocated to United Way's Educational Program for local children.

On a final note, I want to send out a huge THANKS!! to all the people who helped me make this possible. I am really excited about it and working with all of you toward this goal has been the best experience!

A presto,

- Fede

P.S.: Check out some pictures from the event in my next post!

An intnese morning.

What an intense morning! Don’t you just love when everything works out great and you get a lot of things done with minimal time waste? I think it’s a great feeling!

I stayed up late last night working on my personal statement for UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. My essay is too long. Nothing surprising there, I always exceed the word limit in every essay that I am assigned to. This is definitely a weakness that I am trying to work on, but as for this statement, last night it still was 200 words over the limit, and I loved each paragraph too much to cut one off. What I needed was for somebody else to read my essay: an external eye, somebody who hasn't done the work and therefore doesn't love it as much as I do. Somebody that doesn't know how long it took me to come up with one specific paragraph, and therefore has no problems pointing out that it doesn't fit or it’s not very meaningful. So I decided the best thing I could do was to get distracted (which in my personal language means eating food) and then I went to sleep.

Me 90% of the time.

This morning I woke up early, fueled on a rather sugary breakfast, and rode my bike to school. When I left home, I felt better than usual. I was happy. The sun was out, headphones in, I was ready for a great day. The first thing I did when I arrived to school was seeking help for my personal statement at the Transfer Academy. I had to wait for 40 minutes, which would have been a huge waste of time if I didn't have my laptop there. So I started working on my statement again… Eventually, they were able to help me an give me some useful suggestions! This ended at 9:40am, right on time for my next meeting: I had to meet with Jasmine, a representative from United Way of Santa Barbara County, to discuss the last details about the tournament coming up this Sunday. We also discussed some additional ideas. I started working on the new ideas immediately after the meeting. I met with Amy at the Office of Student Life to obtain some budget information, I designed a Phi Theta Kappa sign, and I went to Duplicating Office and got the sign printed out.
While getting this done as fast as possible, I was also recruiting a team to play in the tournament by texts, which worked! We now only need one more team! Finally, I ran to my adviser’s office, left the signs there, and got to work at 11 o’clock. Perfect timing! After that, the day continued pretty regularly; class was interesting, seeing my friends was pleasant, and biking home in the evening was chilly.
Overall, I am happy about today. I made some progress toward my event and I am really excited about it!



A presto,

- Fede

My PTK Fundraiser for United Way: Beach Volleyball Tournament

This semester, something happened that changed the course of my life. In September I have been selected as one of the leaders of SBCC’s Chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa National Honors Society— Beta Gamma Upsilon— where I am currently serving as Vice President of Leadership. Each member of the student leadership board is required to organize one event supporting one of the Hallmarks of PTK, which are Leadership, Scholarship, Fellowship, and Service. In previous articles I have talked about some of our events, such as lectures, cleanups, and other volunteering events.

For my project, I wanted to address multiple Hallmarks while also raising $1000 to United Way of SB County’s Educational Programs. So I started thinking of what enjoyable and recreational activity has a great fund-raising potential, is attractive to teenagers and adults alike, and yields strong community involvement. Considering my headquarters— SBCC— are located really close to the beach, I thought to myself: “what would be a better opportunity to have a fun(d-raising) activity than a beach volleyball tournament under the Californian sun?”

Differently from the SBCC Semi-Annual event, which is sponsored by the SBCC International Office and the SBCC Ambassadors Program, and which targets SBCC students — particularly the international— my tournament is open to the community. Putting this event together, which some called the largest PTK event, was — as I expected— harder than I expected. I had to reserve courts— a $300 expense that I was able to finance through a grant— find sponsors— such as delicious local Mexican restaurant El Sitio, who is going to provide free finger food (many thanks)— get speakers, balls, whistles, tables, chairs, water and water jugs, cups, etc…  I had to make a flyer, type up the event details, and get a letter from United Way, then print this all out and reach out to the community asking to participate in the event; then I had to find teams to play. This shows the event’s Fellowship significance. I also had to collect donations, representing the Hallmark of Service, and I was able to achieve all this by managing a team of student leaders— a feature that shows the involvement of Leadership in the event.

I have learned a lot from this journey, which required a considerable amount of time and effort to set up, but which was really fun to organize and hopefully will be enjoyable to the participants. I have learned both about myself and about others, and gained important skills in team leadership, event management, and public speaking. Right now I am in the process of finalizing the last details. The tournament is on Sunday (Nov. 22) and I am so excited. In the PTK Leadership, we all are. And if you're reading this, you're certainly a good person… So you're officially invited to participate!
I hope to see you there!

https://www.facebook.com/events/109291379434792/

Also, if you would like to contribute a donation, you can do it securely online! The children from low-income families of Santa Barbara County (which are 60% of them— unbelievable but true) thank you very much.

https://unitedwaysb.givezooks.com/events/sbcc-s-phi-theta-kappa-honors-society-beach-volleyball

A presto,

- Fede

Saturday at Habitat for Humanity

Obviously, I did not feel any better on Saturday morning.

As I explained in my last post, I got sick on Friday. Supposedly, eating well, drinking tea, and sleeping early should help recover; but in the morning, I woke up feeling worse, if anything.

However, I knew I signed up to volunteer with my PTK team that morning, so I gulped down some more pills, put on my Phi Theta Kappa t-shirt and headed off to the volunteering event. Almost every Saturday morning (and many other weekdays) Phi Theta Kappa holds volunteering or academic events.

Last Wednesday we hosted a vibrant debate at Santa Barbara City College between the Philosophy professors Joe White and Mark McIntire, trying to answer the captivating question: “Does The American Dream Still Exist?” On Thursday, PTK co-adviser Dr. Eisentraut gave an interesting lecture on “New Developments in the Search for Human Origins.” These are some examples of Phi Theta Kappa academic events.

#PTKcares!!!

This past Saturday, our Leadership team— together with some hard-working members— volunteered on a project called “A Brush With Kindness,” which is Habitat for Humanity’s Home Repair Program. Starting at 8:30 in the morning, we showed up on the site of a house in the process of being repaired, and we spent the morning scraping, painting, and fixing the roof. Considering I was sick, working was pretty hard, but the medicine definitely helped me to go at it firmly and to keep my smile on. I love spending time with my PTK team. They are the best and I love each of them so much! We are such an amazing group of people that even waking up early on Saturday morning to go scrape paint off a building when I am sick makes me happy if I do it with them. So, I must say, I had fun.

Two pictures of me scraping :)

And that's me painting

At least until the effect of my medicine was over! Then it was like hell!!! Wow, my ears felt plugged, my nose felt clogged and my eyes were like sponges full of water… heavy and swollen. Around 12:30p.m. I started feeling cold although it was definitely pretty warm outside… So I decided it would be best for me to go home and get some rest.

My friends at work :)

I spent most of the afternoon in bed, only to wake up to the voice of my Math book calling me from the desk nearby. You know, until last semester I definitely owned the book. I remember going to buy it at the bookstore and from that moment I owned it. This semester we spend so much time together, the Math book and I, that our relationship got on a whole other level… I feel like it’s the book who owns my life! :) That is what happens when you are trying to get an A in MATH 160, but that’s a story for another day. The good news is I woke up feeling pretty well on Sunday morning. All that rest and the green tea have worked, after all!
Now I am ready for a new, engaging week!

A presto,

- Fede

I got sick on Friday.

Best medicine ever!!! Took with me from Italy ;)

Last Friday I got sick. Thank God (or thanks to science) we have drugs
though, so I was able to make it through the weekend!! :)

As you might have noticed, the temperature went way down this past week… Just the week before, we used to enjoy 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) every day, but over that weekend the temperature suddenly dropped, and now it’s just about 10 C (50 F) at night! Of course, during the day it’s still sunny and warm, so I can’t complain… But once you live in California long enough, you start to believe 50 F is way too cold!

Anyway, my weekend actually started well on Friday with a couple of meetings and a free lunch on the beach! That early afternoon, I found out that one of my friends works for California Explorer, a local company that brings together many students in order to make new friends, have fun, and go on fun trips together.
Participants are mostly foreign students from the various language schools in Santa Barbara, such as EF, Kaplan, ESL… but really everyone is welcome!

Apparently, CA Explorer offers a free BBQ at West Beach every first Friday of the month, so I went to check it out.

I though it would be a great opportunity for me to go recruit players for the beach volleyball tournament fundraiser event I have planned and organized for November 22 (more on this to come).
As it turns out, the people who work for this awesome NPO are just as awesome: they loved my idea, they embraced my effort, and they promised they will try to make a team and participate in this charitable and fun community event. I have to say, I really enjoyed my time there; further than recruiting one more team to play in the tournament, I met many European students there, and it was nice to chat for a while about what we like and dislike about America as compared to Europe. Unfortunately most of them were just visiting, so I might never see them again; it was a pleasant time nonetheless. It soon started to get chilly, so I thanked everybody, jumped on my bike, and rode it home. A few hours later, I was sick.

If you too are a victim of the “gelid” Californian weather (haha) here is some advice for you.

Selfie with Tawei!

• Get as much sleep as you can.
• Eat food that is easy to digest, especially fruit and veggies. 
• Stay away from sugary and fatty food, which reduce your immune system ability. 
• Drink a lot of hot tea. 
• Take some medicine.

That’s exactly what I did… I made some white rice with broccoli for dinner (bleah), I chugged a few pills, I drank some hot Chinese tea— courtesy of my Taiwanese housemate— and I slid under the covers pretty early, hoping to feel better in the morning. Did I? Check out my next post to find out!

A Presto,

- Fede

Workout!

The previous two posts covered the importance of maintaining a balance, staying healthy by eating well and sleeping enough, and staying in shape. In this post, I am specifically going to talk about vigorous workout routines that will boost your metabolism and get you fit.

I love this sport!

As a water polo player, I used to exercise 3 hours every day. Swimming, running, abs, push ups. That got me in good shape… But at what cost! What I was able to discover, is that 30 minutes of the right type of exercise a day will get you in shape. Word. You don't even have to do this every day. Two or three times a week, plus one or two days a week of squatting and/or lifting would be ideal.

But you need to do it right... So let’s get to it. Scientific research has demonstrated that when you do ‘compound exercises,’ which put into motion many muscle groups at the same time, your body produces a hormone responsible for muscle building and fat loss. In other words, it improves your metabolism. This hormone is released in greater quantities when you exercise the most powerful muscles in your body, which are in the legs. Hence the phrase “Never skip leg day, bro!” 

Resistance versus hiit

It’s called HIIT cardio, High Intensity Interval Training. You will start sweating within 5-10 minutes, and you should be drenched if you keep going over 20 minutes. My exercises are pretty hardcore, but if you have little time and/or you don't want to spend money on a gym membership (sounds a lot like the life of a college student?) these tips will do the job, fast! Also note that for almost every exercise there is a lighter version. When working out, you are only supposed to give your best, which does not mean you have to finish every exercise, especially at your beginnings. Make sure you push yourself beyond what’s hard and uncomfortable, but don't kill yourself and don't get injured.

For your convenience, here are a couple of links to YouTube video workouts. I watched hundreds of videos and this guy is the only personal trainer I t
rust. His name is Brandon Carter. Just a heads up, he is a little full of himself and risqué, but he knows his stuff, and his appearance doesn't lie. I invite you to check out his channel:

https://www.youtube.com/user/HighLifeWorkout

Here are a couple of workout videos, but feel free to explore more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGbn3NWPVwc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pw6hViAT6Qk

Spartacus Workout Exercises.

I do all of his “Abdominal assault” exercise routines. Remember variation is very important when exercising. Your muscles tend to get used to specific moves. That’s why you don't build huge muscles by walking, because you're muscles are used to it already.

Another resource is called Spartacus Workout. Similar idea, of intense workout with little rest. You are going to perform 10 different exercises for one minute each and rest for 15 seconds in between. And repeat a total of three times. Note this is a longer workout (takes about 45 minutes), and it does require some weights, but it burns over 800 calories. Especially at the beginning— and especially girls— please reduce the time for your convenience. I often workout 45 sec and rest 15 sec. Here are the 10 exercises.

An alternative to Spartacus :D

For the days when you are feeling super lazy, here is a shorter
abs workout:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-NKhBarAcc

This is only 10 minutes, which works as an incentive for me to get started when I don't feel like working out a all.

Well, I think it’s time to hit the floor, because it’s abs time.

A presto,

- Fede

Stay in Shape!

As I promised, in this post I am going to talk about how to stay healthy and in good shape.

First of all, it’s critical to point out two necessities for every individual trying to stay in shape. Eat well most of the times, and sleep well most of the nights.

Here is why.

The first thing you’ve got to know is that an extra cookie will not add to your loathsome belly fat, if you are willing to renounce eating that serving of broccoli that you craved so much (haha). What?! Seriously. Every day you get fatter or thinner based on your calorie intake. You take in calories by eating food and drinking the gallons of coffee you secretly chug every morning, and you burn calories by being alive (breathing, thinking, talking, moving…) and working ou
t. If your calorie intake is less than what your metabolism burns in a day— no matter if the calories came from cookies or from veggies—, part of the energy not supplied by calories will be taken from your fat reserves, ergo you're loosing fat. Good job!
Careful though: cookies (and fat foods in general) are packed with calories, so if you eat a little you will intake a lot of calories but you will not be full… That’s why you should eat cookies moderately!

Second, please believe me when I say that sleeping is fundamental if you're trying to build muscle, lose fat, or generally get more in shape. When you hit the gym, your muscles are not growing… They are actually tearing up… Exercising “breaks” the fibers in your muscle, so that when you go to sleep, your body has a chance to create new cells to fill up the “cracks” in your muscle. That’s when your muscle is growing.
 

You wanna look like this? :D

Ok, but if you're trying to get fit, you will agree that exercising is of fundamental importance! Sure, you could go to the gym, but that has some drawbacks. It is expensive, it takes up big chunks of time, and the benefits are mostly temporary: eventually you'll get tired of it, and two or three months after quitting you’ll have lost all your progress. Also, do realize that since they provide your momentum and absorb your body weight, machines like treadmills and exercise bikes burn very little calories, and while targeted lifting is perfect for making your muscles bigger, it won't help your metabolism that much, so it won’t get you fit or shredded, just bigger.

If you are a girl and do mostly cardio at the gym, or if you are a guy and you are just trying to gain mass, then lifting is good for you. Eat a lot of food and exercise to keep your body on tone. (If you're a girl and trying to gain mass, please stop immediately! ;). If you're trying to get the best shape, however, be mindful. When you exercise, you will start eating more food, and if your metabolism isn't working at 100% of its potential, you will gain muscular mass AND fat. That’s why is is very important that you do the right type of exercises. If you still want to lift, good for you. But for optimal results… you might wanna check out the advice in my next post!

A presto,

- Fede

Keep your balance and stay healthy!

This period of the semester we are all very busy with midterms. Remaining focused and studying hard is important. But remember that having some balance and staying healthy is also fundamental.




If you know that Saturday night you won’t study anyway, make sure you actually go out and have fun. Always make the most of whatever time you have, because time is one of the most valuable things we have.

So my rule is: never waste time. If I am not studying, working, or doing anything else that I must do, I always make sure that I am employing my free time in the best possible way. So don’t get lazy, and if you’re free don’t just stay home and chill, but actually go spend some quality time outside! Notice, I said quality time. Whatever that means to you, try to get home safe! Here I am talking about balance, not suggesting to get wasted every night ;)  As long as you wake up conscious, getting distracted will definitely help you study better the next day!

Eating a healthy diet is also extremely important. I know unhealthy food is way easier and faster to make, but why don't you try to google healthy fast recipes? Perhaps the reason why you don't eat healthy sometimes is because you don't buy the right food. Learn more about what you put inside of you, and you will start adapting your choices to your tastes.

Finally, make sure you get enough sleep. Seriously. Don’t pull all-nighters, and don't study at night. Study in the morning. “But I have to” is an excuse, and it’s not true. Stop checking Facebook 15 times a day. Stop checking Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, and whatever apps consumes your life, and suddenly you'll have more time. Don’t multitask (fly-mode when you study, please) and you’ll get it done faster. Then you can check your notifications, and do whatever you like to do, and still go to bed at a decent time. “But I am just so busy…” Trust me, as an aspirant Ivy League transfer, I know something about being busy. It’s all about how focused you are. Get more sleep and I can promise you that you will be less distracted and get more stuff done.

There are innumerable studies that demonstrate that getting enough sleep and most importantly quality sleep is critical. And the best time to sleep is from 10pm to 6 am. I myself sleep from midnight to 8am, but the closer you are to the 10am-6am interval, the best it is. As you probably already know, sleeping will make you feel more relaxed the next day, will help you remember things better, and build you a stronger immunity system. Most curiously, sleeping time is also the time when your brain learns the most, and your muscles build tissues.

More on how to stay in shape in the next post. I will share some awesome workouts and condense what I know about the topic.

Time for dinner. Burger & chips or salmon & kale?

A presto,

- Fede

Did I hear International?

It seems like I have some readers from abroad. Awesome! In this post, I will talk about how the American education system works and tell you why I like it better then over in Europe!

First, you need to know that in America there are two types of degrees: the Associate Degree (or 2-year degree) obtainable at a community college; and the Bachelor’s Degree, obtainable at a 4-year university. Community colleges are a more and more broadly diffused resource to receive a high-quality education while limiting expenses. Tuition (the cost for attending classes) for international students tends to be a lot more expensive than for domestic students (sometimes, like in the case of most community colleges, three times more,) so that one year’s tuition at a prestigious university can cost around $50,000. Community colleges are much cheaper than that, and the level of education is rigorous as well, so it actually is a very smart decision to obtain a General Education from a community college and then transfer to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree.


Once you have an idea of what Program of Study/Major to pursue, you will pick your classes based on your Major requirements, General Education requirements, and classes that you will enjoy, which are referred to as “Electives.” Academic counselors are a fundamental resource to create an effective Educational Plan. In my opinion, this is an excellent system, because it allows plenty of room for your interests, while challenging directly your sense of responsibility, your level of maturity, and your personal ambition, because you are in control.

 While European universities offer pretty much the same academic program to students who go for the same major, here in the States you will have an opportunity to personalize your path, make it unique and special, and enrich it with innumerable merits and awards.

So, to all of you prospective International Students: do realize that leaving home to build your own future with your hands is an astonishing and fulfilling experience. Here at Santa Barbara City College, you will have a real opportunity to approach college in a way that will help you grow, stand out, and succeed in life.

A presto,

- Fede