Bowling Green State University has academic programs and atmosphere that appeal to many students, including those half way around the world.

Maka Aligoli, freshman, said that the very appeal of the United States is what motivated her into wanting to become a student here.

Aligoli is a freshman at the University, but would be a senior in her home nation, Georgia, an independent country near Russia.

Through a non-profit, United States-based program called IREX-International Research ‘#38; Exchanges Board-Aligoli was given the opportunity to travel abroad to further her education.

In order to be considered for the program, students are required to excel on a difficult exam.

“The first time I took the exam I failed. If it was not for my American teacher back at home, I would have never had the confidence to take it again,” Aligoli said.

Of the 800 participants, Aligoli was one out of 16 who scored high enough to be considered for this program.

She is here for one year, and although she will not be taking any transferable credits back home, Aligoli will be taking with her an experience of a lifetime.

According to Aligoli, classes here are very different from those at home. Classes there are strictly lecture-based and very formal. Students are never required to do research papers, presentations, or group activities: They are graded simply on tests.

“Here, I like the group work and projects,” Aligoli said. “I like the informality.”

Not only do the classes differ, but the campus life does as well.

In the country of Georgia, all college students live with their parents. There are no on-campus living opportunities, and campus activities are limited.

However, that did not stop Aligoli from being involved.

Along with keeping up a 4.0 GPA, Aligoli works with the United Nations as a member of the Youth Democracy Club. She also took the initiative to create and organize her own Student Democracy Club at her university by receiving a government grant to fund the organization.

Although Aligoli’s major at the University is international studies, English literature is her major at home.

Aligoli is editor in chief of a student-run journal, The Rose. It was named after the famous Rose Revolution that took place in the country of Georgia.

The same American teacher who motivated Aligoli to re-take the entrance exam also took care of getting a grant to make the journal possible.

The journal contains short fiction stories, poems and interviews.

Aligoli says the classes are much harder here than at home.

“I always got A’s, not B’s, but A’s. Here, when I got my first C, I wanted to cry,” she said.

Tuition in Georgia is $200 per year, but according to Aligoli, that is a large amount for her country.

The country offers limited scholarships, which are given out on an examination basis.

When asked what her favorite part of Bowling Green is, Aligoli responded: “Hmm. I like everything – I like Americans.”

Bettering their chances

Bruno Drummond, a senior, says that college in his home country of Brazil is also very different from Bowling Green.

Drummond went to an American, Catholic, private high school. His high school has a contract with Bowling Green, so out of the 24 students he graduated with, 12 attend BGSU.

In Brazil, seniors must decide what they want to major in before they are accepted. An entrance exam is required, and it is very hard to get into the programs.

One out of 9 students to take the exam for would-be business majors will be accepted to the college. One out of 40 are accepted into the medical field.

Brazil colleges offer no general education classes, but rather start right into major-related classes.

“I think sometimes you are better prepared in Brazil because my first two years here were useless,” Drummond said.

Drummond is however grateful for the opportunity for free education here at Bowling Green State University.

Public universities in Brazil are also free to the students who get in, but the competition is very hard. Many of the students therefore attend private high schools to better their chances.

‘Totally different’

According to Jorge Villarreal, senior, most students in Columbia also attend private high schools, but for different reasons.

“It is better to go to a private high school because every day you are guaranteed to have class,” Villarreal said.

At many of the public high schools, teachers are often on strikes and classes are cancelled numerous times. Riots also take place at the public schools.

Villarreal had completed three and half years at a university in Columbia when he decided to work at Cedar Point during the summer to practice his English skills. There, he met a family that convinced him to try out an American college.

Although Villarreal only had three more semesters left at his Columbian university, he agreed to come to Bowling Green for two years to finish his education.

Villarreal wasn’t exactly expecting a city like Bowling Green.

“The study part is fine. Learning a new language, that side is okay,” Villarreal said. “The other side – social, it is totally different.”

Classes are easier here, but the language barrier makes it more difficult, said Villarreal.

Villarreal sometimes finds the college life here “depressing.”

“In my home town, everybody knows everybody. People enjoy each other and are very friendly,” Villarreal said. “Here, maybe you have acquaintances, but that is it. People just aren’t open here.”

According to Villarreal, the university he was attending in Columbia is comparable to Harvard.

It is located in a big city and is very expensive. Villarreal said it is roughly $40,000 a semester.

“Only people that make good money can send their kids there,” Villarreal said.

Villarreal’s dad is a surgeon in Columbia.

“One good thing here is that everything is close and cheap. I miss my maid though,” he said.