印度学生在美国面临的问题是什么?

Aamir Ogna
What are problems faced by Indian students in the USA?
My personal experience is quite different from the other answers. There was definitely no culture shock, especially if you come from a big city like Bombay. And even if you don't, if you've watched a few TV series or movies or even read about America in the newspapers, you would be quite well prepared about what to expect here.
There was no culture shock socially, but a big culture shock academically.
Especially if you are not from one of the IITs/NITs/BITS etc. The way things are taught in USA is very different than back home, and also much better I must say. Back home, a lot of stuff is spoon fed to students, here, you are just thrown into the ocean and are expected to learn to swim as you try to save yourself.

印度学生在美国面临哪些问题?
我的个人体验与其他回答大相径庭。实际上，我并没有感受到文化冲击，特别是如果你来自像孟买这样的大城市。即使你不是来自大城市，只要你看过一些美国的电视剧、电影，或者在报纸上阅读过关于美国的文章，你就已经对这里的情况有了相当充分的了解。
社交方面我并没有遇到文化冲击，但在学术上我确实经历了文化冲击。
特别是如果你并非来自印度理工学院（IITs）、印度国立技术学院（NITs）或皮拉尼比尔拉理工学院（BITS Pilani或BITS）等知名学府。美国的授课方式与家乡截然不同，我必须说，这里的方式要好得多。在国内，很多东西都是直接灌输给学生的，而在这里，（就如同）你只是被扔进了大海，为了自救，你被要求学会游泳。

The stress is not on how you write your answer, or even if you arrive at the correct answer at all. The stress is on how you approach the problem.
I've gotten full points for arriving at a wrong answer! Know why? Because my approach to the problem was correct and in the process of arriving at the answer I goofed up on a calculation, which turns out isn't a big deal! (Imagine trying to argue for points on THAT with an Indian professor).
I went to the prof to ask why he did this and this was his answer (I paraphrase): "Everyone goofs up in calculations. In the real world you would double check the answer and find that out. No biggie there; but if you goof up on the approach, then you are never going to arrive at the right answer, now that's a problem."
It took me quite some time to adjust to this kind of an attitude, and I think that's perhaps the biggest problem I faced as an Indian student in USA.

这里强调的不是你如何书写答案，甚至不是你的答案是否正确。重要的是你如何面对问题。
我曾因为给出错误答案而得到满分！为什么会这样？因为我解决问题的方法是正确的，只是在计算过程中出了错，而这并不是大问题！（试想，如果是在印度，你还会因为这样的理由去争取分数吗）。
我曾去找教授询问为什么会这样，他的回答大致是：“每个人都可能在计算上出错。在现实世界中，你会复查答案并发现错误，所以计算错误没什么大不了的；但如果你在解决问题的方法上出错，那你就永远无法得出正确答案，那才是真正的问题。”
适应这种思维方式花了我一些时间，我认为这可能是作为印度学生在美国面临的最大挑战。

Bharathi Selvaraj
What are the things newly admitted Indians students struggle with while they're in US universities?
Medical: In India, if you are sick, you just go to the doctor's clinic, pay the fee, get some medicines or prescxtions and come back. In US, if you don't have a proper medical insurance you are screwed. Therefore, most Universities enforce students to take a basic medical insurance coverage upon enrollment. When you go to a clinic or a hospital, you need to answer whether you are a new patient, fill up certain legal health forms to protect your privacy, understand whether the doctor is in-network or out-of-network, whether you are paying the full amount or just the copay, understand the big fat bill that comes after a few months. Also note that the 'Dental' and 'Vision' insurance may be not be covered as part of your medical insurance policy and you may have to purchase them as add-ons or as a separate policy.

在美国大学，新入学的印度学生面临哪些挑战？
医疗保险：在印度，生病时直接去看医生，支付诊疗费，拿药或处方后回家。而在美国，如果没有合适的医疗保险，就医将成为大问题。因此，大多数大学要求学生在入学时购买基本医疗保险。当你前往诊所或医院就医时，首先需要告知你是否为新病人。接着，你需要填写一些保护个人隐私的法定健康表格。此外，你还要弄清楚你的医生是否属于你的医疗保险网络内，以及就医时是需支付全额费用还是仅需支付部分共付额。同时，你还需要对几个月后收到的大额账单有所了解。另外，请注意，牙科和视力保险可能不包含在你的基本医疗保险之内，你可能需要另外购买这些附加保险或作为单独的保险项目。

Public transportation: In India, you have better, affordable public transportation. In US, most states have poor public transportation and many people prefer to drive their own cars. Before, you can decide to buy your own car, you need to get a driving license, which is comparatively difficult to get than in India.
Food: You will try the new Subway sandwiches, Burittos, Hot dogs, Tacos and Burgers for a while. Sooner or later your craving for Indian food will begin. In India, even if you don't know how to cook, you can get affordable Indian food at nearby restaurants, hostel canteens, or even get it prepared by your favorite cook, who comes home daily. That luxury would be taken away from you, once you land in US. Learn to cook; it is a valuable skill to learn and would be useful throughout your life to be an independent person and to stay healthy.

公共交通：在印度，公共交通不仅便利，而且价格合理。相较之下，美国大多数州的公共交通设施并不完善，因此许多人选择自驾出行。然而，在美国，获取驾照的难度比印度要大，这在你决定购车之前是一个必须克服的挑战。
食物：刚到美国时，你或许会热衷于尝试新的赛百味三明治、卷饼、热狗、玉米饼和汉堡等新食物。但不久后，你可能会开始想念家乡的印度菜。在印度，即使你不懂烹饪，也能轻松在附近的餐馆、旅馆食堂找到经济实惠的印度菜肴，甚至可以让你最喜欢的厨师每天上门做菜。但当你踏上美国的土地，这份难得的享受就不复存在了。因此，学习烹饪变得非常重要；这不仅是一项宝贵的生活技能，也能让你在生活中更加自给自足，保持健康。

Time management: In India, Parents pay your tuition and hostel bills, someone prepares food for you, gets your clothes ironed, cleans your room. You can start studying for your exams day before your test and still manage to get good grades. In US, you would have to juggle many things: pay your own rent and utilities, may have to work part time to fund your studies, do your own cooking, laundry and house cleaning. You will have to start preparing for your assignments as soon as it is given, otherwise a two week deadline will show up uninformed the next day. You should not copy it from your friend, as it would be considered cheating and against the honor code (hearing it for the first time?). You should not pull off something from Internet without a proper reference, as it would be considered as plagiarism.

时间管理方面，印度学生通常习惯于父母为他们支付学费和住宿费，以及有人负责做饭、熨衣服和打扫房间。他们甚至可以在考试前一天才开始学习，也能得到好成绩。然而，在美国，学生们需要自己处理很多事情：自己支付房租和水电费，可能需要做兼职来支持学业，还要自己做饭、洗衣服和打扫卫生。一旦作业布置下来，你就需要立即开始准备，否则可能会在不知不觉中错过两周后的截止日期。你不要去抄袭朋友的作业，这在美国被视为作弊行为，违反了荣誉准则，这可能是你第一次听说。同样，也不能未经适当引用就从互联网上复制内容，这会被视为剽窃行为。

Weather: Most parts of India are warm and sunny. You don't have to tune to your Weather station or look at the Weather app before you start your day. You may even do the exact opposite of what it says. But, when you come to US, you would start relying on the meteorologists to prepare your day: Please watch for an icy road ahead, you could wear your favorite coat when you go for a cup of coffee at Starbucks or please hide yourself inside your apartment, as a category-5 hurricane is fast approaching. Weather sometimes can play a big role in your mood, health etc.
Credit history: Indians are big on savings and a few years back credit cards were frowned upon. Once you come to US, you need to borrow and pay back money on time to prove your credit worthiness. You need to build credit history, without which it might be difficult to get a new mobile connection, a car, a home or a personal loan. Plastic card offers and identity protection plans will chase you. As long as you pay your bills on time and watch for any abnormalities in your account, you are good. Indeed, I would suggest spending everything on your credit card, which will help you keep track of every dollar you spend, will provide better shopping offers, additional warranty, car rental insurance etc. But, if you misuse it, it could become your worst nightmare.

天气：印度的大多数地区气候温暖且阳光充足，你通常不需要在出门前特别关注天气预报。有时，你甚至可以无视预报，随心所欲地安排活动。然而，在美国，你就需要根据气象预报来规划你的日常了。比如，预报提醒你注意路面结冰时，你可能需要穿上厚外套去星巴克；或者当预报有五级飓风即将来袭时，最好待在公寓里不要外出。天气状况有时会显著影响你的心情和健康。
信用记录：在印度，人们普遍重视储蓄，信用卡在几年前并不普及，甚至受到质疑。但在美国，你需要通过按时借贷和还款来建立自己的信用历史，这对于获取新的手机服务、购买汽车、置办房产或申请个人贷款至关重要。你会不断收到各种信用卡优惠和身份保护计划的推广。只要你能够及时支付账单，并时刻留意账户的异常变动，你的信用记录就会很好。实际上，我建议你尽可能多地使用信用卡消费，这样可以帮助你精确追踪每一笔开支，还能享受到更好的购物优惠、额外的保修服务、租车保险等福利。但如果使用不当，信用卡也可能给你带来巨大的麻烦。

Lack of roadside small shops: In India, your mother would call you to go and get some milk and some vegetables from a local grocery store near your house. You would walk, take a bicycle or a scooter and rush back within minutes. In US, depending on your city, you may or may not find such stores. You may have to take your car or borrow it from someone or go for a 20-30 minutes bus ride to find a big store like Walmart, KMart,   Target. Once you go there you would find the milk section filled with Whole milk, 1% milk, 2% milk, Soy milk, Almond milk etc. Multiple choices sometime make our life appear complex.
Networking with people: You might be good at academics, but that alone is insufficient when it comes to securing internships, assistantships, student worker positions or a full-time job offer. Many on-campus jobs are not rocket science. You need to be at the right place and time to secure certain positions, for which you need to know people who could inform you about such opportunities. Participate in career fair info sessions, poster presentations, conferences, local meetups and connect with people who share your ideas. Genuinely help people to build lasting relationships that would help in your career.

缺少便利小店：在印度，家人可能会让你去家附近的小店买牛奶或蔬菜。你可以轻松地走着去，或者骑上自行车、摩托车，不一会儿就能往返。但在美国，这取决于你所在的城市，可能没有这样便利的小店。你可能需要自己开车、借车，或者乘坐20至30分钟的公交车，去大型超市如沃尔玛、凯马特、塔吉特。到了超市，你会发现牛奶区琳琅满目，有全脂牛奶、低脂牛奶、豆浆、杏仁奶等多种选择。面对众多选项，有时我们的生活似乎变得更加复杂。
人际网络：你可能在学术上很出色，但仅凭这一点，在寻找实习、助理职位、学生工作岗位或全职工作时还不够。许多校园内的工作并不需要高深的技术。你需要在恰当的时间出现在合适的地点，这就需要你认识能提供这类信息的人。你应该参加职业招聘会、信息介绍会、学术会议、地方聚会等活动，并与那些有共同理念的人建立联系。真诚地帮助他人，构建持久的人际关系，这对你的职业发展大有裨益。

Obey laws: You might be surprised to get a ticket from a cop for not stopping your bike at the STOP sign (even when there is no one around) within the campus. Mostly you cannot bribe your way out and if you try, you might end up in jail. You should not work overtime than the allowed legal hours; otherwise, you might get deported. Whenever you travel, carry at least a copy of your legal documents that allow you to stay and study in the US. If you get into some legal trouble, watch out for what you say, as it might work against you. That's why the cops say "You have the right to remain silent". Seek help from school authorities when you get into such issues.

遵守法规：你可能会感到意外，如果在校园内没有在停车标志前停下你的自行车（哪怕周围没有人），也可能收到警察开出的罚单。通常情况下，你不能用贿赂来逃避责任，如果尝试这么做，可能会导致被监禁。你不得超时工作，必须遵守法定的工作小时限制；违反规定，你可能会面临被驱逐的风险。无论你何时出行，至少要随身携带一份允许你在美国停留和学习的有效法律文件副本。如果你遇到法律纠纷，要谨慎选择言辞，因为不当的言辞可能会对你产生不利影响。这也是警察提醒你“有权保持沉默”的原因。遇到这类问题时，应及时向学校管理层寻求帮助。

Shreya Thacker
Nothing that is earth shattering but you know, it's the little nothings that make our lives uncomfortable
The bad habit of converting every single dollar to INR makes even a gallon of milk ($3.5 = Rs 234.5) seem strikingly expensive. This habit usually fades off with time and "hell with it!" attitude kicks in
Lack of public transport (and lack of personal car in intial years) increases the amount of walking we do in everyday life. We Indians are used to autorickshaws, taxis, buses, trains and cars. Life seems unfair when such wonderful options are cut off and one is forced to take the "bus number 11" - meaning using our two legs to take us around
Everything is a DIY project (Do it yourself). Cooking, cleaning, laundry, shopping, paying bills, managing finances... You name it. Life is luxurious back home in this regard. Mom cooks, dad is like a personal bank. Domestic help is in charge of cleaning and rest of the errands are outsourced too. Moving to USA felt like someone pushed me into a swimming pool when I did not even know how to swim

没有什么重大的问题，但你知道，往往是那些小事让我们的生活变得不那么舒适。
一个不好的习惯是，我们总是习惯性地把每一美元兑换成印度卢比，这使得即便是一加仑牛奶（3.5美元约合234.5卢比）也显得格外昂贵。随着时间的推移，这种习惯通常会慢慢消失，取而代之的是一种“随它去吧”的态度。
公共交通工具的不足（以及最初几年没有私家车）意味着我们在日常生活中需要走更多的路。我们印度人习惯了乘坐自动三轮车、出租车、公交车、火车和私家车。当这些便利的交通方式不再可选，而我们只能依靠步行时，生活似乎变得不公平起来。
每件事情似乎都变成了自己动手的项目。无论是烹饪、清洁、洗衣、购物、支付账单还是管理财务——你说得出来的，在这里都得自己来。与此相比，家乡的生活就显得奢侈多了：妈妈负责烹饪，爸爸就像个人银行，家务清洁有家政帮忙，其他的差事也都外包了。搬到美国的时候，感觉就像是在我还没学会游泳的时候就被人推进了泳池。

Student debt - this one is real. 15K dollars per semester is no joke when my american peers cruise through paying 4K a semester. I wish they (government) could do something to fix this
The broken faulty immigration system. After all the hard work and thousand of dollars spent on education, a lottery system determines whether we are granted the required documents to continue employment
The pain of juggling between metric and U.S. standard system of measurements. Some serious math calculations take place in my head when someone tells me it's 85 degrees outside
Left hand vs right hand drive and thus the opposite rule of the road. In few initial days of driving I always feared turning my car into the incoming lane of traffic. Hell I even did that once thankfully on a quieter road
Extreme weather conditions. Gloomy dark short winter days make life depressing. India's weather at least has some consistency. USA's weather at times behaves just juvenile.
Loneliness. And there's not much one can do about it. In India, neighbors are like friends or family. People are aware of who's who. USA lacks such interactions immensely.

学生债务是切实存在的问题。每学期1.5万美元的费用绝非小事，而我的美国同学只需支付4000美元。我希望政府能够采取措施解决这个问题。
移民制度的缺陷，付出无数努力和巨额教育费用之后，我们是否能够获得必要的工作文件，却要取决于一个抽签系统的结果。
在公制和美国标准度量衡系统之间转换让人感到痛苦。当有人说外面气温是85华氏度时，我必须在脑海中迅速进行一些复杂的数学计算。
驾驶时，左舵驾驶与右舵驾驶的差异，以及相反的行车规则，让我在最初驾驶的几天里总是担心会开错车道。谢天谢地，有一次我差点就开错了，幸好那条路车辆不多。
极端的天气条件也让人难以适应。阴沉、昏暗、短暂的冬季日子让人感到沮丧。至少印度的天气比较稳定，而美国的天气有时候却像小孩子一样任性。
孤独感也是一个问题——我们对此也无能为力。在印度，邻居就像朋友或家人一样，大家都彼此了解。而在美国，这样的互动就少得多。

Misht Saar
these cannot be categorized as "problems" but the only differences I noticed were:
1) say "yes" or "no". Be direct even if you don't know something, "maybe" wont get you anywhere and you will frustrate yourself and others.
2) always be punctual to class/meetings
3) learn to write on your own, copying from classmates and internet will make you fail due to plagiarism issues.
4) learn the ways of credit system and make the best use of it!

要明确回答“是”或“不是”。即使你不确定某些事情，也应该直接回答，模棱两可的态度不会带来任何好处，反而可能让你和他人感到沮丧。
始终准时参加课堂或会议。
学会独立完成写作，依赖同学或互联网抄袭会导致你因剽窃问题而失败。
掌握学分制度，并充分利用它的优势。