Bilingual college students
Off topic discussion. For students with more than one citizenship, bilingual (or even multilingual), what advantages or disadvantages did you have when you were a college student? What did you study that helped you? Like when you were studying a foreign language that you were already (somewhat) familiar with or what happened when taking a study semester abroad. Is your American student loan debt less? Did you get top grades? Do you feel like you have an competitive advantage over others? Did you get graduate any faster than others or were you able to transfer some college credits from abroad? Please share your experience.
You couldnt have possibly asked any more questions. Its not that special, I am bilingual. I took a class in college that was in my language as it filled a requirement, which obviously made it so easy. Its not like we r superman bro
Genuine question for anyone who does answer this, in what way could being fluently bilingual or multilingual ever be a disadvantage? Short of in-group/out-group bias for some folks (which will happen whether or not you speak multiple languages in most cases) I can't think of any. One of my biggest personal and professional regrets is not working harder to achieve bilingual proficiency myself despite having a mother that spoke 4-5 herself.
it is 100% an advantage. forgetting about the fact that it opens up literature, travel, and culture that you can't otherwise get with speaking in english, there are benefits to the mind from a neuroplasticity standpoint as well as other cognitive benefits like dementia prevention.
anecdotally, I've noticed that as I've started studied languages more intensely my cognition has gotten better. the only disadvantage I've ever seen is from ignorant people that just think everyone ought to speak english when ironically they usually cannot speak english well. otherwise it's near universal curiosity/interest/respect
learn languages!!!
I agree with you. Learning about different cultures and languages has provided a unique perspective to life. I've visited 23 countries and can tell you if you meet a native and you know anything about their home country, they are immediately drawn to you and the relationship strengthened. Americans have a tendency to never travel outside the US, and foreigners know that more than anything.
Lol the only advantage is talking shit in our mother tongue with friends around other people who will never understand what we are saying. Speaking a second language wont land u GS TMT
I studied abroad in Spain and China; I thought it would be an advantage knowing multiple languages when applying for jobs, but it wasn’t. Maybe a slight advantage in the “interesting” factor.
To be fair, it probably does nothing for a job app unless the company itself does business in said language.
Not sure if this is what you’re looking for but:
I’m an international student from the UK/Portugal but I study in the US. The UK high school system is considered a lot more rigorous so I got 20/120 credits in from high school for doing the bare minimum. Allowed me to take a leave of absence for a semester and still graduate on time with a double major.
Certain classes were super easy as well such as my intro business classes and calc classes. However, since I breezed through freshman year with 0 studying, I got humbled a bit this year as class difficulty ramped up.
I have multiple citizenships, languages, homes, and cultures - from birth. Went to multiple middle schools, international schools, both EU and US high schools and then studied in the US (weirdly, I didn't have any internships abroad or attend any colleges outside of the US).
Positives:
- Dating, girls like an international, multi-lingual dude
- Easier to make friends anywhere you go
- Much easier to learn new languages, cultures, even complex topics
- Opens up the job market in almost any region/industry/role
- People admire you a little bit for having lived in so many countries and cultures
- Less unemployment due to ability of moving around/escaping a crisis
Negatives:
- You can't be everywhere at the same time, you have to pick one or two locations to call home eventually
- Some people are either jealous or don't get what "being international" means
- Some hostility from people who don't trust you
- In some cases either harder or not possible to get certain security/gov clearances
- Some employers and narrow-minded colleagues won't like a very international lifestyle and this could lead to judgement. Maybe not a cultural fit with conservative employers, ie some teams in banking.
- Sometimes I am seen as a "foreigner in multiple locations"
My jobs and industries reflect my international upbringing, they are all large corporations where these skills can be used.
Living/working and being in multiple countries is extremely expensive. I have multiple cars, cards, accounts, phones, addresses, tax systems, and so much more. Plus the airfare, transportation, travel time, time shifting, ... family and friends just don't always know where I am at. I have missed so many events and important celebrations.
There is generally the lingering question "where to do what"; i.e. where do I study? where do I work eventually? how often should I go back to multiple homes? in which country should I get married, have a house? children - where should they be raised and which languages should they learn?
I understand you say you didn't attend any colleges outside of the US, but if you were to do it all again, what would you do a bit differently if I may politely ask? I say this only because right after corona, some top notch universities have started offering more and more virtual courses via Zoom, etc, including some colleges and universities outside the US. It's far easier to audit a course now via continuing education venues than ever before.
One of the key elements of studying/working/living abroad would be experiencing a new culture, language, cuisine, and meet people IRL. Not only is it to learn about "something new", but also about yourself. So, I would never attend anything that's online.
What I would have done differently?
- Research more what I wanted to do before entering college
- Picked the right colleges, but in the wrong location, and without OCR/support for the jobs I was aiming for
- Didn't network enough during my college years or at all (thinking "everything will work itself out")
- Wasted too much time with friends, going out, hobbies, travel and more. Fun times, but wasn't really connected with my professional life.
- During my college years, I haven't really learned how to deal with people from vastly different backgrounds. But at work, you would have to deal with them on a daily basis.
Serves as an interesting factor, helps differentiate you. Good for networking depending on who you’re speaking to. It doesn’t hurt to know a new language.
Job applicability in IB, at least early on, is fairly limited though from the analysts I’ve spoken with.
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