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Tan grew up in Taipei, Taiwan, moved to the Philippines at 14, and came to the US alone at 18 to study at UC San Diego before transferring to UCLA, her dream school. After 12 years abroad, she shares what actually helped her survive her first year as an international student, and what she'd tell anyone about to make the move.

She talks honestly about crying and calling her mom in the first days, feeling like the only international student in her dorm suite, and doubting her English. Then she breaks down what made the difference.

In this episode:

• What to do before you move to the US: savings for hidden costs, setting up your bank account and phone, and time with family
• Why saying yes to every invite and joining clubs changed her first year
• Why you shouldn't only make friends from your home country
• Culture shock in America: free food lines, secret menus, and dating
• What her Asian upbringing gave her at work, and what she admires about speaking up in the US
• Her funniest first mistake: getting chased down the street for not tipping

Chapters:
0:00 First year as an international student: how she made friends
5:40 Tips before and after moving to the US
11:01 Culture shock in America: food, dating, and more
18:48 Advice for international students after 12 years abroad
27:04 Tipping culture in the US: her funny first mistake

Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/0i-qlZk14ZQ

Listen next: Why International Students Feel So Alone, and What Actually Helps, with a therapist from Santa Monica College: https://youtu.be/8soXD1FMIVI?si=wdHrALwaNhNiv1eZ

If this episode helped you, a quick rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify helps other international students find the show.

The International Student Experience Podcast is by and for international students. Hosted by Hersh Gohil, who came to the US from a small village in India in 2013 as an international student.

Support the show

🎙 International Student Experience

We share real stories from international students who have lived this journey
before you — so your path can be easier.

Every guest opens up about what they wish someone had told them. The mistakes they made. The lessons they learned the hard way. The wisdom they gained from navigating life, education, careers, and identity in the United States.

If you are an international student or about to become one — these conversations exist to make your journey lighter, clearer, and a little less lonely.

You don't have to figure it all out alone. Learn from those who have
already walked this path.

Watch full video episodes on YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/@ISEPod

Listen on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music | iHeartRadio

Have a story to share or want to be a guest? Email us at
yourstory.oie@gmail.com

Follow us: Instagram: @ise.podcast TIKTOK : @ise.podcast

YouTube: International Student Experience Podcast

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Please take a few seconds to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or Amazon Music, wherever you listen. . It's the best way to help other international students find these stories when they need them most. Thank you for being here.

A cashier once told Alejandra to go to another line because she couldn't understand her accent. That one comment stayed with her for a year.

In this episode, Alejandra opens up about the shame she carried over her accent and her English, and how it quietly shaped every part of her life. She talks about doubting whether she was "ready for corporate America," feeling like an outsider in group conversations, the emotional toll of feeling like she had two different personalities in two languages, and how it even affected her relationship. And she shares how she overcame it, the reframe that changed everything, the daily affirmations she still uses, choosing to create her content in English despite the fear, and surrounding herself with people who lifted her up instead of making her feel small.

If you've ever felt like your accent or your English made you "less than," this one is for you. You're not the only one, and it does get better.

Chapters
0:00 The Comment That Stayed With Me for a Year
2:53 How It Affected Me Professionally
9:43 How It Affected My Social Life: Feeling Like an Outsider
13:54 How It Affected Me Emotionally: Feeling Like Two People
16:33 How Sofia Vergara Inspired Her to Own Her Accent
25:32 How I Built Confidence: Affirmations and Self-Worth
34:25 Putting Myself Out There: Creating Content in English
49:00 Advice for International Students Struggling With English
52:55 How It Affects My Relationship: Language, Humor, and Love

New episodes every week. Subscribe and let's get into it, and if this moved you, share it with a girl who needs to hear it.

TikTok - @ISEPodcast
Instagram - @ise.podcast

Guest: Alejandra Tiktok & Instagram - @byalejamunoz

Also on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & Amazon Music :

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5yV9JNNRRF4fBvKw5QETNC?si=748189437f0d40dc

Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/international-student-experience-podcast/id1848975904

Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/651c6036-c2bb-4b72-81aa-3cdb5bbbf530/international-student-experience-podcast?ref=dm_sh_uP8jNQZVZvBRkNmQBWf1qwIp7

https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1333-international-student-exp-302843551

Support the show

🎙 International Student Experience

We share real stories from international students who have lived this journey
before you — so your path can be easier.

Every guest opens up about what they wish someone had told them. The mistakes they made. The lessons they learned the hard way. The wisdom they gained from navigating life, education, careers, and identity in the United States.

If you are an international student or about to become one — these conversations exist to make your journey lighter, clearer, and a little less lonely.

You don't have to figure it all out alone. Learn from those who have
already walked this path.

Watch full video episodes on YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/@ISEPod

Listen on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music | iHeartRadio

Have a story to share or want to be a guest? Email us at
yourstory.oie@gmail.com

Follow us: Instagram: @ise.podcast TIKTOK : @ise.podcast

YouTube: International Student Experience Podcast

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If this episode helped you, share it with another international student who
needs to hear it. We are still not reaching enough International students, please help us reach to more people by reviewing the podcast and sharing with other International students.

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Every year, thousands dream of coming to the US for film school and a shot at Hollywood. But is it actually worth it?

In this episode, three filmmakers talk it through honestly. Your host came to the US from India for filmmaking over a decade ago. Kanishka came from India more recently as a film student and director. And Savvas, who grew up in Maryland and studied film in North Carolina, has worked as a production manager in Hollywood for over ten years.

Together they compare growing up in India versus America, why they didn't all just rush to LA, how they chose their film schools, making films while still students, and the real cost, competition, and effort of building a film career here. They give honest, sometimes tough advice for anyone thinking about making the move, including why you should come with financial backing or a scholarship.

Whether you're dreaming of film school in the US or a career in Hollywood, this is the honest conversation worth hearing before you decide.

Made by an international student, for international students, your practical and emotional guide to not just survive, but thrive.

⏱ Chapters:
0:00 Intro
2:51 The Real Cost of Film School
3:56 Choosing a Film School and Getting Picked for Projects
7:28 Making Films While Still in School
9:03 The Career Path After Graduation
13:21 It's Not Impossible: Different Paths In
20:57 India vs America: Everyday Life and Culture Shock
27:35 The Long Road to Actually Getting Here
30:28 Is It Worth It? Their Honest Advice

New episodes every week. Subscribe and let's get into it, and if this moved you, share it with a girl who needs to hear it.

TikTok - @ISEPodcast
Instagram - @ise.podcast

Also on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & Amazon Music :

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/episode/3HL4yhj9YbwmFA6hdrWymf?si=eec12965f74c48a3

Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/from-india-to-la-a-filmmakers-story-of-visas/id1848975904?i=1000733740743

Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/651c6036-c2bb-4b72-81aa-3cdb5bbbf530/episodes/5363565d-a6ac-48a3-a231-745c961435d3/international-student-experience-podcast-from-india-to-la-a-filmmaker's-story-of-visas-culture-career-international-student-story

IHeart Radio - https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1333-international-student-exp-302843551/episode/from-india-to-la-a-filmmakers-story-of-visas-culture-career-international-student-story-302843640

#FilmSchool #Filmmaking #Hollywood #InternationalStudents #India #StudyInTheUSA #Podcast

Support the show

🎙 International Student Experience

We share real stories from international students who have lived this journey
before you — so your path can be easier.

Every guest opens up about what they wish someone had told them. The mistakes they made. The lessons they learned the hard way. The wisdom they gained from navigating life, education, careers, and identity in the United States.

If you are an international student or about to become one — these conversations exist to make your journey lighter, clearer, and a little less lonely.

You don't have to figure it all out alone. Learn from those who have
already walked this path.

Watch full video episodes on YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/@ISEPod

Listen on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music | iHeartRadio

Have a story to share or want to be a guest? Email us at
yourstory.oie@gmail.com

Follow us: Instagram: @ise.podcast TIKTOK : @ise.podcast

YouTube: International Student Experience Podcast

Subscribe for new episodes every week

If this episode helped you, share it with another international student who
needs to hear it. We are still not reaching enough International students, please help us reach to more people by reviewing the podcast and sharing with other International students.

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"You're not going to become a doctor. You'll become a nurse." That's what someone told Shreya when she was young. It made her angry, and it lit a fire.

Shreya grew up in a conservative middle-class Nepali family, in a culture where girls are often told to shrink, to follow a set path, and where women don't talk about money or control it. She refused all of it.

In this episode she shares the personal side of her journey: defying the naysayers, becoming financially independent, and building a life fully her own in America, everything from improv comedy to hobbies to a career she chose. She talks about her grandmother, who loved poetry but never got the chance to pursue it, and how she now lives the freedom the women before her never had.

Her message to every ambitious Nepali girl, and to their parents: don't shrink yourself, don't let anyone tell you how small your life should be, and don't take the opportunity to fly for granted.

If you've ever been told to be smaller than you are, this one is for you.

This is Part Two of Shreya's story. Part One is her step-by-step guide to getting a fully-funded master's, an assistantship, and 3 job offers, watch it here: [Part One link]

Made by an international student, for international students, your practical and emotional guide to not just survive, but thrive.

⏱ Chapters:
0:00 "You'll Become a Nurse, Not a Doctor"
1:00 Growing Up a Girl in a Conservative Family
5:33 Why Girls Don't Get the Same Chances (Her Message to Parents)
8:08 Her Grandmother, and Living the Life the Women Before Her Couldn't
11:00 Handling Naysayers Without Letting Them In
13:00 The Reality of Being Far From Home
16:00 Feeling Connected to Home and Proud of the Journey
20:00 Independence, Community, and Growing Into Herself

New episodes every week. Subscribe and let's get into it, and if this moved you, share it with a girl who needs to hear it.

TikTok - @ISEPodcast
Instagram - @ise.podcast

Guest: Shreya Tiktok - @Shreyadoesthings2025

Also on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & Amazon Music :

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5yV9JNNRRF4fBvKw5QETNC?si=748189437f0d40dc

Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/international-student-experience-podcast/id1848975904

Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/651c6036-c2bb-4b72-81aa-3cdb5bbbf530/international-student-experience-podcast?ref=dm_sh_uP8jNQZVZvBRkNmQBWf1qwIp7

https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1333-international-student-exp-302843551

#AmbitiousNepaliGirls #Nepali #InternationalStudents #WomenEmpowerment #StudyInTheUSA #InternationalStudentExperience #Podcast #nepaligirls

Support the show

🎙 International Student Experience

We share real stories from international students who have lived this journey
before you — so your path can be easier.

Every guest opens up about what they wish someone had told them. The mistakes they made. The lessons they learned the hard way. The wisdom they gained from navigating life, education, careers, and identity in the United States.

If you are an international student or about to become one — these conversations exist to make your journey lighter, clearer, and a little less lonely.

You don't have to figure it all out alone. Learn from those who have
already walked this path.

Watch full video episodes on YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/@ISEPod

Listen on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music | iHeartRadio

Have a story to share or want to be a guest? Email us at
yourstory.oie@gmail.com

Follow us: Instagram: @ise.podcast TIKTOK : @ise.podcast

YouTube: International Student Experience Podcast

Subscribe for new episodes every week

If this episode helped you, share it with another international student who
needs to hear it. We are still not reaching enough International students, please help us reach to more people by reviewing the podcast and sharing with other International students.

Y...

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Shreya came to the US from Nepal and got a fully-funded master's in biology, with an assistantship covering her tuition, all from one cold email to a professor. No consultancy, no agency fees, no education loan. She did the entire process herself, the kind of process others pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for.

In this episode she breaks down exactly how she did it: how to research programs and cold-email professors the right way, how the assistantship funded her degree, how to handle admissions yourself without paying an agency, how to write a strong grad school essay, how to build credit as an international student, and how she turned 600 job applications into 3 offers and a tech career in the US, including the resume details that made her stand out.

If you're an international student dreaming of grad school in the US, this is the practical, step-by-step guide most people never get.

She also points everyone to EducationUSA, the free U.S. government resource, so you never have to pay a consultancy.

CHAPTERS

0:00 The Cold Email That Changed Everything
4:34 How the Assistantship Funded Her Master's
10:19 Doing Admissions Herself, No Consultancy
14:49 How to Write a Strong Grad School Essay
20:31 Building Credit as an International Student
26:44 The Job Search: 600 Applications, 3 Offers
35:47 Resume Tips That Made Her Stand Out

Made by an international student, for international students, your practical and emotional guide to not just survive, but thrive.

New episodes every week. Subscribe and let's get into it, and if this resonated, share it with someone chasing their own path.

TikTok - @ISEPodcast
Instagram - @ise.podcast

Guest: Shreya Tiktok - @Shreyadoesthings2025

Also on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & Amazon Music :

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5yV9JNNRRF4fBvKw5QETNC?si=748189437f0d40dc

Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/international-student-experience-podcast/id1848975904

Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/651c6036-c2bb-4b72-81aa-3cdb5bbbf530/international-student-experience-podcast?ref=dm_sh_uP8jNQZVZvBRkNmQBWf1qwIp7

https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1333-international-student-exp-302843551

#InternationalStudents #GradSchool #FullyFunded #StudyInTheUSA #Scholarships #InternationalStudentExperience #Podcast

Support the show

🎙 International Student Experience

We share real stories from international students who have lived this journey
before you — so your path can be easier.

Every guest opens up about what they wish someone had told them. The mistakes they made. The lessons they learned the hard way. The wisdom they gained from navigating life, education, careers, and identity in the United States.

If you are an international student or about to become one — these conversations exist to make your journey lighter, clearer, and a little less lonely.

You don't have to figure it all out alone. Learn from those who have
already walked this path.

Watch full video episodes on YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/@ISEPod

Listen on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music | iHeartRadio

Have a story to share or want to be a guest? Email us at
yourstory.oie@gmail.com

Follow us: Instagram: @ise.podcast TIKTOK : @ise.podcast

YouTube: International Student Experience Podcast

Subscribe for new episodes every week

If this episode helped you, share it with another international student who
needs to hear it. We are still not reaching enough International students, please help us reach to more people by reviewing the podcast and sharing with other International students.

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When Sakunit moved to America at 15, the scariest part wasn't the flight or the language. It was making a single friend. She had a whole life and close friends back in Thailand, and when she got here she didn't even know how to reply when people talked to her, the context was just different.

This is her story of going from painfully shy and completely alone to finding her people, and herself. She talks about the loneliness no one warns you about, learning to love and respect herself, and how that changed everything, eventually leading a club and learning that the way to connect is simply to be yourself.

If you've ever felt invisible in a new place, this one is for you. You're not the only one, and it does get better.

Made by an international student, for international students, your practical and emotional guide to not just survive, but thrive.

⏱ Chapters:
0:00 Moving to America at 15 and How to Make Friends
6:11 Finding Confidence and Learning to Love Herself
11:19 Joining a Club and Becoming a Leader
17:34 Feeling at Home in Two Cultures

Made by an international student, for international students, your practical and emotional guide to not just survive, but thrive.

New episodes every week. Subscribe and let's get into it, and if this resonated, share it with someone chasing their own path.

Also on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music & iHeartRadio
TikTok - @ISEPodcast
Instagram - @ise.podcast

#InternationalStudents #StudyInTheUSA #Thailand #StudyAbroad #MakingFriends #InternationalStudentExperience #Podcast

Support the show

🎙 International Student Experience

We share real stories from international students who have lived this journey
before you — so your path can be easier.

Every guest opens up about what they wish someone had told them. The mistakes they made. The lessons they learned the hard way. The wisdom they gained from navigating life, education, careers, and identity in the United States.

If you are an international student or about to become one — these conversations exist to make your journey lighter, clearer, and a little less lonely.

You don't have to figure it all out alone. Learn from those who have
already walked this path.

Watch full video episodes on YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/@ISEPod

Listen on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music | iHeartRadio

Have a story to share or want to be a guest? Email us at
yourstory.oie@gmail.com

Follow us: Instagram: @ise.podcast TIKTOK : @ise.podcast

YouTube: International Student Experience Podcast

Subscribe for new episodes every week

If this episode helped you, share it with another international student who
needs to hear it. We are still not reaching enough International students, please help us reach to more people by reviewing the podcast and sharing with other International students.

Y...

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When Jennie decided to leave Taiwan to study in the US, her family was against it. She had a whole future already planned out at home, and walking away from it to go abroad alone wasn't what they wanted for her. She went anyway.

This is her story of choosing her own path, adjusting to life in a new country, learning to push through fear instead of letting it decide, and slowly turning her family's worry into pride. It's for anyone who has ever wanted something their family didn't understand, and had to find the courage to go after it.

0:00 Quitting Her Planned Path in Taiwan
3:00 Her Family Didn't Want Her to Go
7:01 Arriving in America and Finding Her Confidence
19:16 How Her Family Feels Now

Made by an international student, for international students, your practical and emotional guide to not just survive, but thrive.

New episodes every week. Subscribe and let's get into it, and if this resonated, share it with someone chasing their own path.

Also on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music & iHeartRadio
TikTok - @ISEPodcast
Instagram - @ise.podcast

Support the show

🎙 International Student Experience

We share real stories from international students who have lived this journey
before you — so your path can be easier.

Every guest opens up about what they wish someone had told them. The mistakes they made. The lessons they learned the hard way. The wisdom they gained from navigating life, education, careers, and identity in the United States.

If you are an international student or about to become one — these conversations exist to make your journey lighter, clearer, and a little less lonely.

You don't have to figure it all out alone. Learn from those who have
already walked this path.

Watch full video episodes on YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/@ISEPod

Listen on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music | iHeartRadio

Have a story to share or want to be a guest? Email us at
yourstory.oie@gmail.com

Follow us: Instagram: @ise.podcast TIKTOK : @ise.podcast

YouTube: International Student Experience Podcast

Subscribe for new episodes every week

If this episode helped you, share it with another international student who
needs to hear it. We are still not reaching enough International students, please help us reach to more people by reviewing the podcast and sharing with other International students.

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She was a national champion swimmer in Slovakia with a full-ride scholarship to America. Her first-generation parents, who don't speak English, were terrified to let her go. Her dad almost didn't sign the papers. She came anyway, at 18, with two suitcases, and figured it all out on her own.

Then the sport that brought her here started to break her body down. After a shoulder injury forced her to stop swimming, she leaned fully into the dream she'd carried since high school, becoming a doctor.

This is Alexandra's story: leaving home, building a life alone in a new country, losing the thing that defined her, and holding on to what she was really after.

She also credits Dr. Andrew Reisman, MD, the physician who treated her shoulder and helped shape the kind of doctor she wants to become.

Made by an international student, for international students, your practical and emotional guide to not just survive, but thrive.

Watch Part Two, her full step-by-step guide to getting into med school as an international student.

Time Stamps :
0:00 - Getting Recruited to Swim in America
5:46 - Culture Shock, Language, and Living Alone
13:15 - Her Parents Almost Didn't Let Her Go
15:41 - Arriving With Two Suitcases
19:50 - The Injury That Forced Her to Stop Swimming
24:04 - How Losing Swimming Led Her to Medicine

Guest: Alexandra Misikova, from Slovakia, former national champion swimmer and Division I athlete at the University of Delaware, first-generation college student, and this August she starts medical school.
TikTok: @a_misikovaa
Instagram: @a_misikovaa
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandra-misikova-medstudent

New episodes every week. Subscribe and let's get into it, and if this inspired you, share it with someone chasing something big.

Also on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & Amazon Music

TikTok - @ISEPodcast
Instagram - @ise.podcast

Support the show

🎙 International Student Experience

We share real stories from international students who have lived this journey
before you — so your path can be easier.

Every guest opens up about what they wish someone had told them. The mistakes they made. The lessons they learned the hard way. The wisdom they gained from navigating life, education, careers, and identity in the United States.

If you are an international student or about to become one — these conversations exist to make your journey lighter, clearer, and a little less lonely.

You don't have to figure it all out alone. Learn from those who have
already walked this path.

Watch full video episodes on YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/@ISEPod

Listen on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music | iHeartRadio

Have a story to share or want to be a guest? Email us at
yourstory.oie@gmail.com

Follow us: Instagram: @ise.podcast TIKTOK : @ise.podcast

YouTube: International Student Experience Podcast

Subscribe for new episodes every week

If this episode helped you, share it with another international student who
needs to hear it. We are still not reaching enough International students, please help us reach to more people by reviewing the podcast and sharing with other International students.

Y...