HELLO from China

[Deef1]

Originally Posted by Brait

i kown that Tampa is a pretty city,especially the famous beach. i hope people there are friendly

There will be jerks everywhere you go, but I like to think the majority of us are friendly and welcoming! Sooo, let me be the first to welcome you to Tampa (even if a little early)

[cooljoebay]

I think anyone coming from China will more than likely be satisfied with Florida.

[mquintana]

That's so unfortunate that there are such restrictions on what you do on your personal time. As far as I know, U of T is a really good university. I am sure their finance department is just as good. The transporation here isn't horrible. We do have a bus system and taxi's. I am sure there are some apartment communities that are within walking distance. You can take a look on these sites for apartment communities and get an idea:
www.apartmentguide.com
www.rent.com
www.mynewplace.com

The crime here-you have to look at things like this, there is crime everywhere you go. With more people in an area, there will be more criminal activity. As long as you are not messing with the wrong people, I doubt you will have an issue. Good luck!

[joelaldo]

Originally Posted by Brait

i've just registered. i want to ask some questions .Look forward to your responses.
does the program of MS in Finance in university of tampa enjoy good reputation?
is it easy for international students to get interns&jobs in Tampa Bay?
is the city safe and life convenient? From the wedsite of StudentsReview,there are negative critiques,especially in safety and transportation.

Ha... I lived in China for 2 yrs, so I know what you're talking about. Through movies, government controlled media and newspapers, Chinese people are told that America is an unsafe place where everyone has guns.

I did an excercise in stereotypes with my students one day and asked what they thought about the U.S. Unsafe and everyone has guns were the very first two answers in almost every single class. My answer was very simple, "if what you see in the movies about America is true, you must think American people are very beautiful, because all the people in the movies are beatiful. I can guarantee you, there are many UGLY Americans." They laughed, I laughed....

The U.S. is pretty safe. As a college student going to and from work, unless you live in the worst of neighborhoods, you will be fine. Tampa isn't the best city in America as far as safety, but most definitely not the worst. Just excercise prudence and you won't ever be a victim of it.

As far as transporation, Tampa is like most cities in the US that require you to have a vehicle to move around in. Public buses are common, but have limited access, and your mobility will definitely be impaired because of it.

As far as the prestige of the degree... iit really is what you make of it and what you learn from it, not just the paper itself. It's obviously not Prineton or Northwestern, but it's still a very good school.

International students getting jobs, especially in finance, is very hard, I can tell you that. Unlike engineering, science, math bio, etc... a lot of Americans study finance. You would have to be able to distinguish yourself immensely from the rest of the students in order to do that. Most chinese MBA and MA students come to the U.S. with enough money to get by for the whole year or two years they're here, since getting a job many times is out of the question for them.

I'm sorry it's not the answer you want to hear... but I want you as well as other students to be well-informed. Welcome to the U.S. if you do make it!

[Brait]

Thank you with all my heart

[BucFan]

I'd think with a degree in Finance and your Chinese background, you'd do well in certain segments of the investing industry (I'm think mutual funds focusing on Asia).

[craigm1841]

U of T is a great school to attend if you want to stay in tampa. There seems to be a bit of the good 'ol boy system for U of T graduates in Tampa. This is not a huge city- so networking and building interpersonal relationships is the key to success in this town. That said, a MS in Finance would greatly help you land a job here in Tampa and your multi-lingual abilities would help you land a job with a corporation which has relationships/interests with Asian countries such as China, Taiwan, Singapore, and even Hong Kong. Luckily for you, Chinese, presumably "standard-mandarin" is extremely versitle.

If you are proficient in both chinese and english- you have a HUGE advantage over a large majority of people in the world. You will be able to communicate with over 30% of the earth's population using one of those two languages, and every company has an interest in finance. You will be a prime candidate for career opportunites in this global economy.