Counseling and Advising for
International Students
Arranging to See a Counselor
The Counseling and Advising office is in
CB 215. We are usually open Monday,
Tuesday, and Thursday 8:30 AM –
7:00 PM, Wednesday 8:30 – 2:30 and
5:00 – 7:00, and Friday 8:30 – 5:00.
For basic questions you can just walk in –
you usually don’t need an appointment.
However, the last two hours of each day
may be appointments only.
For longer or more complicated questions
it is recommended that you make an
appointment.
K. Silver 2013
Making an Appointment
To make an appointment if you have questions or
need general advice about your major, classes, or
other topics that are not connected to your status:
Go to “Counseling and Advising” from the MC
website, then click on “Rockville.”
Look for “Individual appointments.”
Follow the instructions.
For Counselor, select “No preference.” If you want
to see a certain counselor, you can put his or her
name in “additional information.”
http://cms.montgomerycollege.edu/
edu/secondary1.aspx?urlid=4
What Services do Counselors
Provide?
Students should come in for academic
advising.
Counselors can help students choose
classes for their major.
We can also help with transfer and career
questions.
K. Silver 2013
What Services do Counselors
Provide?
Counselors can also help students with
personal issues. For example: students
who have not been in the US for a long
time sometimes experience culture shock
and have trouble adjusting.
You are very welcome to come talk to us
about adjustment and ways to feel more
comfortable in this country. You can also
talk with us about any other issues of
concern.
K. Silver 2013
What Services do Counselors
Provide?
All conversations with counselors are
confidential.
Unlike the International Student
Coordinators, we are NOT required to
report anything about students to
the government.
Therefore, students can talk
to us about almost anything.
K. Silver 2013
International Student Coordinators
and Counselors
The International Student
Coordinators (SV 115) can help
you with visa and status issues,
questions about sponsors, etc.
The Counselors (CB 215) can write
letters for you to the Coordinators in
case you need to extend your I-20,
drop a class, or have other issues
that require a letter.
K. Silver 2013
Making an Appointment for an F-1 Letter
All full-time counselors may write the letters.
In certain situations, you may be referred to see a
particular counselor who has more experience
working with international students.
Normally you make the appointment online from
the Rockville Counseling website:
http://cms.montgomerycollege.edu/edu
/plain.aspx?id=7134
You must make an appointment to see one
of us to get a letter for the International
Student Coordinators.
K. Silver 2013
Making an Appointment for an F-1 Letter
You can also make an appointment from
the International Student Office page:
http://cms.montgomerycollege.edu/edu/
plain.aspx?id=14474
The appointment must be when the
counselor is not on walk-in duty, and cannot
be the same day. Please do NOT wait until
the deadline (for example, to drop a class)
to request a letter! It may be too late!
K. Silver 2013
Counselor Specialties
Some counselors work with different
departments and majors.
Most counselors have psychological
training.
Some counselors are trained to help
students with career searches.
All counselors can help students with
transfer to a four-year college or
university.
K. Silver 2013
Counselor Specialties
Some counselors speak another language.
Professors Hilda Smith and Linda Robinson
are native Spanish speakers.
Professor DJ McCullough speaks
Portuguese fluently.
Part-time counselor Professor Chia-May
Dougherty is a native Chinese speaker.
K. Silver 2013
Academic Advisors
Students should also work with the advisors in
their departments.
Department advisors can help students make
sure they are taking the correct courses for
graduation in their major.
Major courses may need to be taken in a certain
sequence. Department advisors can guide
students through this.
Advisors can also provide advice about noncourse career planning (volunteering or
internships) and connections students need.
K. Silver 2013
Recommended Class for New
International Students
DS 104, Seminar for International
Students, is strongly recommended for
new international students, during your
first (or second) semester.
It’s especially important for students who have
never attended college or university.
In this class we present a lot of important
information in about rules and regulations at
MC, education in the US, cultural adjustment,
study skills, test preparation, transfer, and
career information.
K. Silver 2013
Other Classes to Remember
Speech: If you are required to take SP 102,
you must complete it before you can take EL
104! Remember that EL 104 requires RD 103
and EL 110 (the 2nd Speaking class). It is
recommended that students who need SP 102
take it during their first semester.
Math: Many students say “I hate math. I’m not
good at it. So I’ll wait until my last semester to
take it”. If you have a low math score, you may
need three to four semesters of math to
graduate!
K. Silver 2013
Dropping a Class
It is important to keep your full-time
status.
There are some situations in which a
professor may drop a student from a
class, or recommend that a student drop.
Sometimes a student may wish to drop a
class.
If a student misses too many classes, the
professor may drop or fail the student.
See the course syllabus for the professor’s
policies on this.
K. Silver 2013
Dropping a Class
If a student is doing poorly in a class, a
professor may recommend that the
student drop.
The professor may not know that you
need to be full-time.
Do not drop a class without discussing
the consequences with the International
Student Coordinators or Counselors! If
dropping a class will put you below full
time, you must be approved for this and
get a notation on your I-20 first!
K. Silver 2013
Semester versus Credit Hours
All courses have semester hours, but not all have credit hours.
Semester Hours or
Credit Hours
Billing Hours
 Number of hours you will be
in class each week during the
regular semester
 Value of class toward meeting
 How MC determines tuition
costs (billing)
 Transfer Value
 Most of the AELP courses = 5
semester hours
 Count towards Grade Point
degree requirements
Average
 Count towards full-time status  Listed in catalog
EL and RD and SP 102 courses
EL and RD and SP 102 courses
= 0 credit hours
= 5 semester hours
K. Silver 2013
Full-time or Part-Time
Full-time = 12 semester hours,
or billing hours
Not necessarily 12 credits.
For example, if a student is taking:
EL 102 = 5 billing hours
RD 102 = 5 billing hours
DS 104 = 2 credits/billing hours
 This student has 12 billing hours and is
full-time.
K. Silver 2013
Transfer Credit
If you have taken university courses in
your country, a counselor can help you
find out how to get credit for these
courses here, or in a university after you
finish your degree here.
If you have a university degree, you may
be able to transfer to a university, or even
apply for a higher degree. Typically, you
will need to complete English through EN
102.
K. Silver 2013
Transfer Credit
Bring a list of the courses you have taken
in your country, or a transcript, so the
counselor can help you decide if it is worth
having your transcript evaluated.
We have a list of Credentialing Agencies
that evaluate international transcripts.
K. Silver 2013
Transferring to a University
You can begin your studies here and
complete a degree at a four-year college
or university.
You can get help from counselors to find
out the requirements for transfer.
It’s a good idea to start looking at
requirements early, so you can plan your
classes.
K. Silver 2013
Workshops Offered by Counseling
Every semester the Counseling Office has
many workshops about transfer and
career.
These workshops can help you make good
choices for classes.
There is a Transfer Day every semester
when representatives of many institutions
come to MC. We will have posters and
flyers available with the date for this
semester, and the information will be on
the Counseling website.
K. Silver 2013
Tutoring
 Free tutoring is available if you are having
difficulties with your class work.
 The Writing and Reading Tutoring Center (HU
02), and the Writing, Computer, and Language
Center (MT 20) for help with writing.
 The Math and Science Center provides tutoring
(MT 02)
K. Silver 2013
Activities on Campus
In addition to classes, there are a
number of activities on campus.
In the US, colleges, universities, and employers
place high value on participation in activities
outside of classes. These activities help students
improve English, get leadership and other skills,
and make connections with other students.
There are many clubs. You can find out about
them in the Office of Student Life in the
basement of Campus Center. There is also an
“Involvement Fest” every semester when you can
meet club representatives.
K. Silver 2013
Activities on Campus
Every semester the Counseling office
sponsors cultural events called “The
Gathering”.
Usually we feature the culture of a certain
country.
If you are interested in presenting your
country, please let Professor Smith or
Professor Robinson know!
K. Silver 2013
Review
When to see a counselor:
To make sure you are registering for the
correct classes for your major
If you are having trouble with classes
If you need a letter to the International
Student Coordinators about your status
If you want to transfer credits to MC from your
country
To get help with transfer to a university
To get information about the career search
If you need to talk about personal issues
K. Silver 2013
Review
When to see a counselor:
For simple questions you can come in during
normal hours with no appointment.
You can see any counselor on a walk-in basis,
or you can make an appointment to see a
specific counselor.
If you need a letter to the International
Student Coordinators, you must make an
appointment with a full-time counselor.
K. Silver 2013