<p>Hi, I am an international student and I am entering a US college this fall. Due to I have done some tutoring to the math Olym team here in my home country, I have opportunity to participate at iberoamerican meth olympiad as deputy leader, which could be a fun/cool/unique experience.
However, the olym starts at sept 17, and classes at college starts sept 8. So if I want to go for it I will have to miss a week of classes…
So I wish to ask, if you are in my situation, should you do to the olympiad? Considering that: 1. I have to pay the flight to Mexico(which is like 600 bucks something), 2. some profs might not give me the permission.</p>
<p>So, your GPA is one line on your resume. Cool and distinguishable stuff you do make you stand out.</p>
<p>I think the answer is pretty clear here.</p>
<p>You don’t have to ask profs for permission unless there is a test/assignments due or they use attendance as part of your grade. </p>
<p>It’s not the first week of school so you could do it, I think. I personally wouldn’t because of the $600 plane ticket but that is just me.</p>
<p>Contact your professors right now and ask them. Then you have more information for your decision.</p>
<p>
You can have many great experiences in college, but if you want to use drugs I would stick to pot, LSD and X.</p>
<p>My only concern is that you can miss a lot of information from just missing one or two classes; an entire week could be difficult to catch up on. Should you chose to miss the course, you should certainly speak with your instructors beforehand.</p>
<p>I think the kind of classes you’re taking matters here. If you’re taking math and science classes that tend to have three or four exams per semester, then even missing the second week can prove fatal to your performance. If you’re taking humanities seminars, then you can probably do the reading while you’re away and be relatively up to date by the time you get back. However, missing a week of college classes at any point is a big risk. </p>
<p>Also, at this point in the semester, your professors are still learning about who you are as a student. Missing the entire second week could potentially give them the wrong impression that you don’t care about school. (Oh, and while professors in large lecture classes probably won’t care if you’re gone, you certainly want to inform your seminar professors that you’ll be gone for a whole week.)</p>
<p>Finally, since you’re an international student, you will need time to adjust to life at a U.S. college. Again, the beginning of the semester is crucial for that, especially for meeting new people and making friends. You could miss a lot of social opportunities by going away (not that you wouldn’t have the same opportunities later, but by then, people will have found their group of friends).</p>
<p>I don’t know anything about the math Olympiads, but to me, the cons seem to outweigh the pros.</p>
<p>You might also lose your place in your classes if you don’t show up.</p>
<p>I agree with college_ruled. Check to see whether, at your school, your professors can drop you from their classes for nonattendance.</p>
<p>You’re an international student. Being enrolled in fewer hours than you planned to may have serious consequences.</p>
<p>math olympiad stopped mattering as soon as you sent out your college applications. I wouldn’t lose a week of classes over it.</p>
<p>It’s not really a job experience. No one cares about math olympiad outside of college adcoms.</p>
<p>thank you all guys…
some additional info: the deputy leader position is not technically a job because it doesnt pay, but it is like a teacher accompaning to the math team and its main task is to coordinate with the grading of the exam papers.
I am a math major and I am planning on graduate school, so being deputy leader might suggest that I know teaching right? I have heard that grad school love students that can do good job as TAs is that true?</p>
<p>But being deputy leader would hardly be considered teaching experience, especially if your main task is coordinating (as opposed to actually teaching). Plus, you have all four years of college to get that kind of experience (through actually being an undergrad TA or outside tutoring). I think grad schools going on the job market definitely need teaching experience, and grad students are used as TAs, but I don’t actually think grad schools require undergrad applicants to have significant teaching experience. </p>
<p>Anyway, I still think missing the second week of your freshman year is incredibly poor timing and will adversely affect your performance later on in the semester.</p>
<p>You’d essentially be paying $600 for one line on your resume. One line that wouldn’t even make a difference.</p>