Why did I move to America?

Motivation

🍓 I could have stayed home, finished 11th grade, gotten my diploma, and applied to college (even in the US).

🍓 BUT instead—

🍓 And I have ZERO regrets! Why?

🍓 Because I’ve always dreamed of studying at a university in America.

Yes, there are a million challenges: language, applications, culture, adaptation, moving, money…

There’s literally no better way to learn it. Now I’ll go to university with a solid base👌🏼
Feeling confident in English is the #1 thing when living abroad.
On exchange, you usually end up in a small town — real America! Around me, I’m the only Russian speaker, the only exchange student.
At first, it was frustrating.
But then I realized: I speak only English, and it works perfectly for my fluency 🔝 (especially if you take away my phone and camera).

American students apply in November–December, a year before they start! By January, many already have offers and are hunting for scholarships👌🏼
So yeah, the timelines don’t really match with the Russian system.
The hardest part? Filling out all the paperwork.

If you’ve read my earlier posts, you know: adapting isn’t easy.
And trust me—you don’t want to go through that again once you’re already in college, and without the support of a host family. (Host parents help A LOT!!!!)
You need time to get used to the mindset, to live with it, to understand it.

College in the US isn’t free. But there are scholarships, grants, financial aid. It’s so much easier to figure this out from the inside.

🍓 And what if you realize you don’t even like America, but you’ve already signed up for a super expensive college?

🍓 You get to see how the education system actually works—not from stories, but by living it.

🍓 Plus, who doesn’t want to feel like they’re inside an American movie?

🍓 But the BEST part: meeting amazing people ❤️ (and yes, having your heart broken later 😭😭).

🍓 Being an exchange student is basically a trial version of studying at an American university.

Try it yourself — write your own exchange story and become an exchange student!