Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
STEVE BENNETT: I would say that
there are several reasons.
One of them, of course, has to do with the wide variety of
educational institutions that we offer.
Everything from small community colleges, large
community colleges, small private colleges, up to the
huge public institutions that offer a wide expanse of
research opportunities for graduate students.
So there's a real diversity there of educational
institutions.
And then, we also, I think, frequently talk about the
quality of educational.
But we don't really define what that means.
And to me, when we talk about quality of education, we're
talking about the wide variety of majors that are offered.
We're talking about the fact that students can come in, and
the education system is more flexible than it might be in
their home country.
So rather than coming in and pursuing a degree where you
simply have to follow a strict order of courses, you have
some flexibility in taking the type of courses that you're
really interested in.
Not so much at the undergraduate level, but at
the graduate level, I think the US is well recognized for
the quality of research that's done.
And particularly for graduate students, there are real
opportunities to come here and participate in research
activities with very well known faculty and staff.
And finally, the fact that, for many majors and many
fields, having a proficiency in English is a really strong
resource to have. So all of those things together, I
think, make the US a prime destination for students.
The first stop?
In most countries, I would recommend that they find their
Education USA adviser.
And having been an Education USA adviser myself many years
ago, I can say that the advisors will provide the
students with help in trying to identify which institution
might be the most appropriate for them.
There's a real tendency on the part of students to select
institutions that they know by name, possibly because their
brother went there, or their cousin went there, it's well
known in the neighborhood.
But that institution may not necessarily be the best for
that particular student.
So by going through a center like that, you can find a
school that may be the right size for you.
Some students will do really well in a school that has
50,000 students.
Other students need to go to a place that has 1,500 students.
You could also look at the number of
students in the college.
The location of the school is also very important.
Some students do very well in a big urban setting.
Other students do much, much better in
a more rural setting.
And sometimes students will think, well, because it's in a
small town like a College Park, Maryland that it's going
to be a small place.
But in fact, it's a huge place because of the size of the
university.
So location is also a big part of that.
And it's always wise to have a serious discussion with your
parents about how much money you can afford to spend.
Because schools vary dramatically in the cost. So
all of those factors need to be addressed.
You don't want to look so much at how the school as a whole
ranks as how it ranks in terms of your particular major.
So that would be one piece of advice is, depending on what
you want to study, look at how that school is in that
particular field.
First of all, I think it's really important for students
to recognize the fact that every college or university
will have deadlines.
And it's very important that you find out what those
deadlines are, and make sure that whatever documentation
you need to provide is in by the deadline.
because that's critical, particularly given the amount
of time that it takes to send documents to the US, obtain
I-20's, mail them back, get the visas.
As far as what we require for admissions, though, this is a
place that community colleges are dramatically different
from four-year schools.
Community colleges offer what's called open admissions,
which very simply means if you are a high school graduate, or
if you are 18 and over and you could demonstrate the ability
to benefit--
but particularly a high school graduate--
and you apply to the college, you will be admitted.
We don't look at extracurricular activities.
We don't look at your high school grades.
You are admitted based on the fact that you have applied to
the college.
Now, when you're admitted--
and this is a place that American institutions are
different from schools in many countries.
In many countries, it is extremely difficult to be
admitted to a college.
But after you're admitted, assuming you go to class and
you do the basic requirements, you're going to graduate.
On the other side of the coin, with a community college, the
admission process is fairly straightforward but there's no
guarantee you're going to graduate.
So we admit students.
But then, when the students come to the college, they have
to demonstrate that they have the ability to succeed.
Colleges and universities have varying sizes of
pots of money available.
And typically, public institutions will have less
funds available that they can provide, particularly to
international students.
If a student really has financial need, and they are
high-quality student, sometimes they'll find that
there are more resources available to them at public
institutions.
And where that's a little confusing is, when you look at
the tuition, you'll think, oh, this is so expensive.
There's no way I could afford to go there.
But that school might be able to offer you
some financial support.
Whereas the public school might look less expensive.
But if you don't get the financial support, it's not
going to work out for you.
So you have to look at both of those things.
Well, it's difficult.
Because in most cases, we're sitting in the United States,
and the student's sitting somewhere
outside the United States.
So we don't have the opportunity to talk to them
face-to-face about what they should anticipate.
And I would say that's another place that you might want to
take advantage of your education advising centers.
Because they do offer workshops and help on
preparing for the visa interviews.
But we do try to provide information to students to
make them aware of the type of information that the consular
officer may be looking for.
We certainly try to provide them the appropriate documents
so that they don't need to worry about their documents.
But it is something that's a bit difficult for us to work
with, because we are removed from the student at that time.
First of all, I've tried to tell students what consular
officers typically are looking for.
And what I've been told is they're essentially looking
for three things.
The first one they're looking for is are you, in fact, a
serious student?
And can you make a clear explanation for why it is you
want to study in the United States?
The second part they're looking for is do you, in
fact, have the resources that you need?
A lot of students are under the impression that they have
to come in with stacks of financial documents.
What I've been told by most consular officers is they
really don't look at those that detailed.
They just have to feel comfortable that you have the
financial resources.
And the last one, which is the reason, I think, most people
are denied visas is that the officer has to feel
comfortable that you have the intention of returning to your
country after you've completed your studies.
And what I tell students is, before you go for your visa
interview, sit down and make a few notes about what you would
like to tell that officer.
Don't write out a script.
Definitely don't write the script and memorize it.
Because if you memorize it, that's an immediate turn off
when you go in for the interview.
But know what you want to say.
And be ready to say it in approximately one to two
minutes maximum.
Most of the time, if you're prepared, if you can give that
officer a clear, honest account of why you want to
study, and it makes sense, the story fits, you have a very
good chance to get your visa.