Steve Bennett

Transcription

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.