US universities looking for more SA students

EVEN though American universities are actively seeking top South African students, only a fraction are taking up places compared with other sub-Sarahan countries which has five times more students going.

Last week The Independent on Saturday reported on Westville Boys’ High School matriculant, Sasasa Dlamini, who made it through stringent criteria to be accepted to study as an undergraduate at Harvard University later this year.

This week, education specialist at the US Consulate General in Durban, Susan Knowles, said that in the 2015/16 academic year, 1813 South African students took up places at US tertiary institutions while 10 000 Nigerian students were accepted, followed by Ghana with 3 000 students.

Top students from across the globe compete for places in American universities, particularly at the prestigious or “Ivy League” institutions. Knowles said that in the 2015/16 academic year, 329 000 Chinese students were enrolled in US universities, followed by India with 167 000 students and Saudi Arabia taking up third place with 61 000 students.

Figures include undergraduates and postgraduates.

“We would love to see these numbers increase. We find South African students want to study business, sciences and health-related fields, and engineering,” said Knowles.

Many foreign students go to the US to study on educational exchange programmes, such as the Fulbright scholarship which is for masters or doctoral degree students.

Although it is expensive with regard to the rand/dollar exchange rate, with a year costing anywhere between $18 000 (R245000) to $65 000, there are many partial or full scholarships on offer, according to Knowles.

“The more a course costs, the stronger you need to be because you are competing with students from across the globe.

“To get a full scholarship, you would need a minimum 80% aggregate, while a 70%75% aggregate would be required for a partial scholarship, although this varies.

“There are more than 1000 universities in the US.”

There is no school-leaving certificate in America because students sit a SAT exam for university entrance, which, according to Knowles, South African students should aim at completing in Grade 11 should they wish to apply for a place.

“I met Sasasa at a school career expo and he came to four of our workshops. He is one of our success stories.

“Our universities are holistic, so not only good grades are required. We also look at leadership quality, initiative, work experience or volunteerism. We recognise the government matric, IEB and Cambridge school leaving results.

US degree courses are normally four years, with major subjects only being decided at the end of the first year, which gives room for flexibility, while double majors are also available, said Knowles.

The US Consul General’s next information session is scheduled for 2.45pm on January 30 at the Natural Science Museum at Durban City Hall.

For more info, visit Education USA IN SA Facebook page.