“United States of America” a golden opportunity for Sri Lankan students!
There is large gate of opportunities open in the US for International students and the deal between US and Sri Lanka on the academic industry has been over 10 years. American National College (ANC) is an educational institute which provides opportunity to Sri Lankan students to obtain a US degree by studying in Sri Lanka or by transferring to a US University. The mission of ANC is to mold successful futures by delivering international quality education to develop all rounded professionals.
Mrs. Aruni Mahipala the Chief Operating Officer of ANC Education was interviewed by the Education Times team, to inquire about the US and Sri Lanka transfer programmes as well as completing a US degree in Sri Lanka. Having a thorough knowledge on this subject matter and being a very honest individual stating the truth without sugar coating it, Mrs. Aruni was a wonderful individual to inquire about the academic possibilities which Sri Lankan students have in the US.
Education opportunities
“Diversity is a key goal” ANC offers courses for students who want to be kindergarten teachers up to post graduate studies in different fields, Mrs. Aruni emphasized. ANC started as a US transfer programme institute and then went on to offering a US degree completion in Sri Lanka. Business, Management Information Systems and Hospitality Management were few of the degree options which ANC started with, being extremely proud in their successful steps forward. ANC will help any student; transfer to any University they wish to study in and has
already sent more than 1600 students to the US.
ANC Student Culture
“Students are being prepared to face the real life” Mrs. Aruni has been working with ANC for 12 years and over years she has seen students improving at ANC and also after completing the degree in US. She said “we prepare students to face the real life; we make them prepare themselves to face a new country, a new culture and also how to balance their studies and work”. The clubs and societies which ANC provides help in molding students to be all-rounders and Mrs. Aruni was a very proud individual to see the students of ANC developing themselves, seeing their boldness and their improved confidence and personalities.
Choose the correct path and University
“Make the right choice and do something that makes sense” Talking about choosing a US university, Mrs. Aruni highlighted the importance of doing a lot of research and having a thorough knowledge about the path that the students are going to proceed in and also about the university and its background. “Don’t waste your time and energy, taking unfruitful paths, always focus on the future and the job market and choose your path”. She also went on to elaborate,that it is important to decide whether the student is planning to come back to Sri Lanka and be employed or whether they will continue being in the US, as degree pathways they choose should match the local job market as well.
Potential cities to get career opportunities
“City areas for business students & large mass land for Engineering” LA, California, New York, Dallas and Wisconsin are few cities that a student aiming to excel in business should choose, Mrs. Aruni stated. “Yes, you should choose whether you like a sunny city or cold city, but that would be the second cri- teria” She added laughing. “Liberal Arts students should definitely go to New York because obviously that is where all the magazines and theatre performances are!” Mrs. Aruni further went on to state that with the student Fi VISA for liberal arts students, they get 12 months of internship after the completion of the degree. For Science, Engineering, Technology and Mathematics, (STEM) 36 months of work time is offered after the degree with the student VISA. “If you want to excel in Computer Science, definitely go to Silicon Valley, which is the heart of the job market for computer science” Mrs. Aruni added.
Expenses, budget universities and scholarships
“Scholarships for US universities are not limited to academic, if you show your potential in extra-curricular; those will be major plus points” Mrs. Aruni stated that the cost per year for a University in US will be $12000 to $65000, and this includes lodging on campus, food, tuition fee, books and insurance. “Usually if students score a high GPA (Grade Point Average) during the first semester they will be offered scholarships, or before entering the University they will also offer scholarships according to your qualifications and potential” She stated.
There are so called “budget” Universities which would cost $9000 to $12000 per year, but these are of high quality as well, the Central Missouri University which is less costly even offers piloting having their own air fields. “The good thing about America is that you can work and study and these students are considered as way more prospective employees for companies because it shows that they can balance two things at the same time.”
“I would advise a first year student to work on campus, get familiar with the environment as well as earn your pocket money” Mrs. Aruni was stressing on the value of this opportunity and stating that by working on campus a student can concentrate on their studies more and even get familiar with lecturers who will give them work opportunities too. A student can work 20 hours on campus and earn about $800 by doing so.
The money per month that a student need for food, lodging transport and expenses would be $700 to $1000 Mrs. Aruni told the Education Times team. She stated “Of course they need to get their Starbucks and a descent amount of shopping, because that is an essential experience too” cheerfully and merely excited by the life the students will be spending.
Internships in US
“Internships are important; you are lining up possible employers!” US has the first black president, and the CEO of Pepsi is an Indian lady and the Microsoft CEO is an Indian Gentleman, Mrs. Aruni was saying that US does not discriminate and gives opportunities to everyone. She gave a word of advice “Try not to come back to visit Sri Lanka during the summer break and do an internship.” She stated that it is vital to do as many internships possible because it is a marketable point for you as an individual to get employed as a graduate. The summer vacation offers 40hours per week off-campus and 20hours per week on campus during the semester.
If students are planning to come back to Sri Lanka after the completion of their degree, companies like MAS holdings, Virtusa, MIT will be ready to hire you as an employee because of the world class degree you hold and the foreign internships you have done.
Mrs. Aruni gave a message to all the parents and stated “Please let your child follow their passion and do something that they are talented in, keep aside the traditional method of thinking and adapt to the changes in the world.” She also added that studying in US gives a student a good exposure and lets them integrate with many students of different cultures and also modern methods of teaching. “You will learn to think for yourself, think out of the box, be independent, be creative in your field, while earning a high class degree with an array of opportunities!”