78 Pinoy students off to the U.S. for studies
A TOTAL of 78 Filipino students attended the pre-departure orientation hosted Thursday by the EducationUSA Philippines, to prepare them to overseas studies in U.S. universities.
At the virtual event, U.S. Ambassador Sung Kim welcomed students and thanked them for the contributions they will make to U.S. classrooms and campuses.
"Each student we assist to realize their educational or professional development dreams through U.S. education represents another powerful, enduring, and positive link between the United States and the Philippines," the U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines said.
A statement from the U.S Embassy in Manila said a real-time survey during the event revealed that nearly half of the PDO participants have received financial aid offers from their respective schools totalling almost $500,000.
The U.S. Embassy’s Consular Section joined the event to answer questions related to student visas, it said.
The PDO attendees also heard stories of individual experiences as students in the U.S. from EducationUSA alumni Michelle Limpe (Johns Hopkins University), Arienne Calingo (Harvard University), Atty. Ralph Calinisan (University of Pennsylvania), Christine Okubo (New York University), and Simon Lee (Duke University).
The alumni shared stories from their time at U.S. universities and provided advice to the outgoing students, statement added.
EducationUSA encourages all students accepted to U.S. universities but were unable to attend the event to reach out to EducationUSA advisers with any questions at manila@educationusa.org or cebu@educationusa.org.
An EducationUSA adviser can help students narrow down options, and define their priorities. They will be well guided on their college careers plan with more than 4,700 accredited higher education institutions in the U.S. to choose from.
EducationUSA provides free advising services to prospective international students in more than 170 countries and offers students resources and tools to help navigate the five steps to U.S. study, namely: 1) researching schools; 2) identifying financial aid opportunities; 3) completing applications; 4) obtaining a student visa, 5) and preparing for departure.
EducationUSA does not offer scholarships but can assist students in identifying scholarship and financial assistance opportunities. With reports from Nash B. Maulana