Over 20 Malawian Students to Study in the U.S

Over 20 Malawian Students to Study in the U.S under USAID

A group of over 20 Malawian students will, beginning this summer, go to the United States (US) to study in different colleges, the US Embassy to Malawi disclosed on Thursday.

According to a statement dated July 11, 2013 and made available to Malawi News Agency (Mana), the students have had a pre-departure orientation in the capital where U.S Embassy Chargé d' Affaires Lisa Vickers inducted them on a number of areas.

"During your time in the United States, you will be doing much more than studying. You will also be sharing Malawian culture and values with Americans, and experiencing American culture, every day." The statement quoted Vickers.

The group comprises 11 undergraduate students who have received both full merit and partial scholarships to study at competitive private liberal arts colleges, and 5 Master students including one who has received full scholarship under the MasterCard Scholarship Program.

Others include 3 graduate exchange students under the U.S Department of State's Fulbright program, 4 graduate exchange students who have received full funding under USAID's Malawi's Scholarship Program to pursue various programs in Health related fields, and several professional exchange students under the U.S Department of State's Hubert Humphreys program.

The list also includes graduate exchange students who have received full funding under USAID's United States Initiative on Long-Term Capacity Building (UILTCB) to pursue various programs in agriculture-related fields, according to the statement.

"Through assistance from the Education USA Advising Center, Malawian students have received over $500,000 (approximately K180 million) in financial awards from different U.S. colleges and universities - and this amount is just for the first year," explained the statement. "This means that Malawian students in 2013 alone received over $2,000,000 (approximately K720 million) for four years."

The statement added that the Education USA Advising Centre also gave grants totalling up to $18,000 (approximately K6.4 million) to support exceptionally well-qualified students of limited financial means with the up-front costs of applying to undergraduate and graduate degree programs at accredited U.S colleges and universities.

"These 'opportunity funds' were mostly used to pay the costs of test preparation and college applications, visa applications, passport fees and air tickets to the United States," explains the statement.

Education USA is a global network of 400 advising centers in 170 countries supported by the U.S. Department of State.

Education USA Centers actively promote U.S higher education by offering accurate, comprehensive, impartial, and timely information about educational opportunities in the United States and guidance to qualified individuals on how best to access such opportunities.