United States Student Achievers Program USAP

1
United States Student Achievers Program (USAP)

• Workshop at Eurasia Regional Advising Conference,
  Moscow, August 2003

2
Workshop Objectives

• To introduce idea of working with new student
  target population
• To share USAP as one program model
• To explain how USAP operates
• To explore with interested educational advisors
  how USAP might be adapted to fit their advising
  center and country contexts
• To learn from colleagues potential ways of
  expanding USAP as concept to Eurasia

3
USAP Mission

• USAP assists highly-qualified, economically-disadv
  antaged high school students to negotiate and
  finance the admissions and financial aid process
  at highly-selective colleges and universities in
  the United States
• USAP supports active contact among its
  participants to encourage dialogue about
  students roles in building their home countrys
  future

4
USAP Vision

• USAP builds a cohort of open-minded, skilled and
  well-educated future leaders who are motivated to
  contribute to all sectors to positive change and
  development in their home countries.
• USAP diversifies the international student body
  in the US along economic lines.

5
USAP Rationale

• Overseas Educational Advising Centers too often
  work only with the economic elite of the country
• There are numerous highly-talented, bright
  students who only lack the financial resources
  and information to apply to study in the US

6
USAP Target Population

• Highly-educated
• Economically-disadvantaged
• Highly-motivated
• Community-oriented

7
USAP Selection Process

• Applications
• Academic results
• Essays
• Letter of Recommendation
• Financial, personal and extracurricular
  information
• Selection Committee
• USAP Students
• Educational Advisor

8
Participants

• Students
• Educational advisors
• USAP family
• Families
• School heads, counselors and teachers
• Corporate sector
• Churches Community Groups
• Embassy Community
• Admissions officers

9
USAP Seminar Topics

• Introduction to admissions process and US higher
  edu
• Preparation for SAT I and II and TOEFL
• Liberal Arts Education
• School selection based on criteria
• Writing the college essay

• Completing International Financial Aid Forms
• Common Applications
• Decisions
• Pre-dept preparation and orientation
• Applying for F-1 visa
• Using Internet for Academic Research
• Staying Connected

10
USAP Finances Making the process free

• USAP pays for
• SAT I, II fees
• Postage/Fax (the USAP system)
• Application fees (waivers)
• TOEFL (TELP)
• Photocopying, stationary, etc

11
Brainstorm

• What creative ideas can we think of to raise the
  money needed to run a USAP-like program?

12
Survey Financial Aid for Undergraduate
International Students

• Need-based vs.Merit based
• 148 universities responded to survey
• 133 offer financial aid
• 15 do not give financial aid
• ____________________________
• 14 offer need-based aid only
• 40 need and merit-based
• 76 merit-based only
• Linda Heaney,
  President
• Linden Educational Services
• May 2004

13
USAP in the US beyond

• USAP Family Listserv
• Continued peer and advisor support
• Returned student internships
• Returned student conferences
• USAP formal informal gatherings in US
• USAP Trust

14
Schools with USAP Students

• Berea College (2), Brandeis University (1),
  Brown University (1), Carleton College (1),
  College of St. Catherine (1), College of Wooster
  (1), Colorado College (1), Connecticut College
  (2), DePauw University (1), Grinnell College (2),
  Harvard College (1), Haverford College (1), Idaho
  State University (2), International University of
  Bremen (3), Ithaca College (5), Lafayette College
  (2), Luther College (2), Middlebury College (3),
  Mt Holyoke College (6), Oberlin College (2),
  Pomona College (1), Reed College (1), Smith
  College (1),Swarthmore College (1), Trent
  University (1), University of Maine (1),
  University of Missouri (1), University of
  Pennsylvania/ Wharton School (2), Viterbo
  University (1), Wartburg College (1), Wesleyan
  University (2), Whitman College (1), Williams
  College (1), Yale University (2).
• Total USAP students currently in US 58

15
Memory BanderaMount Holyoke College

• Major International Relations
• Founder, 1st President, Girl Child Network Trust,
  Zimbabwe
• Woman of the Month, July 2002 for World Youth Day
• Peace World Security Summer Scholarship
• Active on Council of Deacons, African Student
  Assn, Women vs Harrassment, Volunteering

16
Anywhere SikochiMiddlebury College

• Majors Economics, Russian Lang Lit
• Public Service Leadership Award 2003Lions Club,
  Volunteer Coordinator
• Track and Field
• Student delegate to Tajikistan
• Founding Member Mchaka Singing and Running Group
• Study Abroad in Russia
• Intern at Advising Center

17
Olivia ChiteteIthaca College

• Major Accounting and Environmental Studies
• Founding President, Ithaca Chapter,Natl Assn of
  Black Accountants
• Phi Beta Delta, Sigma Iota Epsilon Honor
  Societies
• Study Abroad in Botswana with SIT
• Resident Assistant
• Co-Chair Multicultural Ambassadors

18
USAP Challenges

• Insufficient financial aid offers waitlists
• for airfare, visa, immunizations, etc
• Timing of SAT exams
• Quality of teacher recommendations
• Lack of understanding in US of income-level of
  USAP students

19
USAP Future Vision

• To expand the program to develop into a network
  of sister programs at advising centers throughout
  the globe
• To maintain links among generations of USAP
  students
• To build a crucial global corps of future
  leaders, well-trained, capable, open-minded and
  committed to their home countries

20
For more USAP information

• www.usapkids.org
• Rebecca Zeigler Mano, Educational Advisor
• US Embassy Harare, Zimbabwe. ZeiglerManoR_at_state.
  gov
• Mihaela Arsene, Director of Advising Services
• Fulbright Comission, Romania. Marsene_at_fulbright.ka
  ppa.ro
• Natalia Rosanova, Educational Advisor
• IREX/USIS Educational Advising Center, Moscow,
  Russia.
• eic_at_useic.ru Natasha_at_useic.ru
• Udval Lkhamsuren, Director, Educational Adviser
• Educational Advising and Resource Center,
  Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
• Udval_at_earcmn.org

21
Resources on the web

• EduPass loans http//www.edupass.com/finaid/loans
  .phtml
• AMIDEAST/Advising Quarterly (membership!)
  http//www.amideast.org/aq/AQ-2002-Fall-Online
  Aid_Sites.asp
• FastWeb http//fastweb.monster.com
• Useful links
• http//www.bibl.u-szeged.hu/oseas/links.htmlaid
• http//educationusa.state.gov/undergrad/aid/links.
  htm