2004-11-17
This is Gwen Outen with the VOA Special English Education Report.
Today, in part twelve of our Foreign Student Series, the subject
is financial aid. This is an area to consider when you first begin
to explore the idea of studying at a college or university in the
United States.
Most of the students who come to America pay for their education
with their own money or with money from their family. The group
NAFSA: Association of International Educators says this is true of
eighty-one percent of students.
That is because not much financial aid is offered to foreign
students in the United States. Foreign graduate students have more
chances than undergraduates do. Still, forty-seven percent of
foreign graduate students pay for their studies with their own money
or their family's money.
Most financial aid from government and private groups is
restricted to American citizens. Some countries provide aid for
their citizens to study in the United States, on the guarantee that
they return home to work.
The United States government provides aid for students from some
countries. You can ask for details at an American Embassy or an
office of the United States Agency for International Development. A
local university may also have such information.
And some American schools do provide financial aid to foreign
students. A list of these can be found at a useful Web site. This
site also provides information about where to write for financial
help. And it warns foreign students not to pay if any money is
requested for scholarship application forms. You could be cheated.
The address is edupass.org. That's e-d-u-p-a-s-s-dot-o-r-g.
The site also tells how to order publications such as "Funding
for U.S. Study -- A Guide for International Students and
Professionals." This guide lists more than six hundred places where
international students can get help paying for their studies. Again,
the site is edupass.org.
A lot of information about financial aid can be found on the
Internet. If you do not have a computer, you might be able to use
one at a local school or an educational advising center.
Another useful site for students is operated by the State
Department. That address is educationusa.state.gov. Our Foreign
Student Series continues next week. You can find the reports online
at voaspecialenglish dot com.
This VOA Special English Education Report was written by Nancy
Steinbach. This is Gwen Outen.