Study Abroad for African Students
Study abroad experience can have a profound impact on the individual: by changing one's career route and social circles to enhancing global engagement.
Pupils from Africa, for several years, have been in the pursuit of high quality education provided all over the world. Motivated by strong ambitions and livelihood opportunities, the African pupils are looking beyond what their home country can provide.
Study abroad experience could have a deep effect on the individual: by changing one's career route and social circles to enhancing global engagement. A recent study conducted in the University of Minnesota has demonstrated that international students become civically involved and, despite the expectations, are most likely to come back to their home countries.
Why Does African American Students Seek Education Abroad?
Depending upon the budget of a person and their career goals, international students from Africa can study in prestigious African American universities or venture to go farther and travel to the USA, Canada, UK, Germany, Ireland, Turkey, Dubai or even a number of different destinations in Europe or Asia.
In the last decade, South Africa has witnessed the 2nd largest number of students in Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Libya, and other African nations.
Below is a brief overview of the admission statistics printed in 2018.
What motivates African American Study abroad students?
As the following graph reflects, students from the region are strongly motivated by career ambitions and the prospect of enhanced career opportunities. The responses reflected in the graph are for prospective undergraduate students, but the exact very same patterns hold for master's and PhD students too.
Almost three in four respondents imply that progressing to a higher level qualification is a significant element in their interest in pursuing an undergraduate degree overseas. Almost half see a foreign undergraduate degree as a method of advancing into their current career path, and a similar percentage see a foreign degree as a requirement to enter their intended profession. Finally, nearly a third (29%) see study abroad as a way of improving their career prospects.
The graph illustrates how weighted the survey answer is to those variables, relative to personal or cultural motivators for example opportunities for exchange or private interest.
According to the latest QS Applicant Survey, the US and Canada are the top destinations for African students to move with their research. Approximately 36% of students refer going to colleges at both US and Canada for undergraduate and master classes. The statistics showed 31%, 25% and 23% of pupils then favor the UK, Australia, and Germany respectively.
China is yet another popular destination that has witnessed a stride in the circulation of African students to their top universities. The amount of students from Africa took a whopping spike of 95,000 in 2014, and the country has since vowed 30,000 more scholarships to promote more mobility from Africa. France has also been bringing pupils from French-speaking countries like Algeria and Cameroon.
The reasons for pupils from Africa to opt for these countries is highly influenced by the standard of education and over all the Financial Aid. Many universities in Europe also need less or no tuition fees.
The investment at a diploma from a US institution has been viewed positively by global employers for decades. The Higher Education system in the USA helps build robust critical thinking skills and fosters a collaborative approach to learning. The breadth of the program encourages students to explore topics far beyond their own major. This gives a wider comprehension of the world along with a more open perspective.
Such abilities and approaches are much valued by employers and have also developed a strong entrepreneurial spirit among US graduates. The rapid development of Silicon Valley in California is one particularly shining example of the benefits of a US Higher Education. Study in the united states and follow your own American dream.
Canada offers a unique opportunity to study entirely in English, completely in French or on a bilingual program. With a population of approximately 10 percent of its southern neighbor, the USA, Canada has lots of space.
These things have made Canada an ever more popular destination for research among international students generally. Approximately 20 percent of the Canadian population speak French as their native language. English, in 56%, is undoubtedly the predominant language throughout the nation. It is important to remember if you are out of a French-speaking nation.
Study Abroad agencies mostly operate with associations in the English-speaking part of Canada. This is only because we believe proficiency in English is an essential skill for the worldwide mobile workforce. If your plan is to work in Canada after graduation that a solid knowledge of English will be essential. But for those who do prefer to research in French, Seed can provide extremely affordable options also.
Study In UK
At all levels that the British schooling system has an superb worldwide reputation for academic accomplishment. The UK is home to a number of the most famous schools, universities and colleges on the planet.
It is the accomplishments of pupils of the UK higher education system that generated the country's academic reputation.
Study In Germany
Germany is the economic powerhouse of Europe with the continent's largest economy. The first research universities on the planet have been in Germany and many are still available now.
The United Nations Development Programme places Germany as 6th about the Human Development Index. This is ahead of more popular study abroad destinations that the USA, United Kingdom, and Canada.
The German Government reports that there are around 375,000 international students registered at college . That is over 12% of the entire amount of college students in the country. Around 18,000 African students, each year choose Germany for university overseas.
No surprise since the country is home to famous engineering and production brands. STEM topics are popular course choices with African study abroad students.
Turkey isn't just a beautiful destination for travelers but also appealing to many foreign students. Research in Turkey is also relatively cheap in comparison with many other nations overseas. There has been huge investment in universities there in recent years. As a result, Turkish colleges provide high quality education and top-of-the-range facilities, but at a very affordable rate, to equip their students with the essential knowledge and techniques required to excel in the professional world.
Public universities mostly offer applications delivered entirely in Turkish, even though it is also possible to find some bilingual (Turkish and English ) applications and even some applications delivered in French select institutions. There are not any programs taught entirely in English in public colleges and so any African American student seeking to research in public universities need to examine the Turkish language initially and successfully pass the Tomer Exam (the Turkish equivalent to the TOEFL Assessment ).
We will mostly focus our attention on private universities in this manual as we do strongly believe in the global work opportunities which will be open to you if you study in English.
Dubai is situated in one of the seven United Arab Emirates and is home to professionals from all over the world. It is known for its extravagant architectural projects, including the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. Dubai has a superbly fast-growing market and is famous for innovation. Of course, the luxury shopping adventures make it a dream destination for many international students.
Ireland is a European nation famous for its culture all over the world. It is admittedly a less known study destination for African American students than its close neighbour, the United Kingdom. However, as we hope to show in this guide, there are lots of great reasons to consider Ireland to your research.
The Irish men and women are proud of their civilization and thus work hard to preserve it. Ireland is a Anglophone country that makes it appealing for both African American students who already speak English and those who wish to enhance theirs. Ireland is home to students from different parts of the world too. The Majority of the students that study in Ireland come in the European Union, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and North America.
Ireland has a younger population than many Western European countries and also a highly educated people. The country is often known as the Celtic Tiger because of its strong financial performance over the last 30 years.
Ireland includes a pioneering and can-do soul. Through innovation a country with a population of about 5 million people produces enough food to feed 60 million! Irish experience in agriculture has helped turn arid lands in Africa into fertile farming. As well as an upstart Irish airline business, Ryanair, revolutionised air travel in Europe, getting the largest European airline in terms of passenger numbers pre-COVID.
Unlike the UK, Ireland is a part of the European Union (though it isn't a part of the Schengen visa zone). In recent years, thanks to its highly trained workforce, Ireland has drawn multinationals, such as Amazon and Microsoft, to set up European HQs here. Since 1st February 2020 it is the largest Anglophone state over the European Union, which will be likely to make it an attractive base for additional international companies seeking to install hubs within the European Union's Single Market.
Ireland is a really safe and beautiful country with fantastic areas to visit.
African Students in the U.S.
Now, not all of those students listed previously are visiting the U.S., needless to say, and next week we will talk about where else these students may be studying and how to contend with the other destinations African pupils are considering and picking.
Source Nation
(2018 IIE Data)
Nigeria
12,693
Egypt
3,701
Kenya
3,322
Ghana
3,213
Ethiopia
2,118
South Africa
2,040
Morocco
1,563
Nigeria leading the pack isn't a surprise, as it's the highest GDP of African American economies, and thus has more students that can manage a U.S. schooling. The rest of the record all have economies in the Top 8 round the entire world, except for Ghana, that is not much behind at 11th.
While another 47 countries in Africa are not listed above, virtually all of them are sending pupils to the U.S. and other countries for tertiary schooling.
It might appear, by looking at the above record, that Nigeria is the crystal clear place to invest your recruiting efforts. But remember, with greater student numbers comes more competition from other universities overseas.
Do not ignore the remaining nations with fewer students already traveling to the U.S., as these may be untapped markets which would provide you more bang for your recruiting buck. As we mentioned in a prior blog article about Africa, the less traveled path represents the competitive path. Consider how nice it would be to be among the top-ranked universities at a college fair.
In accordance with this 2018 report by IIE just 4 percent of overseas pupils in the U.S. have been from sub-Saharan African countries. (The statistics for people from northern African nations is united with those from the Middle East, which account for 2 percent.)
African students bring an invaluable perspective and drive to campus,'' says WENR within this slightly older post. WENR spoke to The University of Rochester's vice provost and dean of admissions Jonathan Burdick, noting,"These students, most of them engineers working to tackle quite concrete challenges, have an outsize impact in their branches and on campus"
Based on Africa.com, the occupations with the most growth in Africa's expanding markets are such in agricultural engineering, agricultural management, telecommunications, structural engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering, structure, actuary science, and geophysics. Tourism and health care are also on the upswing.
If your institution has a strong program in these areas, there are some frequent flyer miles to be got and pupils to be recruited.
Can they afford it, however?
But while the language barrier might not be a substantial challenge, a monetary one certainly is. The cost for a single year for an American school greatly exceeds the average annual family income for some African nations.
What incentive is there for universities to offer bigger financial aid packages to these international students? Word of mouth to get you personally. Bear in mind that college-aged population thrive? That is a lot of mouths and the following generations will be learning about schooling options from people who went ahead of them.
Research from World Education Services (WES) reveals that 93 percent of U.S.-enrolled pupils from sub-Saharan Africa were likely or very likely to recommend their college to peers in their home countries. WES forecasts that,"Given the cost of effective recruitment efforts and the need to deploy both dollars and recruiters , these networks of alumni can provide an abundance of rewards with comparatively few risks."
Requirements to Study Abroad
The needs to study abroad for all international students would depend on the nation, the college, and also the program. However, there's a typical set of documents required to apply to all universities.
Transcripts from Faculties
Recommendation Letters
Statement of Purpose
For Undergraduate applications, students would need to pass the typical global entry exams like SAT depending on the nation you're applying to. The African American matric qualification alone might not qualify one to the necessary degree.
For postgraduate programs, you'd need completion of diploma certification and would be asked to write the nation and course-specific entry exams.
The minimum grade requirements for Faculties will vary across the nations. Also based upon the medium of instruction, students will have to take language tests to demonstrate the level of proficiency.
Aside from this, to get a student loan, you would also have to reveal Confirmation of enrollment, proof of sufficient funds and fulfill the health insurance requirements.
Composing a comprehensive admission essay or personal statement puzzles many international applicants. The vast majority of non-native English applicants don't feel confident in their application papers. That is why many of them utilize this platform to order informative article online:
Scholarships for Students from Africa
All the countries mentioned previously are focusing on widening their educational prospects by enticing more international students. As a part of this, many scholarships are offered by the many organizations to inspire students. Here are a few notables ones for pupils from Africa.
Mastercard Foundation Scholarship: Canadian and American Universities have partnered up the Mastercard to offer you a $500 million initiative to offer scholarships for 15,000 pupils, especially from Africa.
Australian Development Scholarships (ADS) for African American Pupils: An initiative by the Australian Government to offer fellowships and financial help for 1,000 postgraduate students from Africa.
The Beijing Government Scholarship (BGS): Provided by the Beijing Municipal Government that offers a full tuition fee for global students studying in Beijing.
French authorities (Eiffel Excellence) Pros and Ph.D.. Scholarships: Scholarships of Masters and Ph.D. students from developing countries majoring in engineering, science, economics, law, and science.
VLIR-UOS Training Scholarships in Belgium: Offered for pupils from African nations with preference given to women who take available master and training applications in English.
Language Language Proficiency
Students will need to give proof that they have achieved a certain amount of English language proficiency.
These will be the commonly accepted evaluations.
IELTS Academic Module
TOEFL
University of Cambridge Advanced
Pearson Test of English
VU English EAP
These tests must be obtained no less than two years before beginning the course.
Nearly all African pupils prefer to settle on a degree in technology or business studies. In Western countries especially languages, art, and human sciences are popular topics followed by law and political science.
Students from African nations are looking to go abroad to countries that offer them better standards of living. The ability to stay in the nation after completing the course is also becoming a significant deciding factor. Nonetheless, it's also common for pupils to return their expertise to their home states and contribute to strengthening their market.
Every country has something to offer, and it's best to choose the course based on individual and academic preferences.
Information sources and financing for Study Abroad
Almost six in ten potential students look to education agents for assistance in identifying and exploring alternatives for study abroad. However, the QS survey clearly indicates that most pupils make heavy use of online channels as well, especially organic search, institutional sites, school choice websites, and social media. Between 80% and 100% of survey respondents said they make extensive use of all these online tools.
Another striking aspect of pupil mobility from the area is the prominent role played by third party funders, particularly in the form of government or corporate scholarships. As the following graphic reflects, private or family financing plays a lesser role for many students from the region.
The standing of funding sources exemplified here reflects the prominent role of third-party funders (and also the importance of affordability variables ) that we have observed elsewhere to key markets in the region, especially Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana.
The agent recruitment channel is still developing in Africa. They are determined and eager to sign up new contracts -- unlike many of the colleagues in China and India who've come to be extremely discerning about which universities they will encourage. We have fulfilled a number of agents in the African nations in the ICEF Miami workshop and highly santa rosa junior college recommend this opportunity to meet and evaluate the options.
Unlike the recruiting agent systems in China and India which are highly developed and have matured into a challenging network of super agencies with many unstructured (and often uncontrollable) sub-agents, there are opportunities to create valuable relationships with many of the agencies that are growing in Africa. This recruitment station is a site subject all its own and we will share it in a future blog post this year.