Some 20 Mauritian students attended a live digital videoconference, concerning university studies in the United States (US) last Thursday at the American Embassy in Port-Louis.

The discussion panel was composed of four Mauritian students currently applying for admission to US universities and three university students who answered their queries.

Asked why they had chosen to pursue their studies in the US, the most recurrent reply of the Mauritian students was the opportunity to gain fully-paid scholarships. “It’s rare that a country offers full scholarships. My sister, who is in the United Kingdom, has had a bursary covering one-third of the costs, and still, the two-thirds left are exorbitant” says Gulshan, a Royal College Port-Louis student who has just completed his Higher School Certificate (HSC). “Last year, a Mauritian student from Professor Hassan Raffa State Secondary School obtained a full scholarship in an American University”, adds Mrs Rubina Salehmohamed, Information Assistant at the Embassy.

The second reason is that, in Mauritius, the amount of courses available is quite limited. “As regards engineering courses, there are only about four to five types, whereas in the US, they are almost unlimited. If ever the courses do exist here, there is almost no opening apart from teaching”, says Vimal, who finished his HSC last year but chose to work instead of pursuing his studies here.

Among the choice of courses of the students who have applied for US universities, one could note Aeronautics, Astrophysics, Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering range and Chemistry. The annual fees range from US$ 15, 000 to US$ 45,000 per year.

Studies in the US are also less academic-oriented and more extra-curricular. Besides, US universities prefer to enrol students who have a good track record of extra-curricular activities. To gain admission at an American University, certain tests have to be passed such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test and the the Test of English as a Foreign Language.

Coming to the difficulties that international students encounter in the US, “we have some who have trouble with the American accent, others who are home-sick”, said one American student on the panel. But each problem has its solution. “There is a Dean of student life who makes sure that students are happy. There are also religious specialists, psychologists… to make sure that studying in the US is a rich and enjoyable experience” says Dr Susan Perry, the head of the Political Science Department at the American University of Paris, who chaired the event. She has been teaching for 22 years in the American education system.

<B>Four years for bachelor’s degree</B>

In the US, it takes four years to get a bachelor’s degree instead of three in most countries. This is because there are no advanced examinations in the US such as our HSC. “But you can gain credit s for the first year of schooling, as long as it is not engineering or medicine, where you would most probably have to do the full four years”, said Dr Perry. Asked by a member of the audience if the four years could be compressed into three by choosing more modules in a semester, Dr Perry replied in the negative arguing that “lecturers don’t want students to drown academically”.

“We enjoy having foreign students coming to the US. It is a great opportunity for them to learn about US culture and society. At the same time, it is an opportunity for Americans to learn about Mauritius”, said Victoria DeLong, Public Affairs Officer at the embassy.

The videoconference was organised by the Education Advising Section of the US Embassy in collaboration with the Africa Regional Services (ARS) in the context of International Education Week. ARS is a centre for cultural and information programs and services in French.