MICHAEL BELLING
Three English-speaking countries that have long been popular destinations for South Africans – Australia, Britain and the United States – all offer advice and assistance to people wishing to study at universities there.
Both Australia and the United States have official websites providing information and links relating to the many aspects requiring consideration, ranging from finance to visas.
Australia
The official Australian government website for international students is www.studying-in-australia.org
It deals with planning and applying to study, including entry requirements, the application process, student visa options, why study in Australia and student support.
Some of the useful tips on the site help guide applicants. Examples include: student visa applications must be made online; the document checklist tool on the website to see what types of documents are required; health examination requirements; current passport with the correct visa (which is explained as well); and health insurance.
It even adds that applicants must prepare a statement about why they want to study in Australia.
Students can then go to the sites of specific universities in the various centres.
United States
The American site, https://educationusa.state.gov, is a US Department of State network of over 400 international student advisory centres in more than 170 countries (including South Africa).
The network promotes US higher education to students around the world by offering accurate, comprehensive, and current information about opportunities to study at accredited post-secondary institutions in the United States.
The site has information for students wishing to pursue either a short-term or full degree programme, providing resources in “Your five steps to US study”: research your options; finance your studies; complete the application; apply for a student visa; and prepare for departure.
U.S. Embassy spokesperson Cindy Harvey says that, “In 2015, more than 1 700 South Africans enrolled in US universities in a broad range of disciplines. The US Embassy in South Africa, telephonically and through EducationUSA centres in Cape Town, Durban, and Johannesburg, continues to provide educational advising services to students interested in studying in the United States, as it has for many years.”
United Kingdom
While no general site is available for study in the United Kingdom, Gibson Rachoene, media liaison and engagement officer at the British High Commission in Pretoria, said students who wished to study in the UK should make enquiries online with universities there.
He said that the British government supported scholarship programmes for students going to study there and mentioned two post-graduate scholarships.
The one, the Chevening scholarship, provided funds, including a living allowance, to some 60 students this year to study for qualifications of their choice. The Chevening office assists with visa applications as well. Applications (which close at the beginning of November each year) are made through the Chevening website.
The second, a Commonwealth scholarship, is administered by the British Council in Johannesburg. This year over 100 southern African students received these scholarships.
Undergraduate scholarships are available directly from the various universities, Rachoene said.
Students not requiring a scholarship should apply to the university they choose.
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