Eighteen U.S. university representatives work with counselors at the High School Counselors’ Academy at Islamabad Club, organized by USEFP EdUSA Advising.
Eighteen U.S. university representatives visited 24 higher educational institutes in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, as part of South Asia Tour 2016. The biannual tour – hosted in the fall and spring each year – is an opportunity for prospective Pakistani applicants to meet with American university and college administrators. Approximately 4,700 students, parents and counselors from across Pakistan had the opportunity to engage with the U.S. representatives during the tour where they answered questions about admissions, financial aid, and academic programs in the U.S. Of the 18 U.S. universities, nine were participating in the South Asia Tour for the first time.
The agenda for this year’s tour comprised of multiple school visits, three college fairs and the climax, which was the EducationUSA High School Counselors Academy. The school visits and college fairs took place in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad over the course of the tour and gave prospective students (and in many cases, concerned parents) a chance to ask questions about the admissions process and student life to the representatives.
“My interaction with the university representatives during South Asia Tour helped me understand various types of colleges in the U.S., said Fahad Hayat, an Opportunity Fund Student presently enrolled at Punjab College in Lahore.”
The Karachi leg of the South Asia Tour brings participants ever closer to the city’s famed street art.
“I spoke to a representative from Central Washington University who told me to look into various liberal arts colleges which provide full funding to international students. Now I am mostly applying to liberal arts colleges such as Oberlin, Luther, Bates, Augustana,” said Fahad. The South Asia Tour surely helped me clear a lot of misconceptions about U.S. colleges,” he added.
Conversely, the EducationUSA High School Counselors Academy is a day-long event organized for the benefit of local high school counselors, where panel discussions are held on key aspects of the U.S. college admissions process.
“USEFP’s South Asia Tour provides opportunities for school heads, counselors, parents and students in Pakistan to directly meet university representatives from the U.S.,” said Zahra Ejaz, Regional Deputy Manager (Career Advising) for Central Region Beaconhouse.
“This one-on-one interaction enables advisers to get a very realistic idea about where their students are going to end up and gives them so much confidence in helping students make the right choice,” she added. “Moreover, this interaction ultimately facilitates students with admissions and funding.”
The Fall 2016 delegation included representatives from the Fall 2016 delegation included representatives from Central Washington University, College of the Desert, Colorado State University, DePauw University, Foothill and DeAnza Colleges, Hiram College, Minerva Schools, Minot State University, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, Northern Arizona University, Northern Kentucky University, Ohio Wesleyan University, Old Dominion University, St. Cloud University, San Mateo Colleges of Silicon Valley, Savannah College of Art and Design, University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Northern Iowa, Valparaiso University, and Western Kentucky University.
EducationUSA at USEFP offers free advice and assistance to students interested in applying to or learning about U.S. colleges and universities. Register here.
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