US News & World Report just released an updated guide to the process. It describes the types of visas, the typical processing time and what to bring to your visa interview. Read the explainer from Anayat Durrani. (June 2023) …

Women make up 58% of American undergraduates, and many colleges are struggling to attract male applicants and get them to graduate on time. The gender gap is sharpest among minorities, rural communities and low-income students. Many men struggle to ask for help and believe they “do not belong” in college. Andrew Smith has more for…

Jen Kebea, president of Campus Philly, a nonprofit focused on recruitment, engagement and retention of college talent in the Greater Philadelphia area, discussed a 2019 study with Technical.ly, an online news site for technologists and entrepreneurs. Campus Philly completed a retention data study in 2019 that found the region was retaining 54% of its college students,…

Three international music students from Alabama State University traveled to Florida to attend the Southeast Horn Workshop (SEHW) at the University of Central Florida, according to the Alabama State University website. The three students — seniors Vitalis Wagome and Wanja Nganga and freshman Shaka Marko Lwaki, all from Nairobi, Kenya – attended the conference, billed…

In a recent survey of 12th-graders, about 40% said the COVID-19 pandemic made them rethink their choice of career or undergraduate degree, and about 10% said it made them doubt the value of college at all. Nirvi Shah of USA Today unpacks the findings. (June 2023)  …

The Keystone Education Group, based in Oslo, Norway, surveyed 23,800 prospective international students representing more than 195 countries and found that students are evolving in the way they approach decisions about study abroad. (June 2023) Several highlights from the group’s 2023 State of Student Recruitment Report conducted from January-April 2023 include: A growing number of students…

Indian Eagle magazine takes a look at the U.S. student visa interview process, offering tips and success strategies. Among them: organize your documents, be honest and concise, and demonstrate strong ties to your home country. Also: don’t be nervous or defensive, and don’t memorize responses. Read the full story here. (June 2023)   …

The expiration of COVID-19 restrictions means that Seattle Colleges’ international students, who’d been permitted to take fully online classes from either their home countries or their U.S. residences, have to go back to the classroom. And that, the student newspaper notes, is a problem. “This might leave international students in hot water because some classes…

After the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021, tens of thousands of girls were banned from attending school beyond sixth grade. Many found a way to continue their studies through informal tutoring centers, but those too have come under increased scrutiny as the government continues to crack down on women and girls’ access to…

Two staff psychologists – one who grew up in South Korea and one in Kenya – with Virginia Commonwealth University’s counseling services specialize in intercultural issues, VCU News reports. Mijin Kim and Abey Muthoni Wachira draw on personal experience in their work and have highlighted a range of issues that international students can face as…

Nearly 530 students from 27 countries will be spending the summer working and traveling in the U.S. state of Wisconsin thanks to a program known as the J-1 Student Visa. The program provides workers from area businesses, placing most of them in eight municipalities in Door County. The Door County Daily News has the story.…

The Graduate Records Exam, or GRE, is now less than two hours long and has no writing section. Scores will also be released faster. The changes come as many schools are making the test optional, in what the academic journal Science dubbed “GRExit.” Stephanie Saul of The New York Times describes the new format, and…

After colleges went online during the pandemic, professors reported “stunning levels of student disengagement.” Now, many schools are walking back those policies and no longer offer coursework online. While this is welcome for many students, others with disabilities and chronic illnesses argue that Zoom is the only safe way for them to attend. Julian Roberts-Grmela…

Imagine if your first-year biology class took place at an “Alien Zoo,” where you dissect animals and identify medical conditions. This is already happening at Arizona State University, where thousands of students pair their real-life lecture courses with virtual labs. Students in the virtual reality course were 1.7 times more likely to earn an A…

In a good month, Celina Chanthanouvong has about $200 left after rent, groceries and car insurance. That doesn’t factor in her student loans, which have been on hold since the start of the pandemic and are estimated to cost $300 a month. The pause in repayment has been a lifeline keeping the 25-year-old afloat.  “I…

In the United States, the first two years of medical school are classroom-based. During the pandemic, students took these courses virtually, and even now skip the lectures and rely on recordings. Students report learning better when they can rewind and pause the material, but also that getting feedback and building relationships with faculty are more…

Colleges and universities are allowed to give underrepresented minorities a boost when applying. But later this month, the U.S. Supreme Court is widely expected to ban colleges from considering race in admissions. How will the schools respond? Read this story from Dan Friedell of VOA Learning English, adapted from a piece by Reuters. (June 2023)…

Virginia Commonwealth University has two staff psychologists specializing in intercultural issues. Their mission? To help international students adjust to life in the U.S. as seamlessly as possible. Read the full story here. (June 2023)  …

Allen Goodman, CEO of the Institute for Higher Education, writes that empty seats at U.S. colleges could drive a boom in international education. The U.S. has lost market share among host countries, but unlike its competitors, its university system is so large and underutilized that it could easily recruit more students. Because international students become…

In 2010, the University of South Florida signed a 30-year contract with INTO, a company that provides support services for international students. INTO built a “pathway program” at the university that taught students English and basic academic skills before they began their higher-education degrees. But after years of enrollment declines, the university ended the contract,…

A Croatian student is earning two Ph.D.s simultaneously, one in Croatia and one at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Borna Nemet spends his days at UNLV studying educational leadership and effectiveness. At night, he uses Zoom to teach students at the University of Zagreb in Croatia. Read the full story here. (May 2023)  …

U.S. graduation ceremonies usually feature a public figure who offers advice to young people starting their careers. This spring, graduates have heard from President Joe Biden, actor Tom Hanks, Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa and even Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, who became the youngest prime minister in the world…

Justin is a service dog and accompanied his owner (who graduated with honors) to every single class for four years. The student’s university honored the dog’s hard work with his very own diploma, which he accepted, tail wagging, in front a cheering stadium of other graduates. See Justin’s walk across the stage in this story…

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken touted his department’s achievements in a recent address to NAFSA: Association of International Educators. The State Department has relaxed student visa and study abroad requirements. In fact, it issued over a half-million student visas last year – the highest number in five years. Blinken, who spent part of his…

During the COVID-19 pandemic, learning lagged for students around the world, including the U.S., where many had access to online learning. Now these soon-to-be graduates say they are behind in certain subjects because of time missed at school. VOA’s Laurel Bowman sat down with high school seniors on the cusp of graduation. Camera: Adam Greenbaum,…

Former U.S. Congresswoman Liz Cheney implored new college graduates to not compromise when it comes to the truth, excoriating her House Republican colleagues for not doing enough to combat former President Donald Trump’s lies that the 2020 election was stolen. In a commencement speech at Colorado College, the Wyoming Republican repeated her fierce criticisms of…

After the Taliban retook power in Afghanistan in 2021, they severely limited access to education for girls. Yet a club founded in the U.S., Flowers for the Future, helps Afghan girls keep learning through Zoom meetings with U.S. students. Two students, one Afghan, one American, describe their journey with the program and what it’s taught…

Quite possibly, since the elite U.S. investment bank has been investing millions in educational startups. Students from countries like India, Nigeria and Indonesia have long struggled to finance their U.S. degrees due to limited access to loans, but these new startups could disrupt that. For example, in just the first quarter of 2022, one startup,…