The quality of education being imparted to students in T&T have made them ideal recruits for leading universities in the USA and Canada.
This is according to the US Charge d’Affaires John McIntyre and Canadian High Commissioner Carla Hogan-Rufelds who both echoed the same sentiments as they spoke with students and recruiters during the 2017 College Fair at the Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain yesterday.
As he addressed students and their parents yesterday, McIntyre reflected on his own university experience as he urged them to explore all the opportunities available to them.
He acknowledged that while financing was a “big deal” for many, “It should never impede your thinking of going to school in the US.”
Indicating there were many scholarship offerings based on athleticism and merit, McIntyre said while there were only 41 US recruiters participating in this year’s fair, the choices were far greater than persons believed.
He said: “You have so much choice in the US. If you can’t find a school that works for you and works for your parents and your family, you are just not trying.”
A Texan native, McIntyre obtained a BA in Political Science and Communication Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and completed his Masters in Public Administration at the University of Kansas.
Seeking to allay the fears of the parents and reassure them of their children’s safety if they opted to study in the US, McIntyre advised: “Schools take the safety and well-being of your child very importantly.”
Joking that he never qualified for any merit-based scholarships but was now head of US Embassy in T&T, McIntyre described the pressure placed on local students to perform at the exam level in Form Five and Six as “insane.”
However, he said this preparation had served to prepare students, “to do a really good job of the pressure you would feel potentially in college, as you guys have already accomplished that with your Ordinary and Advanced Level exams, you guys are already set.”
McIntyre said some foreign schools were particularly interested in T&T students as, “You all have such a massively improved base foundation for us and for our universities that people want you all to come.”
Impressed by what she claimed was a “huge upswing” in the number of students who had attended the two-day fair this year, Hogan-Rufelds said representatives from 19 universities across eastern and western Canada had participated in the event.
Pressed to say why they too were appealing to persons to study in Canada, she said, “There is a very strong people-to-people connection between Canada and T&T.”
She said many Trinbagonians had relations living in Canada and coupled with the educational opportunities available, it was ideal situation for persons to take advantage off.
Information from the Immigration Division, Canadian Embassy indicated that following the yearly event—hundreds of student visas are usually issued to persons as a result of the interaction. Approximately 700 student visas were issued in 2016 to students wanting to study in Canada.
Buoyed by the sharp increase in the number of attendants compared to last year, both McIntyre and Hogan-Rufelds agreed persons coming to the US and Canada would get value for money.
Dismissing claims that more Trinidadians were being turned down after applying for a visa, McIntyre said: “We have an incredibly low refusal rate across the board for tourists and students. The vast majority of Trinidadians qualify for a US visa, this hasn’t changed. There is a public perception out there about other changes in our visa policy and that has nothing to do with T&T and nothing to do with students.”
Hogan-Rufelds said: “We do issue an average of 250 student visas a year.”