For Blind Foreign Students, Some Aid Available in US

A student in Nigeria asks if visually impaired foreign students can get a full scholarship as an undergraduate.

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A listener in Nigeria has a question about financial aid for blind and visually impaired college students in America. S.A. Ogunlowo in Ile-Ife wants to know if visually impaired foreign students can get a full scholarship as an undergraduate.

Financial aid programs in the United States, especially at the undergraduate level, do often require American citizenship. At the same time, scholarships often pay only part of the cost of an education. The National Federation of the Blind advises students to contact any school they wish to attend to ask about financial aid.

The federation is the country's largest group for the blind. Each year it awards scholarships that do not have any citizenship requirements. Students must be legally blind. And foreign students cannot apply until a college in the United States has already accepted them.

The application deadline was March 31 for 30 scholarships offered for this fall. Most are 3,000 dollars. The highest is 12,000 dollars.

The United States has an estimated one million blind adults. The federation says there are no special colleges or universities for the blind. But schools do offer special services and technology to help students with disabilities.

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AIT CELEBRATES INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION WEEK NOVEMBER 12 - 16 WITH WIDE RANGE OF ACTIVITIES

The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) will participate in International Education Week to promote international education and educational exchange. From November 12 - 16, 2007, the EducationUSA Advising Centers in Taiwan, the AIT American Cultural Center in Taipei, and the American Corner in Taichung will jointly sponsor events for students, scholars, and professionals. The week's activities will involve current U.S. Fulbright scholars and recent graduates of U.S. universities.

International Education Week aims to attract future leaders from around the world to study, learn, and exchange experiences in the U.S. The theme for this year's International Education Week is International Education: Fostering Global Citizenship and Respect.

"AIT and the EducationUSA Taiwan team are celebrating International Education Week with many interesting activities across Taiwan. Taiwan students and their parents often tell me that the U.S. is their number one choice for study abroad," said AIT American Cultural Center Director Nicholas Papp. He encourages Taiwan students and their parents to participate in the week's activities and to log on to the EducationUSA Taiwan website - the number one source of information about opportunities for study in the U.S. - at http://www.educationusa.org.tw/.

The week's activities will include:

--student-centered lectures focusing on Study in the USA, including special talks for undergraduate and graduate students in Taipei and Taichung;

--radio interviews on ICRT Radio by EducationUSA advisers, AIT officers, and experts on international education;

--a digital video conference, "Internationalizing the University Campus: Sharing Experiences and Best Practices," featuring university and education officials from Taiwan and the U.S.;

--and an interactive web chat, "How to Succeed in Applying for Study in the U.S."

For details on the week's activities, please visit the EducationUSA website at http://www.educationusa.org.tw/.

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美國在台協會舉辦多項活動慶祝11月12-16日國際教育週

美國在台協會將舉辦國際教育週期，促進國際教育與交流。從11月12日至16日，台灣留美諮詢中心、台北美國在台協會美國文化中心、及台中美國資料中心，將為學生、學者與專業人士舉辦多項活動。國際教育週的活動也會有現任美國傅爾布萊特學者和美國各大學新近畢業生參加。

國際教育週的宗旨在吸引世界各地未來的領袖，到美國留學、進修和經驗交流。今年國際教育週的主題是﹕國際教育﹕促進全球公民精神與尊重。

美國在台協會美國文化中心主任潘柏楷說﹕「美國在台協會與『留學美國』台灣小組，正在全台各地舉辦許多有趣的活動，來慶祝國際教育週。台灣的學生和家長常常告訴我，美國是他們出國留學的第一選擇。」潘柏楷主任鼓勵台灣的學生和家長，踴躍參與國際教育週的活動，並上「留學美國」台灣網站瀏覽﹕http://www.educationusa.org.tw/，這是在台灣有關留美資訊的最佳來源。

今年國際教育週的活動包括﹕

--以學生為中心、著重於留學美國的演講，包含在台北和台中特別為大學部與研究所學生舉辦的說明會。

--ICRT電台訪問「留學美國」顧問、美國在台協會官員、及國際教育專家。

--視訊會議，題目是「大學校園國際化﹕經驗分享與最佳作法」，參加者有台灣及美國的大學和教育官員。

--網路互動對談，題目是「如何成功的完成留美申請」。

有關各項活動詳情，請上「留學美國」網站瀏覽﹕http://www.educationusa.org.tw/。

WEBCHAT: Educators Will Provide Tips on Studying in the United States

Taiwan is the sixth leading place of origin for international students in the United States. As the American Institute in Taiwan celebrates International Education Week, two guests will share their experience and tips on how to successfully apply for degree programs in the United States.

On Wednesday, November 14, from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Taiwan time, join us for an online discussion with Professor Rae Lan and EducationUSA educational adviser Clarence Fu.

Professor Lan teaches in the Department of English at Soochow University in Taipei, Taiwan. She received her doctorate from the University of Maryland. Clarence Fu, a former Fulbright fellow, is an EducationUSA adviser with the Foundation for Scholarly Exchange.

If you would like to participate in this webchat, please sign up on the USINFO Webchat registration page. Please tell us your preferred screen name; use of full names is not required.

If you have participated in one of our previous webchats, use the same e-mail. (You no longer need to enter a password.) You may submit questions in advance.

We accept questions and comments in advance of, and at any time during, the program. You may also e-mail questions without registering. We welcome questions in either Chinese or English.

The transcript of this webchat will be available on the EducationUSA Taiwan website.

Choosing a Student Exchange Program to Come to the US

Our Foreign Student Series looks at programs for high school and college students.

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We continue our Foreign Student Series this week with two questions that we received. Anatolii Artamonov, a university student in Ukraine, would like to know about student exchange programs in the United States. Anatolii would especially like to know about the one called Work and Travel USA. And fifteen-year-old Betty Xu in China wants to know about a program called ASSE.

We continue our Foreign Student Series this week with two questions that we received. Anatolii Artamonov, a university student in Ukraine, would like to know about student exchange programs in the United States. Anatolii would especially like to know about the one called Work and Travel USA. And fifteen-year-old Betty Xu in China wants to know about a program called ASSE.

ASSE is the American Scandinavian Student Exchange. This program was established in Sweden in 1976 to organize exchanges with the United States. It expanded to include students in Norway, Denmark and Finland.

Today ASSE organizes international exchanges for high school students in 31 countries. The students live with a family and attend school for a year.

Other programs also offer high school students a chance to come to the United States. These include AFS, Youth for Understanding and the Program of Academic Exchange, or PAX.

For college students, there are programs like the International Student Exchange Program, or ISEP. This is a group of almost 300 colleges in thirty-nine countries. ISEP is an independent organization that was supported by the United States government until 1996.

ISEP is a true exchange program. That means two students from different countries trade places for a semester or a year.

Work and Travel USA is also for college students. But this program is not for those who want to study in the United States. It provides international students with the chance to work for up to four months while exploring American life.

The State Department says they generally work in hotels, restaurants and amusement parks but may also work for other employers. An organization called CIEE administers this program. It says students must understand that the money they earn from their work may not be enough to pay all of their costs.

Virginia Tech: 'As Strong a Place as It Has Always Been'

University officials say they have seen no sign that foreign students are rejecting admission offers because of the killings.

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A moment of silence was observed Monday for each of the 32 shooting victims at Virginia Tech

Classes began again at Virginia Tech on Monday, one week after the shootings by a student. Seung-Hui Cho, an English major in his final year of college, killed thirty-two people. He also took his own life.

University officials were criticized for not acting more quickly to warn of the danger of a gunman. School administrators across the country are re-examining their security policies and communications systems. But they say privacy laws restrict how they can deal with mentally troubled people, even if there are warning signs of possible violence.

Virginia Tech, in Blacksburg, is a public university that has gained greater recognition in recent years. Its engineering and computer science programs, for example, are known internationally.

Seven percent of the students at Virginia Tech are international students. The Cranwell International Center at the university says there are about 2,000 foreign students this year. They come from more than one hundred countries. But most are graduate students from India, China and South Korea.

Jacqueline Nottingham is the Graduate School director of admissions and academic progress. She says more than four thousand foreign students applied to the Graduate School for the term beginning in August. More than 3,000 of those applications were for the College of Engineering.

She says she has not seen any evidence that foreign students are rejecting admission offers because of the tragedy. She says Virginia Tech is, in her words, "as strong a place as it has always been."

Graduate applications are accepted until May 15th. As of Wednesday, Jacqueline Nottingham said 669 international students had been offered admission. Just over 40% of them have already accepted the offers.

Norrine Bailey Spencer is the associate provost and director of undergraduate admissions. She says she has received e-mails and notes from some students who say they want to be part of Virginia Tech now more than ever.

More than 300 international students have been offered undergraduate admission this coming fall. In the United States, undergraduates traditionally have until May 1st to accept or reject an offer from a college.

The Formula for Becoming a Pharmacist

A look at pharmacy education in the US, and the requirements for foreign-trained pharmacists.

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Two listeners, Youngmin Kim in South Korea and Nestor Gastelo in Peru, would like us to talk about pharmacy education in the United States. This will be the subject today in our Foreign Student Series.

"Pharmacists are health professionals who assist individuals in making the best use of medications." That description comes from the Code of Ethics of the American Pharmacists Association.

The job may include filling doctors' orders and helping people choose medicines that can be sold without a prescription. A pharmacist might also answer questions from patients and work with medical devices and other technologies.

Community pharmacists work in drug stores. Pharmacists are also employed by hospitals and drug companies.

Pharmacists in the United States must meet the professional requirements of the state where they want to work.

Many universities have a college of pharmacy. Since two thousand four, these offer only a doctor of pharmacy degree. The program takes four years.

Students generally enter pharmacy school after two years of general courses. Pharmacy students must be skilled in mathematics and the sciences. They must also take the Pharmacy College Admission Test.

After they earn their degree, they must complete a residency training program in a hospital or other setting. One year is required, but a second year can be added in a specialty area like cancer care or infectious diseases.

After their residency, pharmacists must pass the licensing examination given by their state.

Foreign students who plan to train in the United States and return home should make sure their degree will be recognized there. In the same way, foreign-trained pharmacists who want to work in the United States must be sure that their degree will be recognized here.

Even so, they will have to complete a residency in the United States. For more information, check with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, at ashp.org.

Foreign-trained pharmacists must also pass a certification process. More information about that is available from the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, on the Web at nabp.net.