United States-India Educational Foundation, Chennai

Pre-Departure Orientation session for Fall 2011 Students

USIEF organized two pre-departure orientation sessions this year for students leaving for Fall semester on July 8 and 29, 2011. Mr. Bryan Dalton and Mr. Anand Krishna delivered inaugural remarks on the importance of international education, the number of Indian students in the United States, insisted that students should be curious and not be shy, should be able to differentiate and use their critical thinking skills, take advantage of local culture, food and education and most importantly have fun in addition to academics. Mr. Anand and Bryan quoted USIEF as the authentic source on higher education in the U.S. The program comprised of discussions on academic, financial assistance opportunities and cultural life in the United States. The session on academics dealt with information on classes, teachers and their expectations, schedule, courses and work involved in courses, credits, grades, library work and the session on financial assistance dealt with information on the types of assistance available, maintenance of academic standards, where and how to get financial assistance at U.S. universities. The session on Cultural life in the United States included information on food, clothing, etiquette, values, holidays, gender relationship, housing, people who can help a student (international student advisor, department advisor, department secretary, counselor), campus safety, emergencies, health, insurance and things to take when a student travels to the United States. We also had Mr. John Hall and Mr. Aaron Benesh, Vice consuls speak on the immigration rules and regulations while staying on student status in the U.S. Do’s and don’ts while on a student visa was discussed at length. A quiz on India and the United States was also organized as part of the PDO and students received USIEF pen drives as prizes for guessing the right answer. Sessions from sponsors like FCH Centrum, ICICI Lombard Health Insurance, DHL courier services, Matrix Cellular Services, Samsonite and Cox and Kings were also held on their products. The program reached out to 156 students.

PDO analysis: Out of 156 students registered, 150 were graduate students, 5 were undergraduate students and 1 student for a certificate program. 4.5 % got the full financial aid and 16.03 % got partial aid. Top fields of study were engineering, computer science and business. Top five universities were University of Texas, Dallas (17), Arizona State University (14), Pennsylvania State University (5) & North Carolina State University, Raleigh (5) and Rochester Institute of Technology (4). Top five states were Texas (34), New York (20), Arizona (15), California (8) & Ohio (6). New subjects were Actuarial Science, Built Environment, Structural/Earthquake Engineering, Textile and Apparel Technology, Alternate Energy Technology and Atmospheric Sciences. Gender ratio: Male 71.8% and Female 28.2%.

Linden and IIE U.S. University Fairs at Chennai

USIEF Chennai coordinated Linden and IIE U.S. University Fair at Chennai on February 17, 2011 and October 1, 2010. Twenty-nine U.S. university representatives interacted with five hundred and seventy-five students and parents. USIEF and the Consular Section, American Consulate General, Chennai set up booths and provided information.