More Saudi Arabians pursue studies in US

[al-Hasani]

Published: 15:27 November 29, 2013

Government scholarship programme is encouraging more students to go abroad for education

Image Credit: Los Angeles Times
Noura Islam, from Saudi Arabia, chose UC Irvine for its engineering program me.

Washington: At first glance, the Facebook photo doesn’t look like a USC alumni gathering: No cardinal and gold in sight, not a single Tommy Trojan to be found.

But, on closer inspection, it’s apparent that half of the smiling men are flashing the Trojan “victory” sign.

“At USC, you quickly develop a sense of pride being a top university,” said Bahjat Zayed, the past president of the 120-member USC Alumni Club of Arabia, one of the university’s fastest growing graduate groups.

The club is one sign of the rapid rise of Saudi Arabians studying in the United States. Those numbers fell dramatically after the September 11 attacks; the number of Saudi students dropped by almost a quarter in 2002 and continued to fall for the next two years.

But the numbers have grown steadily since 2005 and doubled from the 2010 to 2012 academic years, according to a recent survey. The number of Saudi students in the US last year grew to 44,566 — a nearly 30 per cent increase from 2011.

The country ranked behind only China, India and South Korea in the number of students studying in US colleges and universities.

Experts say the change is largely fuelled by a new Saudi Arabian scholarship programme that encourages students to study abroad. Other countries have adopted similar programmes. Of the four nations that made the biggest percentage gains in the recent survey, Kuwait and Brazil also offered government-sponsored scholarship programmes.

“Countries that are trying to leap from their population into a 21st century economy need to do that very rapidly and they don’t have the capacity in their own universities,” said Peggy Blumenthal, senior counselor to the president of the Institute of International Education, which conducted the recent survey in partnership with the US State Department.

Reem Al Attas grew up in western Saudi Arabia and enjoyed studying cognitive science, which examines brain processes, but knew that no colleges in Saudi Arabia offered programmes in it.

The daughter of an aviation engineer, Reem thought it would be difficult for her family to afford to send her overseas to study and she assumed she would stay in Saudi Arabia.

But she heard of other students who had received financial aid to study abroad. Her parents, who had studied in the United States during college, encouraged her to apply.

She received a scholarship but did not apply to US schools right away. Like many of her classmates, Reem went to a college prep programme at Virginia Tech for a year after high school. She lived in an apartment with other Saudi students while improving her English and also took the SAT and other college admissions tests.

Reem decided to go to UC Berkeley, where she is now a sophomore and intends on majoring in cognitive science. “I like that it’s very diverse and multicultural and that people are not afraid to identify themselves,” Reem said. “It’s a very intellectual place.”

One of Reem’ Virginia Tech classmates, Noura Islam, chose UC Irvine for its engineering programme and because “I’m a beach person,” she said.

The number of Saudi students at Irvine has almost tripled since 2010, going from eight to 23 this year.

By comparison, there were 172 Saudi Arabians last fall at USC, almost five times more than in 2007.

Islam said the transition has been relatively seamless, although figuring out how to get around in Orange County has been difficult, especially since she doesn’t drive.

Women are not allowed to get behind the wheel in Saudi Arabia.

“Back at home, I’m used to getting a driver,” she said. “Here, you have to [do] everything on your own.”

Other Saudi students said they’ve had trouble getting used to some American traditions. For example, when Hala Al Hashmi attended her first Penn State football game, “I didn’t understand anything,” she said. “American football’s not even a thing at home.”

Hala didn’t attend a game over the next year but decided to start going again this fall. “I can’t deny that the atmosphere is amazing,” she said. “And I think it’s part of the Penn State experience to attend football games.”

Hala has also tried to learn as much as she can about America. She came to Penn State because she liked the finance programme, but enjoyed her sociology and economics classes so much that she decided to double minor in them.

She plans to return to Saudi Arabia after she graduates, where she hopes she and other young adults will contribute to a more open, independent society.

“At home, there’s so much pressure for everyone to be the same,” Hala said. “But here, you have to meet with so many different people. You have to learn to talk to them and listen and understand them.”

More Saudis pursue studies in US | GulfNews.com

 

[SALMAN F]

Published: 15:27 November 29, 2013

Government scholarship programme is encouraging more students to go abroad for education

Image Credit: Los Angeles Times
Noura Islam, from Saudi Arabia, chose UC Irvine for its engineering program me.



More Saudis pursue studies in US | GulfNews.com

Why she does not wear hijab or its hypocrisy only when in their country are islamic but out sid are not

 

[al-Hasani]

Why she does not wear hijab or its hypocrisy only when in their country are islamic but out sid are not

Ask her. What has this of any importance to this news? You are telling me that every Iranian women/girl wears a hijab outside of Iran?

Stick to the news. Not interested in a debate about hijab. Her choice. My opinion is not of any relevance here. I am not her father, husband or family to be in a position to say what she has to do or advice her.

 

[Arabian Legend]

Canada

 

[al-Hasani]

Canada

I knew that this would be the reply.

I need to visit Canada to compare it with USA. But is it not horribly cold? Here in Denmark I complain when it is below 10 degrees Celsius and I cannot imagine surviving in Canada where 0 degrees Celcius is considered "warm" in many places half of the year or so.

 

[Counter-Errorist]

I knew that this would be the reply.

I need to visit Canada to compare it with USA. But is it not horribly cold? Here in Denmark I complain when it is below 10 degrees Celsius and I cannot imagine surviving in Canada where 0 degrees Celcius is considered "warm" in many places half of the year or so.

Canadians are so warm that you won't feel the cold. They're the kind of people who'll run into a lampost and apologize to it.

 

[Developereo]

USC and Berkeley are top notch schools -- very hard to get in, money or no money, so this girl must be very smart.

 

[Bubblegum Crisis]

Why she does not wear hijab or its hypocrisy only when in their country are islamic but out sid are not

Because she is ‘a sinner’.

Death ! Death ! Death ! - with all monkeys in jubilation - Stone her, now !

...

Courage my sister.



Noura Islam, a sophomore at UC Irvine from Saudi Arabia, chose the school… (Spencer Bakalar, Los Angeles…)

More Saudi Arabians studying in the U.S.

The number of Saudi students in the U.S. last year grew to 44,566, a nearly 30% increase from 2011, largely fueled by a new scholarship program that encourages them to study abroad.

November 24, 2013|By Jason Song

At first glance, the Facebook photo doesn't look like a USC alumni gathering: No cardinal and gold in sight, not a single Tommy Trojan to be found.

But, on closer inspection, it's apparent that half of the smiling men are flashing the Trojan "victory" sign.

"At USC, you quickly develop a sense of pride being a top university," said Bahjat Zayed, the past president of the 120-member USC Alumni Club of Arabia, one of the university's fastest growing graduate groups

The club is one sign of the rapid rise of Saudi Arabians studying in the United States. Those numbers fell dramatically after the Sept. 11 attacks; the number of Saudi students dropped by almost a quarter in 2002 and continued to fall for the next two years.

But the numbers have grown steadily since 2005 and doubled from the 2010 to 2012 academic years, according to a recent survey. The number of Saudi students in the U.S. last year grew to 44,566 — a nearly 30% increase from 2011.

The country ranked behind only China, India and South Korea in the number of students studying in U.S. colleges and universities.

Experts say the change is largely fueled by a new Saudi Arabian scholarship program that encourages students to study abroad. Other countries have adopted similar programs. Of the four nations that made the biggest percentage gains in the recent survey, Kuwait and Brazil also offered government-sponsored scholarship programs.

"Countries that are trying to leap from their population into a 21st century economy need to do that very rapidly and they don't have the capacity in their own universities," said Peggy Blumenthal, senior counselor to the president of the Institute of International Education, which conducted the recent survey in partnership with the U.S. State Department.

When King Abdullah assumed the Saudi Arabian crown in 2005, he began to emphasize science education and foreign travel as a way to modernize the country. The scholarship program offers qualified students free tuition, travel funding and expenses, according to media reports and students, and has made it possible for middle-class students to go abroad.

Traditionally, only children from wealthy Saudi families moved out of the country for college. Osama bin Laden's father, a billionaire construction magnate, sent more than a quarter of his 54 children to study in America and other foreign countries, according to "The Bin Ladens," a history of the family.

The government requires females to be accompanied by a male relative, although many students say that compliance is not strictly enforced.

Officials with the Saudi Arabian Cultural Ministry, which oversees the scholarship program in the United States, did not return calls for comment.

Several Saudi students studying in the U.S. said it would have been difficult for them to do so without the financial assistance.

Public U.S. colleges prize foreign students, especially during tough economic times, because they pay more in tuition than American citizens.

Reem Alattas grew up in western Saudi Arabia and enjoyed studying cognitive science, which examines brain processes, but knew that no colleges in Saudi Arabia offered programs in it.

The daughter of an aviation engineer, Alattas thought it would be difficult for her family to afford to send her overseas to study and she assumed she would stay in Saudi Arabia.

But she heard of other students who had received financial aid to study abroad. Her parents, who had studied in the United States during college, encouraged her to apply.

She received a scholarship but did not apply to U.S. schools right away. Like many of her classmates, Alattas went to a college prep program at Virginia Tech for a year after high school. She lived in an apartment with other Saudi students while improving her English and also took the SAT and other college admissions tests.

Alattas decided to go to UC Berkeley, where she is now a sophomore and intends on majoring in cognitive science. "I like that it's very diverse and multicultural and that people are not afraid to identify themselves," Alattas said. "It's a very intellectual place."

One of Alattas' Virginia Tech classmates, Noura Islam, chose UC Irvine for its engineering program and because "I'm a beach person," she said.

The number of Saudi students at Irvine has almost tripled since 2010, going from eight to 23 this year.

By comparison, there were 172 Saudi Arabians last fall at USC, almost five times more than in 2007.

Islam said the transition has been relatively seamless, although figuring out how to get around in Orange County has been difficult, especially since she doesn't drive.

Women are not allowed to get behind the wheel in Saudi Arabia.

"Back at home, I'm used to getting a driver," she said. "Here, you have to [do] everything on your own."

Other Saudi students said they've had trouble getting used to some American traditions. For example, when Hala Alhashmi attended her first Penn State football game, "I didn't understand anything," she said. "American football's not even a thing at home."

Alhashmi didn't attend a game over the next year but decided to start going again this fall. "I can't deny that the atmosphere is amazing," she said. "And I think it's part of the Penn State experience to attend football games."

Alhashmi still fasts for Muslim holidays but has also tried to learn as much as she can about America. She came to Penn State because she liked the finance program, but enjoyed her sociology and economics classes so much that she decided to double minor in them.

She plans to return to Saudi Arabia after she graduates, where she hopes she and other young adults will contribute to a more open, independent society.

"At home, there's so much pressure for everyone to be the same," Alhashmi said. "But here, you have to meet with so many different people. You have to learn to talk to them and listen and understand them."


Los Angeles Times

Continue... See old links :

KAEC to have 2m people, projects worth $100bn on completion: CEO

KAEC to have 2m people, projects worth $100bn on completion: CEO | Page 2



...

 

[al-Hasani]

Because she is ‘a sinner’.

Death ! Death ! Death ! - with all monkeys in jubilation - Stone her, now !

...

Courage my sister.



Noura Islam, a sophomore at UC Irvine from Saudi Arabia, chose the school… (Spencer Bakalar, Los Angeles…)

More Saudi Arabians studying in the U.S.

The number of Saudi students in the U.S. last year grew to 44,566, a nearly 30% increase from 2011, largely fueled by a new scholarship program that encourages them to study abroad.

November 24, 2013|By Jason Song

At first glance, the Facebook photo doesn't look like a USC alumni gathering: No cardinal and gold in sight, not a single Tommy Trojan to be found.

But, on closer inspection, it's apparent that half of the smiling men are flashing the Trojan "victory" sign.

"At USC, you quickly develop a sense of pride being a top university," said Bahjat Zayed, the past president of the 120-member USC Alumni Club of Arabia, one of the university's fastest growing graduate groups

The club is one sign of the rapid rise of Saudi Arabians studying in the United States. Those numbers fell dramatically after the Sept. 11 attacks; the number of Saudi students dropped by almost a quarter in 2002 and continued to fall for the next two years.

But the numbers have grown steadily since 2005 and doubled from the 2010 to 2012 academic years, according to a recent survey. The number of Saudi students in the U.S. last year grew to 44,566 — a nearly 30% increase from 2011.

The country ranked behind only China, India and South Korea in the number of students studying in U.S. colleges and universities.

Experts say the change is largely fueled by a new Saudi Arabian scholarship program that encourages students to study abroad. Other countries have adopted similar programs. Of the four nations that made the biggest percentage gains in the recent survey, Kuwait and Brazil also offered government-sponsored scholarship programs.

"Countries that are trying to leap from their population into a 21st century economy need to do that very rapidly and they don't have the capacity in their own universities," said Peggy Blumenthal, senior counselor to the president of the Institute of International Education, which conducted the recent survey in partnership with the U.S. State Department.

When King Abdullah assumed the Saudi Arabian crown in 2005, he began to emphasize science education and foreign travel as a way to modernize the country. The scholarship program offers qualified students free tuition, travel funding and expenses, according to media reports and students, and has made it possible for middle-class students to go abroad.

Traditionally, only children from wealthy Saudi families moved out of the country for college. Osama bin Laden's father, a billionaire construction magnate, sent more than a quarter of his 54 children to study in America and other foreign countries, according to "The Bin Ladens," a history of the family.

The government requires females to be accompanied by a male relative, although many students say that compliance is not strictly enforced.

Officials with the Saudi Arabian Cultural Ministry, which oversees the scholarship program in the United States, did not return calls for comment.

Several Saudi students studying in the U.S. said it would have been difficult for them to do so without the financial assistance.

Public U.S. colleges prize foreign students, especially during tough economic times, because they pay more in tuition than American citizens.

Reem Alattas grew up in western Saudi Arabia and enjoyed studying cognitive science, which examines brain processes, but knew that no colleges in Saudi Arabia offered programs in it.

The daughter of an aviation engineer, Alattas thought it would be difficult for her family to afford to send her overseas to study and she assumed she would stay in Saudi Arabia.

But she heard of other students who had received financial aid to study abroad. Her parents, who had studied in the United States during college, encouraged her to apply.

She received a scholarship but did not apply to U.S. schools right away. Like many of her classmates, Alattas went to a college prep program at Virginia Tech for a year after high school. She lived in an apartment with other Saudi students while improving her English and also took the SAT and other college admissions tests.

Alattas decided to go to UC Berkeley, where she is now a sophomore and intends on majoring in cognitive science. "I like that it's very diverse and multicultural and that people are not afraid to identify themselves," Alattas said. "It's a very intellectual place."

One of Alattas' Virginia Tech classmates, Noura Islam, chose UC Irvine for its engineering program and because "I'm a beach person," she said.

The number of Saudi students at Irvine has almost tripled since 2010, going from eight to 23 this year.

By comparison, there were 172 Saudi Arabians last fall at USC, almost five times more than in 2007.

Islam said the transition has been relatively seamless, although figuring out how to get around in Orange County has been difficult, especially since she doesn't drive.

Women are not allowed to get behind the wheel in Saudi Arabia.

"Back at home, I'm used to getting a driver," she said. "Here, you have to [do] everything on your own."

Other Saudi students said they've had trouble getting used to some American traditions. For example, when Hala Alhashmi attended her first Penn State football game, "I didn't understand anything," she said. "American football's not even a thing at home."

Alhashmi didn't attend a game over the next year but decided to start going again this fall. "I can't deny that the atmosphere is amazing," she said. "And I think it's part of the Penn State experience to attend football games."

Alhashmi still fasts for Muslim holidays but has also tried to learn as much as she can about America. She came to Penn State because she liked the finance program, but enjoyed her sociology and economics classes so much that she decided to double minor in them.

She plans to return to Saudi Arabia after she graduates, where she hopes she and other young adults will contribute to a more open, independent society.

"At home, there's so much pressure for everyone to be the same," Alhashmi said. "But here, you have to meet with so many different people. You have to learn to talk to them and listen and understand them."


Los Angeles Times

Continue... See old links :

KAEC to have 2m people, projects worth $100bn on completion: CEO

KAEC to have 2m people, projects worth $100bn on completion: CEO | Page 2



...

Nearly 50.000 students in the USA. Only behind China, India and South Korea. That is VERY impressive. I hope they will contribute wonderfully when they return as I will.

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

For sure, those will do wonders when they return back. Away from the fact that American education system is much more efficient, but also experiencing different culture and language would make them more educated and smarter.

 

[Armstrong]

For sure, those will do wonders when they return back. Away from the fact that American education system is much more efficient, but also experiencing different culture and language would make them more educated and smarter.

The British is the best !

So when are you going for higher studies ?

 

[pak-marine]

excellent and thats the way forward

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

The British is the best !

So when are you going for higher studies ?

Inshallah soon, I'll take in Jordan.

Reported for being off topic and a bitch!

 

[Aslan]

Ask her. What has this of any importance to this news? You are telling me that every Iranian women/girl wears a hijab outside of Iran?

Stick to the news. Not interested in a debate about hijab. Her choice. My opinion is not of any relevance here. I am not her father, husband or family to be in a position to say what she has to do or advice her.

Romana jamila

 

[Wahhab2701]

Why she does not wear hijab or its hypocrisy only when in their country are islamic but out sid are not

I met and worked with few iranian ladies and never seen them wearing hijab. Can I asked the same question to you?