US universities recruiting this spring

Dubai: As the school academic year nears to a close, final year students start to weigh their options for undergraduate studies. With some students opting to go overseas, education exhibitions such as the upcoming US Educational Group's university fair helps put things into perspective.

The American University Fair will be held in Dubai at the beginning of next month and will bring together 16 US institutions for education seekers to see what is on offer.

Students will have an opportunity for direct access to the US institutions' administrative staff to enquire about entry requirements, visa procedures and scholarship opportunities.

Query session

The US Educational Group's Arabic-speaking staff offers students a cross-cultural in-depth query session about application for both postgraduate and undergraduate courses.

Of the 16 institutions some will be US community colleges, two year institutions offering English preparatory programmes and pathway courses to university, as well as US State Universities.

US higher education continues to be popular with its 700,000 international student body, which increased by three per cent in the 2009/2010 academic year, according to the Open Doors report.

Although the 128,000 Chinese students are the leading nationality, making up nearly 20 per cent of all international students in the US, Indian nationals follow close behind.

The 105,000 Indian students studying at universities in the US make up nearly 15 per cent of all international students in the country.

Saudi Arabia has now become the seventh leading country to send students to the US in pursuit of higher education.

This is a significant move up from tenth place for Saudi Arabia, which reflects its government's substantial investment in study abroad scholarships.

Visit: American University Fair

— Rema Menon is Director of Counselling Point, Educational and Social Services