Undoubtedly, it is a land of
ample opportunity, a melting pot of diverse cultures and it presents an
education system that breathes. Every university is committed to supporting
students and is open for students to walk in and be advised on how to plan the
structure of the courses that they opt for, the credits that they can get for
each of the courses they take up, the exemptions that they are entitled to, on
how to optimize their credits and derive maximum value from the courses that
they select. They also assist and empower students to prepare LinkedIn profiles
and arrange coop and internship opportunities for students. The Admissions
Office also keeps track of attendance and performance and works with the
students to identify areas of concern. The key piece in this is that, while
support services are available, it is the responsibility of the student to
avail of them.
The favorite major that students
apply for at the Undergraduate level in the US is ‘undeclared’. This fact in
itself shows the flexibility of the US system. Quite realistically, 17 year
olds are allowed to explore their areas of interest and may also change the
major in the third or fourth semester of UG studies. The students are assisted
to strategize their program with information and advice from the Admissions
office.
The nature of academics is
extremely hands-on and relevant. A Business student can trade in stocks in a
simulated Stock exchange on campus and gets academic credit for this. Students
from all courses, across Departments work together on real projects that are
undertaken in response to social and environmental issues. We were witness to
the creation of low-cost, sustainable dwelling units that students were
creating and would be producing on a large scale after testing. Students need
to work with real employers during Summers and they either get paid at minimum
wages or above or are awarded academic credit for the experience.
As career and college guidance professionals,
we need to initiate the process of career awareness among students from Grade 9
onwards. On the one hand, students need to prepare for academic performance,
take standardized tests for benchmarking, explore areas of interest and work
collaboratively with peer group and faculty. On the other hand, parents and
students must meet experts and discuss university plans, look up reviews and
testimonials about colleges and finally, get to know oneself and what makes one
happy.
This combination of building
personal competence and aligning that competence to admission requirements is a
complicated process and the journey should begin in Grade 9 and should be
bolstered with a pre-departure orientation after Grade 12. At this stage, it is
imperative for students to know the importance of maintaining the visa ‘in
status’ and be aware of the stringent visa regulations which can make it
difficult to get Internships. However, US visa allows 1 year of OPT (Optional
Professional Training) as against Canada which allows 3 years and UK which
allows none.
The thoughts are overflowing but the
overriding feeling is that there is a fit for every student in the vast country
of 4500 universities and the difference in the infrastructure and quality of instruction among all the colleges
is little. This means that the ranking of a university can often be misleading
as the criteria of evaluation may or may not be a relevant factor when deciding
the best fit. It is a struggle against our mindset which is, as Mark Twain
says, in order to make a man or boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make
the thing difficult to attain.
