2023 EducationUSA College Fair: Over 10,000 students participate
Thousands of prospective students last Friday thronged the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel to participate in the 2023 EducationUSA College Fair held in Accra.
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There was a great deal of enthusiasm and excitement among participants in the fair, with some expressing the hope of securing admission to one of the colleges or universities in the United States (US).
Although the fair was meant for information purposes and not the processing of applications or intakes, the participants still expressed the hope of studying in the US.
The US Embassy and EducationUSA had welcomed more than 40 universities and colleges to the country, to give students the opportunity to meet admission representatives from US educational institutions.
The three-day college fair was first held in Kumasi at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) on September 14 and in Accra on September 15 and 16.
The fair in Kumasi was opened to students interested in pursuing undergraduate bachelor’s degrees and graduate degree programmes, while in Accra graduate programmes were featured on September 15 and undergraduate programmes on September 16.
Information purposes
The Cultural Affairs Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Ghana, Laneice Brooker, said EducationUSA advisers, throughout the year, had provided assistance and advice to Ghanaian students seeking study opportunities in the United States.
She said EducationUSA council advisers helped students to research and identify institutions they wanted to go to, the type of degree they sought for and also walked them through the processes of financial package or financial aid such as scholarship.
“Last year, our EducationUSA advisers from our Accra and Kumasi-based centres were able to facilitate seven million dollars in financial aid and scholarships.
From there, we helped the students through the process of applications, tests and then prepared them to secure admissions across hundreds of accredited institutions of higher learning,” she said.
She said they also provided pre-departure orientation to help prepare prospective students for the actual academic and cultural exchanges.
In view of the fair, Ms Brooker said they had expected about 2,800 students in Kumasi but had nearly 6,000 people attending.
She mentioned that universities and colleges in the U.S. were eager to welcome more Ghanaian students because of the diversity, both intellectual and cultural, that they brought to the US classrooms.
Ms Brooker said last year’s Open Doors Report confirmed that more than 4,900 Ghanaians studied at 600 US colleges and universities, across all the 50 States during the 2021/22 academic year.
“Ghana now ranks 18th in the world for sending graduate students to the United States, so it is especially befitting that we begin with the graduate fair today,” she said.
Explore opportunities
The Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, who was at the opening ceremony of the Fair, listed universities in the country that were doing well to include the Ashesi University, KNUST and the University of Ghana, Legon and encouraged students to take advantage of such universities.
However, he said there were other opportunities around the world, where students could be exposed to and understand how other parts of the world work.
