<p>A young east African friend of ours has won a full scholarship to study abroad for 4 years in the US. The program that is paying her way has relationships with the following schools:</p>
<p>"The Hendrix College, University of Arkansas Little Rock, University of Arkansas- Fayetteville, Harding University, Henderson State University, Southwestern University, University of the South at Sewanee, Lyon College, Ouachita Baptist University, Birmingham-Southern College, Philander Smith College, Wofford College, Millsaps College, Morehouse College, Spelman College, University of Central Arkansas Conway, and Washington & Lee University."</p>
<p>She is, needless to say, an outstanding student - one of the top in her country - with a strong interest in the sciences. On a personal level, she is deeply religious (Evangelical), exceptionally mature for her age and is socially adept - but has had very little opportunity to see the world outside of her immediate community - even internet access is a challenge making it hard for her to research these schools on her own. </p>
<p>Of the schools being proposed (and excluding Morehouse since it's all male), which of these would be the best option, socially and academically, given her background? Keep in mind that she will have very little money for personal expenditure, and will almost certainly need to work, so a school with a wealthy preppy vibe and a lot of very affluent students would probably be a poor fit.</p>
<p>If you are an African student attending one of these schools, I would especially appreciate your thoughts.</p>
<p>M’s Mom, I suggest you repost this on the Parents Forum. Lots of knowledge there.</p>
<p>M’s Mom,are you the one who posted the other thread about the Rwandan student?If so,congrats to you and the student!! Recently the senior intl admissions rep from Hendrix College(an african alum) gave a talk about hendrix and it sounded wonderful! I think it would suit her very well.I’ll look for the guy’s e-mail and PM you if you would like to contact him.Washington and Lee seems great too from the list.</p>
<p>I think Washington and Lee stands out int h list you have posted! Should she get in that would be the best option!</p>
<p>Choose University of Arkansas – Little Rock.I have some friends sponsored by Jadili Afrika there.</p>
<p>Villager, can you share your friends’ experience? What was easy for them to adjust to? What was hardest? Did they come from affluent and educated families originally or are they here entirely on their own initiative?</p>
<p>I tend to be biased towards LACs because of their nurturing qualities and smaller, more managable size - but they also have very strong cultures and a bad fit leaves a student with few options. I’m almost inclined to think that a larger place -especially one with an African population - might be a better choice after all.</p>
<p>Maybe i should share my own experience.I landed here in 2009 with 1 dollar in my pocket(actually it was slightly lower since it was in my country’s currency).I did not even have a sweater and it was winter!A white lady gave me a blanket and some peanut butter bars to survive on until the next day when a school rep picked me up.They bought me EVERYTHING including my first TV,lol.Since i had a full ride ,i was perfectly able to survive the first semester.Luckily,i got a 4.0 and was able to find plenty of tutoring jobs in math. A mentor gave me a job as his computer lab assistant.That is what i have held on till now as a junior.
Most of my female friends at those schools do not have such experiences,though.They are mostly from elite high schools and pick schools close to their relatives.I did not have a relative in the US and did not want to stay close to an African population because i thought it would make me more focused.Although it is not on your list,Meredith college has a very large pool of female Kenyan students who all had straight As in their final exams and have an even wider connection through Zawadi Africa( i did not get the correct name in my first post) that provides them with mentoring experiences and summer internships.I would suggest you check out Zawadi Africa’s website and apply to its affiliated schools.</p>
<p>Thanks for your insights, villager. Sounds like you’ve made the most of your opportunities. I’m afraid the schools I listed in my first post are the ones that her scholarship applies to, so she must choose among them (assuming she has a choice…)</p>