Interest Rates Still Low on International Student Loans

One positive by-product of a relatively weak ecomony is the continuing low interest rates for international student loans for study in the USA. Interest rates for loan programs offered by International Student Loan range from 2.25% APR to 9.11% APR with no origination fees. When you consider that there is no collateral required for a student loan, unlike a home or car loan, it is impressive that student loan programs can operate at such rates. Since student loans are often based on LIBOR, a low LIBOR is certainly helping the situation.

Lenders offered through the loan center on InternationalStudent.com also offer excellent rates, and you can compare and contrast them.  A quick search today showed current APRs beginning at 3.16%.

Private student loans are available for international students studying at approved schools in the United States.  All international students need a US co-signer.  The interest rate for each student is set by the loan underwriter based largely on the credit score and income history of the US co-signer, so a stronger co-signer can mean a lower rate. You can apply for up to the total cost of education, minus other aid received.

Check both options to figure out which works best for you and your school:

http://www.internationalstudentloan.com

http://www.internationalstudent.com/loans/

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Posted in International Education, International Student Loans, Study in the USA | 2 Comments »

Humboldt Foundation Provides Generous Grants for Study or Research in Germany

Are you a German scholar, or do you want to study or research in Germany for an extended period? The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation supports researchers and scholars that come to Germany from all around the world, and it supports German scholars and scientists that research and study around the world.  The Foundation has a variety of programs, and they have this to say about their selection criteria:

“If you would like to become a member of the Humboldt Family, only one thing counts: your own excellent performance. ”

Humboldt Research Fellowship Program: With this massive program, the Foundation provides 200 awards each year.  The awards support scholars of all nationalities and disciplines, enabling them to carry out long-term research projects (6 to 12 months) in Germany.  Fellowships are awarded on the basis of scholarly achievement alone. PhD required, under 40, proficient in German or English, from any country in the world. This fellowship comes with a monthly stipend, travel costs, language training, and family allowances.

German Chancellor Fellowship Program: Under this program, the Foundation provides ten awards to US citizens, each for a one year stay in Germany for research or study. Its a post-graduate or professional award, providing a monthly stipend of 2,000 to 3,000 euro.  Application deadline is 31 October, and a bachelors degree is required.

You can see more about the Humboldt Research Fellowship Program and the German Chancellor Fellowship Program on InternationalScholarships.com.

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Posted in International Education, International Scholarships, Study in Germany | No Comments »

New UK University Rates Won’t Impact International Students

The bad news: Rates for students from the UK, attending UK universities, are going to go up.  The good news:  rates for international students attending UK universities are not going up.

“Although the tuitions will be raised in universities and colleges in the United Kingdom, it will not affect the international students,” O’Nions told Xinhuanet on the sideline of the Global Summit of University Presidents 2011 (GSUP) held in Tsinghua University.

Read the rest of the story in the People’s Daily Online:

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/

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Posted in International Education, International Financial Aid News, Study in the UK | No Comments »

Who Hires Foreign Workers?

The process of hiring a non-US worker can be daunting for US businesses.  Even international students who have completed a degree in the USA and are looking for a job during their OPT can be at a disadvantage compared to US students – employers are much more familiar with the process of hiring US students.

For those international students that would like to stay and work in the USA, the path that many seek to follow is: F-1 student visa; find a job after graduation in  Optional Practical Training (OPT) status; convert the OPT job into an H1B job; apply for permanent residency.

But how do you find those employers that are not put off by the process involved in hiring non-US workers?

The Foreign Labor Certification Data Center has an online library where you can download a list of all of the H1B applications for each fiscal year. Most international students are interested in H1b status, but there are other categories as well. The 2010 fiscal year H1B file is big – about 24 MB – but its got a wealth of information for any OPT job searchers out there!

Once you’ve downloaded the data, you can save it as a csv file and open it in excel.  Then you can sort by category, geography, salary or any other criteria you like – all helpful information for any job-seeker out there:

http://www.flcdatacenter.com/CaseH1B.aspx

Visit the Working in the USA section of InternationalStudent.com for details on working in the USA while on an F1 visa.

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Hult MBA Offers Scholarships to African Students

Hult International Business School is a highly regarded business education institution, offering MBA, Masters and Undergraduate programs in five locations around the globe: Boston; San Francisco; Dubai; London; and Shanghai. Hult was ranked the 27th best business education in the world, and the 17th best business education in the U.S. by the Economist Intelligence Unit. The Financial Times has also recognized it as one of the Top 100 business schools worldwide.

Hult offers a very popular one-year MBA program, which allows you to study at up to three of their five worldwide locations. Finishing in one year instead of two, as required by most MBAs, can be a very efficient way to improve your career opportunities faster, saving you money on the way.

Hult also offers scholarships to deserving, accomplished students.  See Hult’s profile page on International Scholarships to see more about their scholarship offer for students from Africa:

http://www.internationalscholarships.com/

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Posted in International Education, International Financial Aid News, International Scholarships, Study in the USA | 1 Comment »

Business Schools Need to Globalize!

(from Bloomberg Businessweek)

Business schools are lagging behind in preparing students for careers in an increasingly global world and need to become more strategic about how they weave cross-border content into their programs, according to a report released today by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).

The study, titled “The Globalization of Managements Education: Changing International Structures, Adaptive Strategies, and the Impact on Institutions,” was presented to deans at an AACSB conference in Phoenix. It suggests that business schools need to make deeper and more sustained efforts across the curriculum to help students understand the challenges of conducting business in different cultures and countries. Robert Bruner, chairman of the AACSB Globalization of Management Education Task Force, which wrote the report, calls the study “a real wake-up call” for business schools.

Read the rest of the story in Bloomberg Businessweek.

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