Intl Students |
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Becoming an International USA
Student
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All international students wishing to participate in the USA student exchange program in the United States must meet all of our established guidelines, which are as follows:
Testing and Selection Personal Interview: Each prospective student will undergo an informal personal interview with the Home Country Representative. The interviewer will attempt to assess the student’s attitude and opinions regarding various aspects of the exchange experience. The interviewer will evaluate the student’s responses to questions and discussions regarding, among others, some of the following subjects:
Psychological Aptitude: Test The psychological aptitude test is a written psychological evaluation given to prospective students and used to assess the students’ abilities to conduct themselves in situations and environments that are different from their own. This test consists of various categories that ask general information about:
The natural parents will be important to the overall evaluation of the students regarding their personality traits. The parents of each student will complete the Behavior Evaluation form in order to give USA a deeper insight into the students’ personalities. General Health Condition: Each student must visit his medical doctor to undergo a physical examination and verify the dates and currency of all required immunizations. All students must be in good health in order to participate in the USA program. English Evaluation: All students wishing to participate in USA’s student exchange program will be tested and evaluated by a home country instructor on their English language proficiency (SLEPT Test) in the following areas: oral, writing, reading, and listening. The scores will be based on an overall range of proficiency from Excellent to Poor. Academic Performance: USA requires that each student have his proper home country school officials gather and record his last three years of grade transcripts. Additionally, USA asks for a teacher recommendation letter which describes the student’s academic participation and sociability. General Cultural Awareness: As part of the preliminary application process, all prospective students must take a general education evaluation. This evaluation will inform USA as to where the student stands in his knowledge of his home country’s history, economics, and politics, as well as that of the United States. The results will not necessarily hinder the student’s application process. After the Home Country Representative acquires and compiles all of the prospective student’s application materials, he forwards this information to USA’s corporate office for final evaluation and approval. Orientation USA places a great emphasis on and strongly believes in the orientation, preparation, and ongoing support for our students. The fundamental objectives of the preparation and orientation meetings are to promote cultural learning and reduce, or prevent, culture shock. USA conducts three types of orientations: 1) Pre-Departure Orientation: The pre-departure orientation meetings are conducted by USA’s Home Country Representative in the student’s natural language and are primarily based on USA’s “Student Handbook”. At least three such meetings will be conducted in the home country. The main objectives of the pre-departure orientation meetings are to:
2) Arrival Adaptation: Once the students have arrived in the United States, they will participate in a one-week preparatory/orientation meeting in Texas. Students will be greeted at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport by the USA directors and staff. They will be transported to a local hotel where they will lodge for the week of this meeting. USA will provide a daily breakfast, lunch, and transportation. Students will also participate in daily local tours of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. The cultural orientation course, based on the Student Manual, covers the following topics: Communication & Language; US School System; How to Study, Starting American High School, Getting Along at School, American Community; Host Family Adaptation; Getting Along at Home, Cultures adjustment; and General Information & Program Rules. The preparation course, based on the Interchange ESL textbook and a list of important verbs and their conjugations, covers the following areas: communication skills, grammar (possessive adjectives, plurals, present continuous, present tense, questions and short answers, adverbs of time, regular and irregular verbs, time expressions, ordinal and cardinal numbers, prepositions, past tense), sentence structure, pronunciation, reading, and writing skills. The international students will be using the following books: How to Study, Getting Along with Family, Getting Along at School, and Starting High School. 3) Pre-Return Orientation: Upon completion of the USA program, students will receive the “Departure Guide” which will prepare them for the return to their home country. This guide will direct the students on the following topics:
Pre-departure preparation:
Welcome home:
Matching with a Host Family Adapting to a new culture and a different lifestyle will bring about certain obstacles that each family and student must overcome. USA gives precise consideration to the individuality of each student’s personality, background, and lifestyle in comparison to that of the host family for a higher probability of successful adaptation. Each student has a matching guidelines form that contains certain information regarding likes, dislikes, preferences, host parents, host siblings, host community (locations), and some personal general information that is taken into consideration when deciding on the appropriate host family. Rules & Regulations Every student in the USA program has agreed to abide by the rules and regulations that are set forth by the program. Equally important to be fulfilled by the students include all, but not limited to, the following responsibilities:
USA stands firm in operating within the guidelines set forth by the appropriate governing agencies concerning student exchange programs. Likewise, we stand by and enforce all of our program rules and regulations, which are to be followed by all of the international exchange students participating in our program. Support & Assistance Communication between everyone involved in the USA student exchange program is vital to a successful experience. Open communication is encouraged at every level of USA’s staff and directors. Our corporate office is directly involved with the progress of all students. USA’s directors and staff are readily available to all participants, host families, schools, and Local Representatives twenty-four hours per day via a toll-free telephone number. The USA corporate office must be informed of all emergency procedures regarding any student who is participating in our program. If an emergency occurs after office hours, a designated sponsor will forward all calls to a cellular telephone or to his home. USA maintains constant contact with all students via Local Representatives, our monthly Newsletter, and a series of Monthly Evaluation Reports. The Monthly Evaluation Reports are divided in various categories and are completed by all of the following according to relevance for each:
USA goes a step further to keep the student’s natural parents informed of his progress by translating each of these Monthly Evaluation Reports into their natural language. USA forwards this report to the natural parents on a monthly basis. |
