How life changing is a college education?

Joan Liu a university advisor for the United World College of South East Asia knew that her father getting a scholarship changed everything for her.  “I am the beneficiary of his college education and I wouldn’t have the life that I have without him getting that scholarship.”

According to the United States Department of labor, the higher the level of education the more likely it is to get higher pay. They gain job security because of the higher level of their skills and are able to give their children an opportunity for a better life. Education can help to break the poverty cycle as it will likely increase personal income.

Understanding how important that opportunity was for her and her father, she was horrified when she heard about what many consider to be the worst mistake in US admissions. 61 Nepali kids acquired a full scholarship to a school in the US.

On April 13th they received the most awful news: The University of Texas and Tyler had allegedly given out too many scholarships and had to take some back. These kids were betrayed. They had already turned down their places in prestigious universities in Nepal.

UT Tyler tried to apologize by saying that they were “sorry for any inconvenience,” but this was more than an inconvenience. This was their hope for a better future. UT Tyler made a huge mistake and they wouldn’t be held accountable because these students weren’t American citizens. Being in Nepal without college counselors and school advocates, they were isolated from the rest of the world.  It was difficult for them to communicate and ask for help.  Some of the kids went to the capital of Nepal, Kathmandu and visited the Education USA office, in search of aid.

Education USA posted about this on their facebook and issued a call for help. People were outraged and desperately trying to help. “When I first heard about this I didn’t believe it at first,” Mrs. Liu stated, but after processing it, came to the conclusion that she was going to help them. She contacted advisors, university officials and other colleagues she knew, to try to find a place for these kids. She even went to Nepal to help them. Some of her contacts were able to offer one or two scholarships.

Now there was another problem, 61 kids and one lifeboat. Mrs. Liu said that “This was like an admissions hunger games”, everyone wanted the offer because once they were gone there was no telling if there would be another one. The support from the international community help place these students in many different international universities. The state university of New York (SUNY) in Korea, for example, offered a huge scholarship.  Most of the 61 kids did end up getting a scholarship in the end, but it wasn’t easy. They had to fight for each offer, go to countries they didn’t originally plan to and hope that this wasn’t just a scam.

Joan Liu has said that “Advantage is power” and that she came into this field because she knows the advantages that higher education can have for people Joan Liu said. “I want to help give people the power to change the course of their life ”.

links to images:

• https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2018/data-on-display/education-pays.htm
• https://perspectives.uwcsea.edu.sg/community-news/university-advisor-recognised
• https://pixabay.com/photos/pokhara-nepal-boats-colorful-boats-1699787/