Life Changing Opportunities For Arab Students

I have been perusing higher education newsletters again and have come across a list of scholarships for Arab students.

At Bearla International Studies we always encourage students to seize an opportunity whenever one arises-this is one of those moments!

The article also encompasses seminars on students aid for international students and covers many industry specific scholarships such as medicine, architecture and archaeology. Some scholarships cover your travel expenses too.

The Hope Fund is Open to all Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank. This scholarship offers tuition, transportation, living expenses, health insurance and textbooks and is 'to improve the quality of life for Palestinians by providing higher-education opportunities in the United States for mature Palestinian students of good character, who are academically qualified but who lack financial resources to provide such an opportunity for themselves.'

Take advantage of this opportunity and enjoy a colourful life studying abroad! If you have any questions then do not hesitate to contact us and we will always be more than willing to help and if we do not know the answer we will find someone who does!

Happy studying, travelling and boasting of your new prestigous education.

Find out more: http://ow.ly/vECvX 

Amber Williams 
Bearla International Studies. 

It's All About Us.

I hope you are well. 

 

Todays blog is not about higher education news, politics, the state of the environment, or economics, it is simply about us...we are boasting about ourselves. I have been told that a blog is not for boasting, but today is our day and today and we feel like boasting about ourselves and our business.

It is only a matter of a couple of weeks before we publish our brand new website. We have really been through the...mud with our previous websites. We have of course always had the best of intentions, but the worst luck with websites imaginable. The previous 'designers' Toolkit Websites-were the worst yet. I had to fight for a full refund, when really they should have been paying us damages for the time, money and frustration they wasted and caused us...but at Bearla International Studies we do not dwell on the past and only look to the future. So, then we met Kari the owner of our new website company-Hotkofe, who has provided us with a website we can be proud of and which does not hurt our eyes at all! Kari has taken our hands and shown us to the website light. It is only now that we have regained faith in web designers-I was about to take a coding course and literally build one for myself from scratch. Thank you Kari!!

I hope you enjoy our new website as much as we do, I also hope it inspires you, as much as it should, to take the plunge and study abroad!

Take care and goodnight!

Amber Williams-Director

Bearla International Studies

info.bearla@gmail.com

State of Massachusetts Sues Corinthian Colleges

I know I have been on my soapbox with for-profits schools but...The state of Massachusetts has sued Corinthian Colleges

on Thursday; they charged the for-profit schools for illegally deceptive marketing, including the use of inflated job placement statistics and high-pressure tactics on prospective students.  

The State Attorney General charges Corinthian with quoting placement rates from 70%-99%, but they were actually 20%-30%, not cool.  Students stated that the recruiters were calling them every day at any time during the day or night, telling the student that it will change their lives.  Wow, that’s a no no, it’s harassment.  I have written about this before but for-profit schools are quite often trouble!!  

Students beware of for-profit schools!!

Bearla International Studies

Elizabeth Koukladas Director

Help Filing Your US Tax Return For International Students:

Always look on the bright side!

Nobody hates filing taxes more than me. But, unfortunately it does have to be completed, otherwise you can be subject to fines. So here is a gentle reminder that international students studying in the US do need to file-and soon, the deadline is the 15th April. So get a move on if you haven't done so already. The following is some advice on filing your tax return, and some useful links to get you started.

Just for clarification, incase you were just thinking that there might well be a way around you having to file a tax return, there is not, as every international student along with their dependents will need to file Form 8843 if you have not received any income, but if you have been earning, then you will also need to file a 1040NR-EZ. Every individual, regardless of whether they are one family, will need to file their own Form 8843 and send it in a separate envelope. 

You may well be asking 'Why must I file taxes?'

Well, first of all, it is the law, so-not to get in trouble. You do not want to upset the US government as they will throw you out of the country at the drop of a hat and can make it very difficult for you to enter the country again. Make sure that once you are out there, you behave yourself the best you can-this means filing taxes too! On the bright side:

• You might get a refund. Some international students will qualify for a refund due to tax treaties and a lack of serious income if they’ve earned income in the US.
• Protect taxation of your worldwide income.
• You fulfill your visa obligations. All international students must file at least Form 8843 (see below) in order to remain legal under F, J, M & Q visas, even if you didn’t earn any money in the US.

But where do I begin?

There are many ways to file your taxes. You can file the proper forms on your own, you can hire a tax attorney, or you can purchase tax preparation software such as Sprintax. Most international students file on their own, however this will depend on how complex you expect your return to be, sometimes it is worthwhile hiring a tax attorney purely based on the amount of time it will save you.

All the information you need is on this website, so please visit http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/Foreign-Students-and-Scholars 

Do not hesitate to give them a call if you are unsure of anything. It is much better and far less time consuming to get it right the first time around and there are far less chances for error if the forms are completed online.

Get filing out those tax returns, good luck, and if you have any questions-direct them to Elizabeth!

Amber Williams-Director

Bearla International Studies

info.bearla@gmail.com

Studying In Canada-Advice On Where To Begin...

I recently was on an International Students Forum and came across a question that an International student asked: 

“I wish to do my masters in Canada, please can you let me know any university in Canada that I can apply, that will accept me, and please let me know the requirements.  What I need to do, to have admissions this year?”

To answer this question effectively, there are a few of questions you should ask yourself:

What do I want to study my masters in?

What part of Canada do I want to live in?

This is a good place to start it has all the universities in Canada listed (see web link), each province and institutions have different requirements, so it is important to pick the school you would like to attend first.

www.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University ... admissions

Here are a few more resources:

Post-Secondary Application Service of British Columbia

Ontario Universities’ Application Centre

Ontario College Application Service

List of colleges in Canada

List of Universities in Canada

Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada

List of Canadian Universities by endowment

General requirements for Graduate Studies: This listing provides a general outline of requirements for students interested in applying to a university graduate program in Canada. Please note that specific requirements for institutions will vary and students are encouraged to check directly with the institutions they are interested in for specific admissions requirements.

Completion of an acceptable undergraduate degree from an accredited/recognized university

High level of academic achievement in previous studies

Strong reference letters

Written Statements

Standardized tests such as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT). 

If English isn’t your native language you will have to take an English Placement Test the standard test most international students take for TOEFL.

Good luck for those of you that are interested in studying in Canada and have additional questions please contact Bearla International Studies: info.bearla@gmail.com

And please watch this space for our brand new website to be launched very soon...

Elizabeth Koukladas & Amber Williams-Directors

Bearla International Studies.

Texas Community College Feels The Heat.

A Texas Community College feels the heat. As the federal government steps in and takes away federal aid due to the students in loan default.  

The federal government is keeping an eye on for-profit institutions, which seem to have the highest rate of default in the nation. The U.S. Department of Education now tracks defaults among federal loan recipients for three years after they leave college.  Two-years has been the standard but Congress expanded the “cohort default rates” into the 2008 reauthorisation of the Higher Education Act, this law governs federal financial aid.

Since the 2008 they have found that the default rates under for-profit are higher. In the for-profit sector there was a 21.8 percent default on average, compared to 13.6 rate under the two-year metric.  The three-year study showed 13 percent at all public institutions, including four-year institutions and 8.3 percent at private, nonprofit institutions.  At two-year rates the public four-year was 9.6 percent and 5.2 percent at privates schools.  Just a warning if the default goes above 30 percent the institution will lose all federal aid, including the Pell Grant. 

I think that 30 percent default is to high and it should be more like 25 percent, I have worked for a for-profit school in the past and I am sad to see that the default rates are at a 21.8 percent.  For those of you interested in a for-profit school always ask to see the default rate, this will let you know if graduates or drop outs are able to pay back their loans.  This is very important to you because if a former student isn’t able to pay back their loans it is most likely they are not working or their position isn’t paying enough, this reflects badly upon the institution also.  An education is not just about the accomplishment but it about your future career and your earning potential.

Bearla International Studies

Elizabeth Koukladas Director

Green Card Lottery And The American Dream.

The Green Card Lottery, provides around 55,000 green cards annually to people from all over the world, who want to move to the United States. The Green Card Lottery is an official US State Department, government run program. If you happen to be lucky, then all you have to do is enter and wait for the results-generated at random by a computer. 

There are a couple of requirements in orders for you to be able to enter the lottery in the first place. They depend on whether you are from a qualifying country-depending on how many people from your country have emigrated to the USA annually for the past 5 years. Eligibility is also decided upon whether  you completed your hight school education or national equivalent, and which country you are currently residing in when you apply. Applications are now only taken online and do require stringent questioning. Once the application has been completed it is then passed to the government for approval and then entered into the lottery.

If you are crying out to live the American dream, then I suggest the lottery is well worth entering, 55,000 green cards distributed annually is pretty good. I have known two people who have won, so its not that rare. 

You can get your application checked before you submit it for government approval. Many are disqualified because their applications where filled out incorrectly. There are services available to you who are able to help you with the application, just make sure you find a reputable one.

I hope you have a chance to enter and if so, good luck with your entry!

Amber Williams-Director.

Bearla International Studies

info.bearla@gmail.com