The United States Consul General F. John Bray on Tuesday in Lagos disclosed that there are currently 11,710 students from Nigeria studying in the United States. With that number, he said Nigeria becomes 1st in Sub-Saharan Africa and 12th in the world.
Bray who made this remarks during the pre-departure orientation for Nigerian students heading to U.S. to study said that compared to last year, the figure represents a 9.7% increase. He added that the number of Nigerians studying in the United States has been going up for the past seven years.
According to the Consul General, out of the more than one million international students in the United States, 35,364 of these students come from Sub-Saharan Africa, and Nigeria ranks 1st in the region and 12th in the world as a sending country.
In his breakdown of the 11,710 students from Nigeria, he said: ”49.5 percent are undergraduate; 36.2 percent graduate are students, 2 percent are non-degree candidates, and the remaining 12.3 percent are on Optional Practical Training.”
”Students from Nigeria attend about 800 institutions in each of our 50 states. The most popular state is Texas, with 1,540 students, while the most popular college/university is Houston Community College, with 220 students.
He, however said: ”One major reason for the increase of Nigerian students in the U.S. is the value that Nigerians place on quality education. ”I am pleased to say that accredited U.S. colleges and universities provide a quality education.
”Whether you are interested in a large school or small school, a school in a rural or urban setting, or you want to study in a hot or cold climate, the United States has a school for you.
He urged all the students to take advantage of the opportunity to represent Nigeria in the best possible light, adding, ”You may be the only Nigerian that many Americans meet and therefore you are representing all of Nigeria.
Meanwhile, he also took the opportunity to explain the functionalities of EducationUSA.
He said: ”EducationUSA is a U.S. Department of State network of over 425 international student advising centers in more than 175 countries that promotes U.S. higher education to students around the world by offering accurate, comprehensive, and current information about opportunities to study at one of the 4,700+ accredited postsecondary institutions in the United States.
”EducationUSA is your official source on U.S. higher education.
”To date, about 250 student-members of the Lagos EducationUSA Center studying at U.S. institutions in the fall of 2018, have received scholarships from U.S. institutions totaling over $4 million.
”One 12th grader got a full ride scholarship to Harvard to study Political Science.
Many of the graduate students with whom EducationUSA worked were admitted to fully funded doctoral programs in the STEM fields.
”Six Opportunity Fund Program grantees will be going for their fully funded PhD programs in STEM fields.”
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