Ukrainian students looking for a school in the USA

2023-08-11 18:05:59, Kosova & Bota CNA

They are talented, smart and ambitious even though they are in the middle of a war. 84 Ukrainian high school students are not letting the war stop their dreams and are preparing to apply to American colleges and schools with the help of a nonprofit organization.

Anastasiia Zhukovska is a 17-year-old from the Zhytomyr region of northwestern Ukraine with very good results in high school.

Her academic achievements are very high, especially in biology, a field she dreams of continuing her studies in the United States of America.

"I want to study in a field of biology, return to Ukraine and share my knowledge and apply all my skills acquired in Ukrainian schools to raise a new generation of scientists who are interested in biology ", she says.

Anastasia can afford to study abroad only if she secures a full scholarship. It was for talented students like her that the "Ukraine Global Scholar" program based in Massachusetts, run by volunteers, was created in 2015.

To win a scholarship a candidate must have excellent grades, pass English and math exams, and pass several interviews conducted by this program.

The winners then gather at a camp near Warsaw to prepare for the application process to American universities.

"This work camp is a very intensive information camp. We consider many details in this application process. The whole concept, even the essay, is something absolutely new for them, because this is not something they learn in Ukrainian schools."

The organization helps students get full financial aid to colleges or universities in the US, depending on the candidate's age.

"They compete with students from all over the world, like the best students, students with amazing results and also with personal stories," Julia continues.

And for the second year, students have to go through the admissions process to American schools under war conditions, facing rocket attacks, power outages and weak internet.

"I tried to take the English exam, four times. And in three attempts the internet was disconnected at the end of the exam. And that's why I couldn't get a certificate"

16-year-old Maria from Zaporizhzhia was a finalist last year. She began the application process while her city was under Russian occupation and had to flee to Ukrainian-controlled territory while she prepared for her exams.

“There were really long lines outside the city and I spent two days and one night there. I spent time doing my homework in the car and it was stressful," she says.

Now Maria has won a full scholarship of $95,000 a year to attend the private "Hill" school in the state of Pennsylvania, starting this fall.

The organization "Ukraine Global Scholar" says that 86% of students receive scholarships. Since the program's inception, their students have been awarded more than $50 million in full scholarships./ VOA