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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE IRAQI STUDENT PROJECT

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE IRAQI STUDENT PROJECT

  1. How are the students screened and what type of criteria do they need to have to be accepted to the ISP?
  2. What kind of an educational background do the applicants have?
  3. How are the students' English abilities measured?
  4. Are some of the students women?
  5. Do students have offcial records or transcripts of completion of secondary school?
  6. What is the role of the college or university in this partnership with ISP?
  7. What choice will the college or university have in selecting a candidate?
  8. Do all the college applications from the students go to schools offering tuition waivers?
  9. What will happen if the student does not perform academically?
  10. How are students going to obtain visas?
  11. What is needed for the student to obtain the I-20 form from a school following admission?
  12. What about the visas and proving intent to return?
  13. Do ISP students have an I-94 from the Department of Homeland Security?
  14. Will the students be eligible to work?
  15. What is needed for the student to obtain the I-20 form from a school following admission?
  16. At what schools are ISP students studying?
  17. What will the support group provide?
  18. How do I fnd out more about the support groups?
  19. How will communication with the student's family be maintained?
  20. How did ISP begin?
  21. What funding does ISP have?
  22. How do I contact the Iraqi Student Project?

Questions & Answers

1) How are the students screened and what type of criteria do they need to have to be accepted to the ISP?

Students complete an application form they can download from the ISP website. The application form itself offers these criteria: the student must have completed high school, must not have a college degree already, must be no more than 23 years of age, must be willing to live in Damascus and work with ISP volunteers from October until the next summer. The application is reviewed by ISP board members living in Damascus. At the next step, students are interviewed. After a successful interview, there will be a meeting with the student's family. But even when the student begins to work with ISP, the process continues. The criteria include emotional resiliency and good physical health, adequate documentation including academic records, strong motivation toward study, English language abilities as measured by TOEFL scores that meet university criteria, support from their families, clear economic need. ISP is for students who wish to study in the United States and then return to Iraq. ISP's mission is to work with students whose education was disrupted by the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the continuing occupation and violence, students who have no other access to continuing their education. The likelihood of academic success is ISP's constant measure.

2) What kind of an educational background do the applicants have?

The ISP students must have completed high school. Many have had one year or more in college, but to date all of them are beginning as frst-year students in their U.S colleges. We cannot assist students who already have a college degree.

3) How are the students' English abilities measured?

For international students, the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required by colleges and universities in the U.S. Schools require the TOEFL score before they will grant acceptance to a student. Most schools have a required minimum score for acceptance. Some schools will offer more leeway but may require additional ESL work before beginning classes. The TOEFL is usually given only fve or six times a year in Syria.

4) Are some of the students women?

The frst year (2008), six of the fourteen ISP students in the U.S. were women. Twenty-one more ISP students came in 2009, including seven women. Our goal is equal numbers of men and women.

5) Do students have offcial records or transcripts of completion of secondary school?

Most of the students have their offcial high school academic records and proof of graduation. In a few cases these have been lost for obvious reasons in a time of war and violence.

6) What is the role of the college or university in this partnership with ISP?

The school offers tuition and fee waivers (or in a few cases, a full scholarship) to the ISP student. There is close communication between the admissions offce and ISP. Later the school interacts with the support group that is being formed so that the I-20 can show both the school's and the support group's contribution to the total costs.

7) What choice will the college or university have in selecting a candidate?

This is negotiated between the U.S. Director and the appropriate persons at the school. The Director has the responsibility to place ISP students, as much as possible, at schools that suit their majors, personal needs, academic goals and English language abilities. The ISP workers in Damascus give input about each student to the U.S. Director of ISP.

8) Do all the college applications from the students go to schools offering tuition waivers?

A few ISP students are able to apply to the U.S. colleges and universities that are "need blind" or "need sensitive" for international students. If an ISP student is accepted at one of these institutions, a full scholarship will usually be offered. ISP will be responsible for a support group in most of these situations.

9) What will happen if the student does not perform academically?

At each of the schools the student has to maintain the GPA the school requires. If a student is not able to keep the average for the frst semester, ISP asks that there be an adjustment period. If they cannot keep the average over the year, then a consideration of what would follow would be worked out with the school and ISP.

10) How are students going to obtain visas?

After receiving the I-20 and acceptance letter from a college, the student can begin the application for the F-1 (student) visa at the U.S. Consulate nearest to the student (usually Damascus, but also possible in Baghdad and in Amman). So far, all ISP candidates who have applied for the F-1 visa have received it. ISP held a meeting with State Department personnel in Washington, DC to talk about the project and to share its goals with the State Department people gathered. We received strong support from the people gathered who included visa offce and Homeland Security persons. Additionally, very good relationships have been formed between ISP and the U.S. Embassy in Damascus.

11) What is needed for the student to obtain the I-20 form from a school following admission?

The I-20, which is essential for obtaining an F-1 student visa, is an offcial government document in which the school affrms that the student is accepted and has all the fnancial support needed for this specifc school. In the case of the ISP students, the I-20 shows the contribution of the school itself and, to whatever extent necessary, the contribution of the support group. The I-20 may also show the expectation of some amount contributed by the student through work-study.

12) What about the visas and proving intent to return?

All ISP students who gain admission to a U.S. college must secure the F-1 student visa in order to travel to the U.S. The F-1 is a non-immigrant visa that requires the applicant to have the intention to return to his/her home country (Iraq, in the case of these ISP students). The visa offcer who interviews a student must fnd this intention in order to grant the visa. All the ISP students, as part of their preparation, are focused on the intent to return and this is discussed with their families as well by the staff in Syria. Support groups in the U.S. are also well aware that this is the intent of ISP and they help to reinforce that during the students' time here.

13) Do ISP students have an I-94 from the Department of Homeland Security?

Each student receives an I-94 from the Department of Homeland Security on entrance to the United States. It validates their presence in the U.S. during all their undergraduate years of study.

14) Will the students be eligible to work?

Students may work in any on-campus job (when the payment is from the university). Such work is limited to 20 hrs/wk during the semester. Full time (anything more than 20 hrs/wk) is permitted during vacation periods. This is the U.S. government regulation but each school may regulate the number of hours their international students can work. ISP students are encouraged to work as part of their own support during their academic terms.

15) What is needed for the student to obtain the I-20 form from a school following admission?

The I-20, which is essential for obtaining an F-1 student visa, is an offcial government document in which the school affrms that it is certain the student has all the fnancial support needed for all aspects, tuition included, of this specifc school. In the case of the ISP students, the I-20 shows the contribution of the school itself and, to whatever extent necessary, the contribution of the support group. The I-20 may also show the expectation of some amount contributed by the student through work-study.

16) At what schools are ISP students studying?

  • Alverno College,Milwaukee Wisconsin
  • Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York
  • Benedictine College, Atchison, Kansas
  • Berea College, Berea Kentucky
  • Bluffton University, Bluffton, Ohio
  • Canisius College, Buffalo, New York
  • Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts
  • College of St. Scholastica, Duluth, Minnesota (2 students)
  • Dartmouth College, Hanover New Hampshire
  • DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois
  • Dominican University, San Rafael, California (2 students)
  • Dominican University, River Forest, Illinois
  • Fairfeld University, Fairfeld, Connecticut
  • Goucher College, Baltimore, Maryland
  • Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa
  • Holy Cross College, Notre Dame, Indiana (2 students)
  • Lewis University, Romeoville, Illinois
  • Manchester College, North Manchester, IN (2 students)
  • Manhattanville College, Purchase, New York
  • Monterey Peninsula College, Monterey, California
  • Mt. Mary College, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
  • Saginaw Valley State University, University Center, Michigan
  • Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana
  • Technical Career Institute, New York, New York
  • Union College, Schenectady, New York
  • University of Evansville, Evansville, IndianaWebster University, St. Louis, Missouri
  • University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon
  • University of Saint Mary, Leavenworth, Kansas

17) What will the support group provide?

The support group is responsible for the physical, social, emotional and fnancial needs of the student. The support group people bring all the care they can to nurture each student. They are there to be friends, to recognize what's needed and help out. Some household in the support group may offer a home for the student. Unless the school has offered to pay for a meal plan, that will be part of providing this home. The support group will be there to greet the student upon arrival, to introduce the student to the appropriate people at the school, to introduce the student to how the local community works and where things are, to talk about how things work and how needs are met, to have connections ready so the student can use whatever help the school provides for international students, to know about orientation sessions and (if needed) what help the school has for students with ESL (English as a second language). The support group will invite the student over for dinner in their homes, and will be helping the student stay in touch with their family.

There is a fnancial side. The school will have given a tuition waiver and perhaps some other fnancial help. Before the student arrives there are fees to be paid. The support group takes care of these in addition to the airfare for the arriving student. The support group also helps provide housing, books, health care and transportation beyond what the schools offer. During vacation times, the support group will help in fnding internships, volunteering opportunities, sports, trips inside the U.S and informal summer studies.

18) How do I fnd out more about the support groups?

If you are interested in being part of a support group please go to our website: iraqistudentproject.org and click on "the ISP Support Groups."

19) How will communication with the student's family be maintained?

The support group will help this to happen in various ways. The students in ISP are encouraged to prepare their parents and siblings to use skype or other free internet-based ways of speaking together.

20) How did ISP begin?

Gabe Huck and Theresa Kubasak traveled several times to Iraq with Voices in the Wilderness during the time of the 1990-2003 sanctions that did horrible damage to the people of Iraq. In 2005, Gabe and Theresa retired (from publishing and teaching respectively) and moved to Damascus. By early 2007 Damascus held perhaps a million Iraqi refugees, including many young Iraqis who had to leave their college studies to fee Iraq. In Syria, they could not afford to continue their education. The idea of ISP began to develop. By summer Gabe and Theresa had learned of the Bosnian Student Project of the mid-1990s. This served as a model for ISP. After many exploratory conversations in the U.S. in the summer of 2007, a small board of directors incorporated ISP in the State of New York and applied for 501(c)(3) status with the IRS. During the 2007-08 academic year, the U.S. Director and others, sought out tuition waivers from colleges and helped form support groups. Theresa and Gabe worked intensively with prospective candidates in Damascus. When the 2008-09 academic year began, 14 Iraqi students took their places in U.S. colleges. 21 students began their academic careers at U.S. schools in September, 2009.

21) What funding does ISP have?

Funding for ISP at the national level comes from individual donations and grants (for example, from religious groups like the Dominican Sisters and the Mennonite Central Committee). This is needed for two salaries and expenses both in the U.S. and in Damascus. At the local level, the support group around each student raises the money needed for health insurance, books, transportation, daily expenses, and sometimes room and board (though in many cases housing is given by a host family). The colleges themselves make the largest contribution by waiving tuition and in some cases offering to provide housing.

22) How do I contact the Iraqi Student Project?

PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE: www.iraqistudentproject.org

If you are interested in donating, you can do so on-line on the website through PayPal.

If you are interested in becoming a student with ISP, there is an application on the site to download. Follow the directions on the form to complete it.

If you are interested in joining a support group, there is information on the "ISP support group" page.

If you are a student, administrator or faculty member at a school and would like to pursue steps for your school to partner with ISP and offer a tuition waiver, please contact the "coordinator" through the website.