Want to study in US? It’s easy, says US Ambassador

Manama : US Ambassador to Bahrain Justin Siberell yesterday encouraged Bahraini students to pursue their studies in the US saying, “This is certainly what the Embassy wants to facilitate.”

“This is an area we want to continue and ensure that Bahrainis are aware that it is actually a very easy process to apply to a college in the United States and gain admission,” he told DT News. 

Speaking on the sidelines of the Discover America Week, Siberell said, “This is certainly what Embassy wants to facilitate, the Bahraini government also helps with this.”

“One of the great features of American society, culture and life are the colleges and university, so we encourage Bahrainis to look at the American education,” he said

When asked about the number of Bahraini students in the US, he said, “The Embassy has noted an increase in the number of students studying the US in the recent years.” 

“We have seen a steady increase in the numbers. Recently, our statistics indicate that 475 Bahrainis on any given year are studying in the United States at college and university level and that number has been steadily increasing,” he said adding, “The overall number of foreign students in the United States has increased to more than a million in 2016.”

“So we are seeing a global increase, in terms of the total number of students travelling to and studying in the United States, as well as a Bahraini increase,” he told DT News.

About the numbers for 2017 and 2018 he said, “We do not have a number totalled yet but when it becomes available we will be discussing it. We will start to see applications this summer for the coming year, that will be when we will able to tell the numbers and how they are doing.”

Open to partnerships

The Ambassador said he hopes to see more partnerships between universities in Bahrain and the US. “We do have some programmes where academics and researchers are travelling between the two countries. We are also looking to expand our linkages to some of the universities here such as the University of Bahrain,” he said.