UAE students see California as top choice for pursuing higher education

Carian College Advisors, a specialist American education consultancy headquartered in Dubai, has named California as the No. 1 choice of students from the UAE pursuing higher education in the United States, based on the list of clients they served in 2013. Peter Davos, Managing Director, says that the choice comes as no surprise to him as California is renowned for the quality of its higher education system, its attractive climate and excellent quality of life. “California is by far our students’ most popular destination; it is home to some of the world’s top universities, such as Stanford University, Harvey Mudd College, California Institute of Technology, UCLA, UC Berkeley, Pomona College and Claremont McKenna College.

“Stanford University has surpassed Harvard University this year as the most difficult university in the US to be accepted to, while Harvey Mudd College graduates earn the highest average salaries of any university in the US. California Institute of Technology was ranked as the Best University in the World in the 2011 Times Higher Education World University Rankings in Engineering and Technology and Physical Sciences and both Pomona and Claremont McKenna are ranked among the top ten liberal arts schools in the US by US News and World report.”

With over 4,000 degree-granting institutions of higher learning in the 50 states, Carian College Advisors caters to the varied needs and preferences of UAE students. Davos added “The US remains one of the world’s leading destinations for students living in the UAE. Our clients from all over the world continue to choose the US over other countries because of its flexible curriculum, interdisciplinary approach to education and emphasis on holistic development of the individual. The United States is one of the most culturally diverse and inclusive societies in the world, having welcomed visitors and students from foreign countries for centuries. The most popular majors for UAE students are Business and Management, Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science.”

Davos’ consultancy offers a range of admission counselling services for UAE students targeting the US for further studies. During 2013, Carian College Advisors’ UAE students secured admission to many leading universities, such as Georgetown, Dartmouth, Northwestern, Cornell, Yale, Brown, Colorado School of Mines, Columbia, University of California Los Angeles, and New York University.

Davos emphasised that his firm guides UAE students wishing to pursue a US education. He added, “With plenty of top universities to choose from, the task of choosing the right one does definitely require immense effort, expertise, and knowledge; students and parents rely on us to guide them. There is an appetite for American education in this region, as well as for quality advice on how to pursue the research and application processes, which has thus far been lacking in the market.”

Davos said that flexibility is one of the key factors why UAE students favour the American education system, as students are encouraged to take a broad array of courses and are only required to declare their major at the end of their second year of study. American universities encourage these exploration and development processes and view it as an inherent part of an undergraduate education. Students at American universities are allowed to choose a minor, double major, or triple major, as long as they fulfil the stipulated course requirements.