How did I come to the US for undergrad studies?

To pursue college in the US, I needed to get a scholarship because, on my own, l could not afford to pay expensive US college fees. I was fortunate to get a full tuition scholarship thanks to the United States Achievers Program (USAP). The program assisted me with college applications, paid for my SAT fees, covered my flight ticket to America, and helped me get a scholarship to cover my room and board expenses.

USAP began in Zimbabwe in 1999 under EducationUSA to provide access to higher education for determined, bright, low-income youth, thus producing highly-skilled and liberally-educated leaders for tomorrow’s Zimbabwe. I knew about USAP because some people from my high school participated in the program. When I applied for USAP, there were over 1000 applicants. Thirty students were admitted into the program, i.e., 15 men and 15 women. The program had a rule of selecting at most one student from each school, meaning I had to be the best applicant from my school, where the class size was 142 students. To stand out in my application, I was the valedictorian equivalent for my secondary school. I also participated in extracurricular activities, i.e., swimming, Toastmasters club, Christian Life Community (CLC), etc. Having strong teacher references and writing good personal statements contributed to my successful application. 

As cliche as it sounds, I had to work extremely hard in school to be valedictorian. In most of my classes, especially in math, I would solve every single problem in the mathematics books before the semester even started. When I took classes, I was already revising the material I had learned before. Additionally, my parents got me private tutors while school was out, meaning I never had a holiday break. I always studied to be ahead and have the edge over my classmates. Simply put, my life revolved around academics. By the time I wrote exams, I was over-prepared for the most part and did well on tests. It wasn’t easy, and this is the sacrifice I made to be where I am today.

During the school semester, I ensured that I studied more than my peers. For example, when we finished meals, and most folks went for sports, I went back to class to study for an extra hour before reporting for sports. Additionally, when people were off to bed in the evenings, I stayed up way into the night studying using a torch, given prefects turned off lights in all dormitories. Some classmates called me names and laughed at my ridiculous work ethic back in the day, but I stuck to it regardless.

There are several ways to pursue college in the US. I recommend exploring different avenues and figuring out what works for you. I shared my path, which involved USAP, while my friend and co-author of this blog, Persie, came to the U.S. using the USEAC route. Please visit the links shared here to learn about USAP and Education Matters (the parent program running USAP nowadays). If you want to learn more, feel free to contact us here or email us at [email protected].

I look forward to hearing from you and helping you figure out how to study in the US.