Kenyan Applicant Frequently Asked Questions
How many Kenyan students are there at St. Lawrence?
During the 2007-2008 academic year, St. Lawrence was home to more than
120 international students from the following 45 countries: Afghanistan, Angola, Argentina, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bolivia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Ethiopia, Ghana,
Honduras, India, Ireland, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Latvia, Lesotho, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Palestine, Romania, Rwanda, Serbia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, Vietnam, Zambia
and Zimbabwe.
What is St. Lawrence’s connection with Kenya?
St. Lawrence students first began studying in Kenya in 1969. In 1974,
we established what is now the oldest U.S. college or university study abroad
program in Kenya. Several generations of St. Lawrence students have
spent a semester or summer in Kenya, learning about the history, politics,
environment, and cultures of the Kenyan people. St. Lawrence has established
the Kenya Scholarship Program as an expression of gratitude to the people of
Kenya for their support of our students and faculty over the years.
How “international” is St. Lawrence?
International students find a welcoming global community at St. Lawrence. Almost
50% of our students study abroad or complete international research
each year. Over 50% of the faculty have significant international training
and expertise. St. Lawrence is unique among US colleges and universities as
being the liberal arts college closest to another nation’s capital (Ottawa,
Canada), and we take advantage of our proximity to Canada
through formal courses and co- and extra-curricular programs. In addition
to academic programs like Global Studies and
the modern languages, faculty
across the campus routinely incorporate global perspectives in their courses. Outside
the class room, clubs and organizations such as International
House, Amnesty International, Global Awareness Club, and the SLU Model
United Nations Club allow students to explore their global interests in other
venues. The International Students Office and Advisor are based in the
Dean of Student Life offices in the Student Center. This office provides advice
and support to international students including International Student Orientation,
visa and immigration advice and assistance, and programming throughout the
year to enrich the experience of our international students.
Is St. Lawrence a religious school?
No. St. Lawrence is named in honor of the St. Lawrence River Valley. The St.
Lawrence River flows about 1,207 km (750 miles) from Lake Ontario, along the
Ontario-New York border and through southern Québec, to the Gulf of
St. Lawrence. The river was first sighted by Jacques Cartier, a French explorer,
on the Feast Day of St. Lawrence in 1534. The St. Lawrence River today is a
major shipping route and a destination for boating, fishing, and vacationing
on both side of the river.
Famous alumni?
While we like to think that all of our alumni are accomplished, a number have
achieved a high degree of recognition. Among St. Lawrence's distinguished
alumni are industrialist and diplomat Owen D. Young (1894), for whom the
Young Plan for European war reparations was named; Olympia Brown (1863), the
first woman in U.S. history to be ordained a minister; author Lorrie Moore
(’78); United States Senator from the state of Maine, Susan Collins (’75);
actors Kirk Douglas (’39) and Viggo Mortensen (’80); member of
parliament, Kenya, Joseph Lekuton, (’91, M’94); Karen R.
Hitchcock (’64), a noted scholar and principal and vice-chancellor at
Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada; and Kenneth O. Okoth
(’91), Upper School history teacher at the Potomac School, a K-12 independent
school in McLean, Virginia and University trustee.
What is a liberal arts and sciences education?
St. Lawrence University is firmly committed to undergraduate liberal arts
and sciences education for women and men, an education that requires breadth,
depth and integration in learning.
Breadth: St. Lawrence students must complete a set of distribution requirements
that expose them to a number of disciplines beyond their intended major(s).
Distribution requirements should be seen not as a checklist of courses to complete
but rather as an invitation to explore, indeed, to cultivate wisdom. Students
often find that they discover or develop life long interests through carefully
selected courses that satisfy their distribution requirements. At St.
Lawrence, all students must complete one course in arts/expression; humanities;
social science; mathematics or foreign language; two courses in natural science
and science studies, one of which must be a laboratory course; two courses
from two different departments that engage participants in the critical study
of sameness and difference; and the First
Year Program and First
Year Seminar.
Depth: All students are required to complete a concentrated field of study,
or major. Students may choose
a major or majors from a number of traditional,
combined or interdisciplinary majors and programs.
Integration: Through a liberal arts education students not only learn and
develop specific information and skills, but also learn how to learn, adapt,
and integrate diverse material; communicate appropriately; and utilize effectively
what has been learned. This is accomplished at St. Lawrence through the First
Year Program, numerous opportunities for interdisciplinary studies, minors, research
opportunities, and the Senior Year Experience, required by some majors.
How will a liberal arts and sciences education help in my career search?
A liberal arts and sciences education provides for a large number of options
in the choice of a career. For example, 96%
of the Class of 2006 either had a job within six months of graduation or
enrolled in graduate school. 21% enrolled in graduate programs and 75%
were employed. Typically 40% of our alumni enroll in graduate programs within
five years of graduation. The Office of Career
Services and Leadership Education is committed to empowering students
and graduates to discover their passion, explore their career options, develop
their personal career plan, and attain their goals as part of their lifelong
educational philosophy.
Can I study Engineering at St. Lawrence?
St. Lawrence does offer a 3+2
Engineering program in which students spend three years at St. Lawrence
and two years at a cooperating engineering school (Clarkson University, Columbia
University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, University of Rochester, University
of Southern California, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute) and graduate with
a bachelor's degree from each institution. This option allows students to receive
three years of a broad-based, well-rounded liberal arts education before specializing
in an engineering field. It also allows students the freedom to change their
major plans from engineering to another field without changing schools. Please
note that students who require and/or receive financial assistance
to attend St. Lawrence may not find this the best option. Because financial
aid to international students is limited, and institutional policies vary,
it is not possible to predict the level of financial assistance a student will
receive from the engineering school. It would be necessary for students to
apply for scholarships and other financial assistance directly from the engineering
school.
Can I study Business at St. Lawrence?
Pre-management Program. Many St. Lawrence students choose
to pursue graduate programs in management or careers in business. More than
40% of the graduates of the class of 2005 were employed in banking, finance,
sales, or marketing within six months of graduation. Majors from any discipline
may complete the pre-management program at St. Lawrence, which combines an
individually tailored course of study with career building programs and leadership
skills development. A certificate is awarded to students successfully completing
the Pre-Management
Program. Participants should work closely with the Pre-Management Program
coordinator and with career services and leadership education.
4+1 MBA Program. St. Lawrence University has 4+1
MBA agreements with the graduate schools at Clarkson University, Rochester
Institute of Technology, and Union Graduate College that allow students to
plan their undergraduate program to include courses that serve as foundation
courses for graduate study. Students must complete a regular undergraduate
major and meet prescribed admission standards in addition to the foundation
courses. Those who are admitted can expect to complete the requirements for
the MBA degree in one year rather than the usual two or more. In addition,
applicants with outstanding academic records will receive a prompt decision
concerning admission and financial aid. Preliminary inquires concerning these
programs may be made by consulting with the pre-management coordinator.
What are the admissions criteria?
Competitive candidates for admission typically present:
- Four years of English
- Three years each of social studies, mathematics, foreign language and science,
with additional years of study in the areas of greatest interest to the student
- Coursework in other areas as determined by the requirements of their secondary
school or Ministry of Education and the interests of the student.
Competitive candidates should be completing or have completed the equivalent
of 12 years of education (primary and secondary) or the program of study
that leaves them eligible for admission to university-level study in the educational
system in which they are enrolled.
What are the application requirements?
Application. Candidates for admission may start their application
by completing Part I of our application online or
by downloading it
and mailing it to the Office of Admissions.
All candidates for admissions MUST apply using the Common Application with
the required St. Lawrence Supplement. They may submit the Common Application online or
by downloading and
mailing it to the Office of Admissions.
They MUST also submit the St. Lawrence Common Application Supplement online or
by downloading and
mailing it to the Office of Admissions.
Application Fee. The US$60.00 application fee is
waived for all Kenyan applicants.
Transcripts. We require that applicants submit a 3-year secondary
school transcript (a record of courses taken and marks received in their classes
from the 2004-2005, 2005-2006, and 2006-2007 academic years) as well as a record
of the courses they are taking during their final year of secondary school
(2007-2008). Emailed and photocopied transcripts are not considered official
and will not be accepted.
Transfer applicants are
required to submit transcripts of all coursework completed at the secondary
and post-secondary levels.
Students must submit official secondary education credentials for all years
of secondary
education, including the results of the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education
(KCSE), if available. It is important to note that we require an official,
notarized, or attested copy of these credentials.
Standardized Testing. Although we are a Test
Optional institution, international applicants and particularly those
applying for international student financial aid are encouraged to
submit SAT Reasoning or ACT scores if English is their first language and
SAT Reasoning or ACT and TOEFL scores if English is not their first language.
All standardized testing should be completed by the end of December, but must
be completed no later than January, 2008. Candidates for the SAT Reasoning
Test can obtain information from either their guidance office or the College
Board, Box 592, Princeton, NJ 08540, www.collegeboard.com.
Candidates for the ACT can obtain information from their guidance office or
ACT Registration, Box 414, Iowa City, IA 52243, www.act.org. Candidates
for the TOEFL (paper-based, inter-active) can obtain information at www.ets.org.
It is the applicant’s responsibility to make arrangements for official
exam scores to be sent to the St. Lawrence Admissions Office. Emailed
and photocopied scores are not official and will not be accepted.
Recommendations. Candidates are required to submit a recommendation
from a university or guidance counselor. If there is no guidance counselor
at their school, applicants should have the principal, headmaster, head tutor
or some other school official who has been closely supervising or monitoring
their secondary school studies write a recommendation instead. Two letters
of recommendation from teachers with whom the applicants have studied in an
academic subject in their final two years of secondary school are also required.
If the guidance counselor or teacher recommendations are not written in English,
a certified translation must be provided.
Miscellaneous materials. The Admissions Committee does not
require and does not review in their decision making art works; portfolios;
photographs; or music, dance, theatre, or athletic CD’s or tapes. Applicants
are encouraged, however, to submit the Common
Application Arts Supplement or Common
Application Athletic Supplement.
Applicants are also encouraged to provide a listing of certificates or other
honors they have earned rather than sending photocopies of these certificates.
What is the English proficiency requirement?
St. Lawrence strongly recommends that international applicants whose first
language is other than English take the Test of English as a Foreign Language
(TOEFL). Applicants whose first language is other than English who do not provide
official results of the TOEFL may be at a competitive disadvantage for admissions
and financial aid consideration.
The following are the recommended minimum scores for each version of
the TOEFL:
- Paper-based TOEFL: 600,
with no subscore below 50
- Computer-based TOEFL: 250,
with no subscore below 20
- iBT/Interactive TOEFL: 82
with no subscore below 20 (19 for speaking)
Please note that these are not required minimum scores but recommended scores.
St. Lawrence waives the TOEFL requirement for applicants
who have completed or are expected to complete International Baccalaureate
Higher Level English A1 (mother tongue) or A2 (bilingual) exams with scores
of 5, 6, or 7. Students taking International Baccalaureate Standard Level English
may request a waiver on a case-by-case basis by contacting the Director of
International Admissions.
St. Lawrence also waives the TOEFL requirement for applicants who have earned
a score of 600 or higher on the Critical Reading section of the SAT Reasoning
Test.
How do I send the results of my SAT Reasoning, SAT II, and TOEFL exams
to St. Lawrence?
There are several ways to submit test scores. Applicants should indicate St.
Lawrence as a recipient institution for their scores when they register for
the exams. Our institutional code number is 2805 for SAT I, SAT Reasoning,
SAT II, and TOEFL scores. The institutional code for ACT scores is 2896.
University or guidance counselors may include the exam results on the Common
Application Secondary School Report Form.
University or guidance counselors may send us attested or certified copies
of the test results.
PHOTOCOPIES, FAXED COPIES, AND EMAILS WITH TEST SCORES ARE NOT OFFICIAL AND
WILL NOT BE MADE PART OF AN APPLICANT’S ADMISSION FILE.
Applicants should also be consistent with the spelling and sequence of their
family/surname and given names when registering for these standardized exams
and completing the application. We recommend that on all application
materials applicants provide their name as printed on their passport. Differences
in the spelling or sequence of names may delay the receipt of test scores and
the review of applications.
Are the SAT’s the most important criteria the Admissions Committee
uses to make its decisions?
No. We do not require SAT’s. And if applicants do submit
SAT scores, our decisions are based on many factors. We use a holistic
approach when reviewing applications and consider all the information – secondary
school courses, level of difficulty of the academic program, trend in achievement,
recommendations, personal statements, and extracurricular activities.
What are the application deadlines?
There are three different application deadlines for fall admission, Regular
Decision, Early Decision I, and Early Decision II. Applicants applying
form outside the U.S. are strongly encouraged to submit their application
and supporting materials well in advance of the application deadlines.
The Regular Decision application deadline is February 1 and
applicants are notified of their decision by the end of March.
Students who have selected St. Lawrence as their first choice are encouraged
to apply under the Early Decision Program. Through this program, a candidate’s
file is read prior to the review of the general applicant pool. Applicants
accepted under this program are obligated to attend St. Lawrence and must withdraw
any applications submitted to other institutions. The Early Decision I application
deadline is November 15, with notification on December 15. The Early
Decision II application deadline is January 15, with notification on February
15. Please note that, due to our limited funding, applicants applying for
international student financial aid may NOT apply for Early Decision admission.
Kenyan applicants living in Kenya who are completing the paper version of
the application should submit their application and all supporting documentation
to the St Lawrence University Kenya Semester Program Office as follows:
St. Lawrence University Kenya Semester Programme
PO Box 1128
#91 Miotoni Road
00502 – Karen
Nairobi
Telephone: 254-20-88-27-94
Email: sluadmin@africaonline.co.ke
Kenyan applicants living in Kenya who are completing the on line version of
the application should submit their supporting documentation to the St Lawrence
University Kenya Semester Program Office.
Kenyan citizens living outside Kenya should submit their application and supporting
documentation to the St Lawrence University Admissions Office in Canton, NY.
Can I receive advanced placement or credit for coursework I complete
while in secondary school?
St. Lawrence University awards advanced placement and credit toward graduation
for entering first-year students through the College
Board Advanced Placement program. Generally, advanced placement and credit
toward graduation are granted to students who achieve a rating of 4 or 5 on
the Advanced Placement Examination. Advanced placement and credit may also
be earned by completion of International Baccalaureate Higher Level examinations
with scores of 5, 6, or 7. The effect of advanced credit upon the department
major requirements is at the discretion of each department chair. Each department
chair will review the requested credit and make a recommendation to the registrar.
How much does it cost to attend St. Lawrence?
| 2007-2008 (August - May) Costs: |
|
|
| Tuition: |
$ |
35/375 |
| Fees: |
$ |
225 |
| Room: |
$ |
4,870 |
| Board: |
$ |
$4,190 |
| Insurance: |
$ |
1,350*** |
| Books: |
$ |
650**** |
| Personal Expenses: |
$ |
800**** |
| TOTAL: |
$ |
47,460 |
| * double room; single room is $5,620 |
| ** full flex plan (selected by most students); full 21-meal plan
is $4,390 |
| *** estimated |
| **** unbilled expenses: these are estimated out-of-pocket costs that do not appear on the semester bills but which students must have available to them |
The annual student budget increase is approximately 4-6% each
year. The expected annual student budget for the 2008-2009
academic year will be $49,700.
This figure also does not include transportation costs to and from
St. Lawrence. |
| Summer (2007) Costs: |
|
|
| Tuition: |
$ |
2,625 / course |
| Fees: |
$ |
35 |
| Room & Board - Session I |
$ |
1,105 |
| Room & Board - Session II |
$ |
1,105 |
Do you offer financial aid for Kenyan students?
St Lawrence awards two Kenya Scholarships, one to a male and one to a female,
each year. The Kenya Scholarship is a full scholarship and pays for tuition,
fees, room and board, insurance, books, and miscellaneous expenses. For
the 2007-2008 academic year, Kenya Scholarship recipients received a US$47,460
scholarship. A Kenya Scholarship is typically awarded in "package" form,
which includes some combination of grants, merit scholarships, and campus employment.
Students applying for the Kenya Scholarship must complete and a copy of the
International
Student Financial Aid Application (ISFAA). The
ISFAA should
be submitted at the same time as your complete application for admission.
Other Links:
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Canton
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