Ambassador April H. Foley

Remarks at the Karinthy Bilingual High School in Budapest to Commemorate International Education Week

November 14, 2006

Ambassador Foley delivers her remarks. (Embassy photo by Attila Németh)

Mayor Mester, Mr. Hutai, Dr. Bognár, teachers and especially students of Karinthy High School,

I am here today to commemorate with you International Education Week.

We chose to visit Karinthy High School because of its long history of openness to education exchange. 

I know that all the students here work very hard.
Many students are pursuing a bilingual education.
And many are planning to study abroad.

Right now there are some uncertainties related to the education system.
In Hungary, reforms are being discussed for university education, which could result in some fundamental changes. 
Many systems outside of Hungary are also in a state of flux. 

As a result, some of you may be wondering if you will still have the same opportunity to study in the United States. 

I want to assure you that the answer to your question is a definite yes.

First, let me address an issue that seems to be the source of misunderstanding…visas. 
Those of you planning to apply for a U.S. student visa should know that 90% of student visa applications are granted.

Second, some of you will have to take American university entrance exams. 
This can be a confusing process. 
We have advisory services specifically designed for students who want to take the American university entrance examinations. 

If you'd like to study in the United States, but you don't really know how to approach the problem, we can also offer advice. We can answer questions like:
Where should I apply? 
How much will it cost? 
How can I get a scholarship? 
These are all important questions. And our advisory services can help you get answers. 

The advisory services are part of the Fulbright Program. We have three Fulbright offices in Budapest that provide advisory services for students who want to study in the U.S. 
You can find all the information for them at www.fulbright.hu.

One message I want you to be very clear about is that the United States is extremely interested in having students from Hungary come to the U.S. for study.
In fact, many universities have recently increased the percentage of foreign students that they would like to have in their student bodies.  

So for example, if in the past they wanted to have 10% foreign students, now they are increasing that number to 15-20%.
U.S. universities fully understand that this kind of change cannot happen without a change in funding. 
Bottom line, there is a movement in U.S. universities to dedicate more scholarship funds to international students.

They're doing this in response to globalization. 
They want their students to have more international exposure and more international experiences.
What this means for Hungarian students is there is more demand for them in the United States and more money available for scholarships.

Educational exchanges are extremely important to maintaining the bonds of friendship between our two countries.

The United States and Hungary are united by common values.

Two allies like the United States and Hungary need to continue our people-to-people exchanges, especially student exchanges.

These experiences create a richer and fuller mutual understanding.

We in America need to hear the individual stories of Hungarian students that only you can bring to our college campuses. In exchange you develop contacts and friends that may last a lifetime. 

I would like to end my formal remarks here because International Education Week is meant to offer two-way communication.

I would like to hear from you, the students, with any questions or concerns that touch on U.S.-Hungary relations.

And before we end, I want to leave some time for our Consul General, Tom Ramsey, to talk more about student visas and how to get information about them.

So let's begin with your questions.