Page 29 - StudyTravel Magazine April 2022 Issue

DESTINATION

Students can enter the

US provided they are

fully vaccinated and

have a negative pCR

needs to study from home due CEL College of English Language college experience, so they’re signing
to a quarantine situation.” www.englishcollege.com in California up and outpacing registration from
All students at Stuart Hall offered online courses for about two previous years,” relates Christopher
School www.stuarthallschool.org in months before switching to hybrid Cofer at the Office of Pre-College
Staunton, VA, were taught virtually in classes when they were able to. “For Programs at Syracuse University, NY
the 2020/21 academic year. However, us it was key going back to on-site https://precollege.syr.edu. “We also
when the school reopened for face- classes as quickly as possible,” relates have expanded our offerings to allow
to-face tuition all but one student the school’s Christopher Thebing. students to take classes on campus,
studying virtually returned to campus Converse International School of online or on location in LA or NYC.”
in August 2021, relates the school’s Languages https://cisl.edu, another As in-person school applications
Robin Seiler. California-based school, was able to build, greater pressure will be placed
The ESL sector also took courses welcome and host students that were on visa processing and some providers
online, but according to Stephanie Bon permitted to travel during the pan- report challenges with visa issuance
at Brooklyn School of Languages (BSL) demic at its adult centre - the State already. “We’ve seen an increase
www.brooklynschooloflanguages. allowed them to re-open for in-person in visa denials in some areas, even
com in New York these were typically language training in June 2020 - how- in countries or regions where the
utilised by students already enrolled ever its junior programming suffered, approval rates are usually very high,”
on courses at a school and therefore relates the school’s Chiara Thomas. relates Deirdre McMurtry at The
physically already in the country. “We In January 2022 the school was able University of Nebraska at Omaha www.
taught programmes online in 2020 to offer its first in-person winter unomaha.edu.
for the students that were already programme since February 2020 and As of mid-October 2021, 60 per
enrolled with us but we didn’t succeed in-person summer 2022 programmes cent of consulates remained fully or
in enrolling new students, probably will be going ahead as normal. partially closed to non-emergency
because there were so many online Those hosting ESL programme in appointments for non-immigrant visa
courses available out there that a university setting project positive applicants. “There is now a huge back-
we were lost in the middle of it all growth in the coming year. “Students log of applications for tourist visas in
and it was tough to be seen and to are excited about the possibility of embassies around the world,” notes
differentiate from others.” coming back to campus for a pre- Stephanie. “So many students have

26 STUDYTRAVEl MAGAzINE