Kerala - Kochi   

Five students selected for studies in Drexel University

SAILING HIGH: Students of Gregorian Public School, Maradu, who won the scholarship, with K.V. Paulose, Principal.

Five students, who completed the Plus Two course from Gregorian Public School, Maradu, have been selected to pursue higher studies in Drexel University, Philadelphia, the United States of America.

"Drexel has adopted our school and in-principle agreed to make it a SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) centre. Under SAT, the focus is on English and Maths," says K.V. Paulose, Principal.

Jerin Joseph, his twin brother, Jithin Joseph, Siddharth Menon, Ancy Ann Mathew and Sreeranjini Peter, who have been awarded the scholarships, have selected different branches under the five-year engineering and commerce programme.

Last year, two students, Prasanth Abraham and Tania Sunny, were selected for studies in Drexel University. The students were chosen by Shumi K. Muinde, associate director (international admissions) of the university, based on their academic and soft skills, and Test of English as a Foreign Language-TOEFL.

Says Prasanth, former head boy of the school: "We are allowed to check out different streams so that we are able to identify our core competency. The advantages of learning there is that there is no ragging or students' unions. Teaching aids such as projectors, and computers are widely used. Unlike in India, where there is a lot of stress on theory, the focus in the U.S. is on practical experience."

Generally, it is six months studies and six months work. Apart from regular teaching, the students are sent as interns to `practise schools.' The company with to which the interns are attached pays them for their work.

Prasanth, who is into his second year now, has been selected as an intern with SAP America. In January, he was enrolled as a lifetime member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars on the basis of his grade-point average (GPA). While Jerin and Jithin plan to do their Masters in nanotechnology, Siddharth plans to pursue electronics. Ancy has chosen computer science while Sreeranjini prefers studying commerce. The flexibility of the academic system encourages students from other countries to pursue their higher studies there.

Drexel is in the news in the U.S. as one of its alumni will be part of the NASA missions.

John L. Paul

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Campus Notes
Irregularities detected in Perumbavoor RTO office
City reverberates with festivities of Onam
Brahmapuram land price hike gets nod
Five students selected for studies in Drexel University
Exploring traditional dance forms of Canada
MACTA to remake `Bhargavi Nilayam'
Insurance Week celebrations
Around the City
In Kochi Today

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu