Approach student received a scholarship to pursue a Master’s degree in the U.S

Diana Castro is from Colombia and is one of the Approach students who recently got accepted to an American college. 

She got accepted to Merrimack College, one of Approach’s college partners, and earned a scholarship of approximately $31,000 to pursue her Master’s of Science in Mechanical Engineering.

When Diana arrived in the United States, she could not have a conversation in English. She started studying English at Approach about one year ago. She enrolled in the ESL program and was first placed at the intermediate level (4A level - former B1 level of our ESL program). Within one year, she completed the ESL program and moved to our Advanced Academic Preparation program from which she recently graduated. 

Diana strongly believes that, as a student, effort and dedication play a big role in the secret to success.

“Most of the teachers tried to make the classes as dynamic as possible, due to online limitations. On top of this, whenever I had a question and emailed them about it, they would answer me and take the time to resolve it. However, I would like to say that, in my opinion, the student plays the biggest role in the learning process. The school is an important piece, but your effort and dedication are what leads to successful learning” - Diana Castro

While studying English, she learned about the college advising service that Approach offers to its students and decided to explore her options with the College and Career Advisor. She was able to find a program that she liked at one of the Approach college partners, Merrimack College, where she would study Mechanical Engineering. 

Diana saw many benefits of applying to one of Approach’s partners, “The Approach advisor put me in touch with a Merrimack representative, and they guided me through the entire documentation process. In addition to this, it is a great advantage when colleges have an agreement with Approach because you do not need to pay for the English proficiency exam (TOEFL); you can just present the Approach diploma and the university will accept it.”

Our college and career advisor department not only facilitated the conversation between the student and the college, but also guided her through various opportunities available to help pay for her college education. “In addition to all the help my Approach Advisor gave me with Merrimack, she also informed me about a scholarship that Merrimack offered to some students. This scholarship is called a Presidential Fellowship and it covers 100% of the tuition which is approximately $31,000 for my program.

A fellowship is a type of scholarship that is usually associated with working in a particular field on the school campus. Diana will be able to not only pursue her Master’s degree at Merrimack College but also will gain some work experience by working 20 hours a week at the Advising Center.

Diana explained, “The process of applying for this scholarship consisted of writing a 500-word essay saying why I deserved to earn it. After this step, an interview was conducted with two of the advisors from Merrimack College. With that said, I am very happy to mention that I got that scholarship, so I don't have to worry about my tuition anymore.”

Learning English and hard work were crucial for Diana to make her dreams come true;

“Never give up on your goal (...). When I came to this country, I could not have a complete conversation in English; Today, I can write essays, watch a full movie without subtitles, have conversations smoothly, do quick translations, and I'm about to start a master's degree! So, dreams do come true, but you have to work for them.” - Diana Castro

Approach is proud to be part of many student success stories. We believe that learning English is one of the first steps toward your goals, and we are committed to guiding you every step of the way.

We have many testimonials from former students whose lives changed as a result of learning English and saw the opportunities available to them.

If you have a dream of furthering your academic education in the United States, we are here to tell you: you can do it too! Let us be part of your journey and guide you on your path to success.

Your success is our success!