Mainland Eagles Academy Update – US College Start Dates, Visa’s & SAT Registration

Dear Mainland Eagles Academy,

All the best to Helen Matthews, Ashlee Strawbridge, Tom Webley, Mac Stodart and Ben Carlile-Smith who are preparing to begin their freshman years at US College.  Also congratulations to Eagles Alumni Max Darling for signing with the Illawara Hawks, Mary Goulding for signing with Bendigo Spirit and Jackson Stent for receiving a Graduate Assistantship Scholarship to complete his MBA in International Business at Houston Baptist University.  Lastly we wish Joe Cook-Green all the best with his recovery from ACL surgery.

We wanted to give a brief update on the COVID-19 and the upcoming SAT test’s being offered.  Both in-coming freshman and returnee’s will be heading to the States over the next 7-14 days.  We wish our current returnee’s a safe return- Ben Reeves, Josh Lowe, Sofia Kennedy, Hayden Collier, Angus McWilliam, Max de Geest, Quinn Clinton, Will Harrison, Jordan Lindbom, Tom Higgins,  Tsubasa Nisbet, Amiee Book & Charlotte Whittaker.  A reminder of the updated I-20 requirements are below for both in-coming freshman & returning students.

Upcoming SAT Tests-

The next SAT test is the 29th August and there is space still available at the St Andrew’s College location.  The registration deadline is the 18th August but we recommend registering for the test asap as there are limited spots.  It is recommended all Year 12 & 13 students who are interested in US college take this test, with the possibility of taking the test 2-3 times before December of Year 13.  Registration can be done at the link below.

https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/register/august-2020

Also note the below upcoming test dates however no Christchurch locations are currently available for these dates.  However it is likely that STAC will offer a testing location on either the 7th November or 5th December dates.  This will be confirmed in the near future.

Upcoming Test Dates- 26th September, 3rd October, 7th November, 5th December, 13th March, 8th May, 5th June

SAT Preparation-

To help prepare for the SAT test we recommend using the free online test through Kahn Academy and/or the official College Board SAT preparation text book.

https://www.khanacademy.org/

Upcoming US College Season-

At this stage all conferences are planning on their winter season’s (ie Basketball) with a decision on the Fall season’s (ie Football, Volleyball & American Football) being made over the next couple of weeks.  Colleges are planning a combination of in-person and online class options for their students with basketball teams planning to begin in-person team practices at the start of the Fall Semester.  Although no decision has been made on the November start of season for basketball, there has been discussion around NCAA, NAIA & NJCAA competitions on cancelling their non-conference seasons (ie November & December) and begin the season with the Conference season (ie January – March).  I will update you as soon as I receive more information.  Please see article link below in regards to the upcoming Fall season’s, note basketball is not a Fall sport but a Winter sport (ie November to March).

http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/board-directs-each-division-safeguard-student-athlete-well-being-scholarships-and-eligibility

Updated I-20 Requirments-

  • TRANSFER STUDENTS: For all international students have your college amend your I-20 and have your college international office write a letter with letterhead of college.

Embassies are mandating that schools issue new I-20’s with special annotations regarding the Fall hybrid model of instruction and not (ONLINE ONLY)

  • NEW 2020 COLLEGE STUDENTS: Out of an abundance of caution, have your college reissue the I-20s indicating the intent to travel to the US for the Fall 2020 semester. The students present this attached newly issued I-20 which includes remarks that the college is offering a hybrid model of instruction with the visa application, or when entering the US.

Letter of Statement from College on LETTERHEAD Example: This letter is to certify that (Students name and ID) is currently enrolled as an undergraduate student-athlete at (the College / School Name) in (Course Name) for Fall 2020. In-person training is expected as a student-athlete for Fall 2020.

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