The reaction to this news from students studying in the United States was instantaneous and euphoric.  Arab News witnessed this happy student pandemonium at the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission in Washington DC this week, where students have gathered to be briefed on the new educational benefits.

Mody Alkhalaf, Director of Cultural and Social Affairs at the Saudi Cultural Mission, lead Arab News through the throngs of students while explaining the new terms of the scholarship.

This year, 32,000 Saudi students are sponsored in the US by the King Abdulaziz scholarship programs, an additional 6,000 students will shortly make their way from Riyadh to US schools, making this the seventh group of Saudi scholarship students since the program started in 2005 said Alkhalaf, adding that another 7,000 were “self-sponsored,” or paying for their own education. 

All that changed, she said, when the new decree was issued last Wednesday, announcing that “that every self-sponsored student around the world would be sponsored to ease their financial obligations for tuition.”

This change will add 13,000 new Saudi students over the US in the next 2-3 weeks, said Alkhalaf, noting this “makes a total of 45,000 students, not counting their spouses and their children.”

The timing of the King’s announcement lent a festive air to the gatherings.  The scene inside and outside the Saudi Cultural Mission was chaotic, with hundreds of Saudi students milling around, and — just to make things even more complicated — the Libyan embassy is also located in the same building, and dozens of armed police and Secret Service agents were milling about.

The Cultural Mission had been scheduled to move out to a location near Tyson’s Corner this week, said Alkhalaf — her office has moving boxes stacked against the walls.  This new location is closer to Dulles International Airport and will make transportation easier for the arriving Saudi students.

“Students were previously told that they would not be sponsored until they finished their ESL (English as a Second Language).  Now anyone who is here will get a monthly allowance, health care, a round trip ticket and their tuition paid by the government,” said Dr. Alkhalaf.

Mohammed Al-Eissa, the cultural attaché of the Saudi Cultural Mission concurred. 

“With over 7,000 new students now eligible, we have received hundreds of calls since last Wednesday from so many students who are so happy, and have called to thank the King for this support.”

The unexpected news has put all other priorities on hold, Al-Eissa said, his office was also stacked floor-to-ceiling with moving boxes.  “So since this good news, all our staff at the cultural mission is working full time, weekends included,” he said.  “We’re processing about 1,000 student applications a day.”

But the new scholarships are not be mistaken as a paid vacation for the students, Al-Eissa said. 

“Academically, we are very firm with those students who think this is a paid vacation. We tell them this is a great chance, but we also follow up on them and if they don’t fulfill their scholastic requirements for their scholarships, we first warn them and then, if they fail, we issue them a one-way ticket and get blacklisted and can’t get another scholarship from us anywhere else in the world.”

As for where the Saudi students will study, Al-Eissa said the mission tries to disperse them throughout the US.  “One of our goals is not to become over-saturated in one area, such as in Florida and California which, not surprisingly, is where they all want to go.”

“We don’t allow them to pick and choose their faculty.  We are trying to limit the number of students going to one college or university,” said Alkhalaf, who facilitated Arab News’ interviews with several of the students present.

Zainab Al-Soubai is a graduate student from the Eastern region of Saudi Arabia, from Hasa.  She first came to the US 11 years ago, when her husband was doing his graduate studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  She is currently getting her Masters in Computer Science at North Eastern University in Boston, Massachusetts.

Zainab says she and her 8-year-old son love the snow and outdoor winter activities, including ice skating. Her husband “is okay with the weather, but he lost some of his enthusiasm when he fell while ice skating last year and broke his leg.” 

Zainab said she just started her Master’s in Computer Science when she learned she qualified for the new scholarship, “which is why I’m here today.”

“It definitely will help me financially and I’m so happy to have health insurance.  It will make a huge difference as we have an autistic child, and we had to send him to a local school.  Now with the money from the scholarship, we hope that we can send him to a private special education school, which will help him tremendously. 

“Part of me is thinking that this will change his life even more than my life.”

Manal Mossallam is from Madinah, and this was her first day in the US.  She got off the plane from Saudi Arabia and came directly to the cultural mission in Washington DC. 

Manal already has her undergraduate degree in microbiology, and now she’s here to obtain her Master’s in Program Management.  She will attend Southern New Hampshire University, where she will study English for one year.

Manal said she jumped for joy when she heard the news, as it was a total surprise.  Manal said she was coming to the cultural mission just to see if she had any chance of getting a scholarship.  She said she was not aware of the changes, until she was informed of them upon her arrival. 

Fahad Mosallam is Manal’s brother, and he flew in on the same plane as Manal, so they were both totally surprised by the news regarding the change in their scholarship status.

“I just found out that we both qualify a few hours ago,” he said.  “I just couldn’t believe my ears!”

The next day he and his sister planned to fly up tomorrow morning to Manchester, New Hampshire, where they will begin their new life as students.

Fahad and Manal both will take one year of ESL, this year, Fahad said.  Afterward, he will decide his major, he’s currently torn between becoming an aviator or majoring in Engineering.

Salman Abdul-Mohsin, from Jeddah, has been here for two months, and is a self-sponsored student.  He came here for his ESL, and plans to study Computer Information Systems at NOVA (Northern Virginia) University, once he masters the English language. 

He learned about the changes last week when his father called him and said he may qualify for the new scholarship.  Having learned that he was accepted into the program, Salman says it’s an understatement to say that his father is “really, really” happy.

He said that he and his siblings came to the US every year on vacation with his parents, so he was familiar with the US and really wanted to study here.

Satam Abdul-Mohsin, is Salman’s older brother, and has been in the US for one year.  He also is studying at NOVA, but previously held a scholarship.  He’s currently finishing his last semester in ESL, and next semester will begin his studies in Finance, and hopes to become a banker when he returns to Jeddah. 

He said he’s having a great time in the US, but cautioned he and his brother both share a major problem — neither of them can cook!  He then listed off several local restaurants where he has already become a well-known customer.

Salman Ghazwani is from Jeddah and has been in the US since 2007.  He is attending Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which Salman proudly tells me, was named the leading school in the world for his major - Management Information Systems.

Salman hopes that, when he returns home, his degree will help him get work in a government company such as Aramco or Sabic. 

He’s enjoying himself here, he said, and likes the people, the culture, and education — “everything here is interesting.  This is the best experience in my life.”

He’s now applying for a Master’s in his field and hopes to get a PhD, also at Temple.  Salman said his wife is with him, and she’s studying Nursing.  And, with a big smile, he added that they are expecting their first baby to be born here in June.

Hossam Saqqa is also from Jeddah and has been here for four months.  He was self-sponsored and didn’t know about the scholarship changes.  He found out about them when he was reading Saudi newspapers online.

He was finishing his ESL studies in California, and when he heard about the new program, he hopped on an airplane and flew directly to Washington.  At the airport, he took a taxi from the airport to the cultural mission, where — he says with a huge grin — “they took care of everything.”

Hossam says he will now start his studies at Atlanta University in Georgia, where he plans to major in Industrial Engineering.  Now he says he hopes he can continue with his graduate studies here.