The program, which has already allowed a handful of students into the university, recently announced it was seeking a second round of new applications from Syrian students. In the interim, “what we concluded was, we go forward,” said Bruce Usher, a professor at Columbia Business School who worked on creating the scholarship program. Citizens of those countries, except Venezuela, are generally barred from getting visas that would allow them to come here permanently as immigrants. The school gave scholarships, which include free tuition and housing, to four Syrian students in the program’s first year and hopes for a similar number in the next round. Columbia is part of a consortium of several dozen U.S. schools looking to help Syrians displaced by war with scholarships or other financial aid.

Source: National Post April 15, 2018 16:11 UTC