International Influx: A Closer Look into the Increased International Student Population at the University of Minnesota By Kelsey Lund

Baogang, an international student from China studying at the University of Minnesota, said Chinese students who stay in their home country for college are wasting their time. They are not really learning stuff from the university, Baogang said. Indeed, according to survey results, American schools may offer more for Asian international students than their home universities. Baogang and other Asian international students are flocking to the University of Minnesota in record numbers as an alternative to studying in their home countries. The 2009-10 annual statistical report from International Student and Scholar Services reported that the universitys international student population from Asia nearly doubled from the previous year, rising from 682 to 1,214 undergraduate students. Of these international students from Asia, more than eight out of every ten were Chinese. Matthew, the international recruitment coordinator for the university, said the overwhelming increase in the Asian international student population is complex with many contributing factors. Recruiting is one factor, he said. The university began recruiting abroad more aggressively in 2005 after heightened security from Sept. 11 drastically cut the international student population. Today the university employs a full-time manager in Beijing, Matthew said. Some of our strongest ties are to some of the Chinese students, universities and institutions. One of our very first international students in around 1914 was from China, Matthew said. Matthew said recruiting was not the only force feeding into the increase of Asian international students. Asian countries were also nurturing growing economic power. The middle class in China in particular has been growing quickly. More Chinese families can now afford to send their children to school in the U.S., said Michael, a junior from China at the University of Minnesota. The families got wealthier, Michael said. The parents want their child to have a better education. Mary, a 22-year-old American student at the University of Minnesota, studied abroad at Nankai University in China for a year to complete her global studies major and learn Chinese. Mary helped some of her Chinese friends at Nankai University apply for colleges in the U.S. and noticed that students received pressure from their families to study in America. There is basically one child per family. So the grandparents, the parents, are all depending on this one kid. Its a lot of pressure, Mary said. The parents are willing to push their kid into something that they think is good. In Asia, many people think the American education system is better than the education system in China,

Baogang said. The universities in China are super lousy, Baogang said. There are not lots of good professors, and there are too many Chinese students in the class. It is also difficult to get accepted into the top Chinese universities. Chinese students must take rigorous entrance examinations offered once a year to apply for only a few universities, Michael said. We dont apply to whatever we wantwe can only apply to three. So if I dont get into the one I most want to, then for me its a waste of time, Michael said. The allure of a Western degree was another reason students chose to make the trek across countries and oceans to study. A U.S. education is regarded highly by Chinese employers, Baogang said. If I plan to go back to China in the future, people will value my work here in the U.S. They will give me a higher starting salary, Baogang said. The combination of economics and perceived better education could explain why the university report showed that out of all the countries sending students to the University of Minnesota, China sent the most international students in the 2009-10 school year. Out of the total international undergraduate student population at the university, 40 percent was Chinese. International students at the University of Minnesota do not only benefit from studying in the U.S., but they also transfer value to the institution itself, Kay, the director of International Student and Scholar Services, said in a phone interview. International students bring different experiences and ideas into the classroom, creating a more diverse learning experience for all students that the university can advertise to prospective students, Kay said. The university needs more international students to prepare students for their futures in an increasing globalized world, Kay said. Its importantthat there is a high number of perspectives and ideas that come into the classroom that can be discussed and worked out and so forth, Kay said. The importance of international study for American and Asian international students has been the focus of attention from the White House recently. In January, first lady Michelle Obama stressed the importance of American students studying abroad in China and vice versa. For the U.S. and China, the defining challenges of our time are shared challenges, Obama said in a speech in Washington D.C. to students at Howard University. The only way forward, the only way to solve these problems, is by working together. Thats why it is so important for more of our young people to live and study in each others countries. Studying at the University of Minnesota, however, has its downfalls at times for international students.

Its too big. Sometimes its good but sometimes its too big, which means its hard to make friends, said Mengyao, a senior Chinese international student studying agriculture. Baogang, who thought Chinese students who did not study elsewhere were wasting their time, agreed that studying at the University of Minnesota was not without its difficulties. The hardest part about being an international student for him, Baogang said, was food. I dont like American food, Baogang said, until the first time I found Chipotle.