Saint Joseph's aims to attract more international students

Among Philadelphia colleges, Saint Joseph's University trails in its percentage of international students.

Eighteen percent of University of Pennsylvania's student body is international students. Temple University has 5.4 percent; Villanova has 6 percent; Haverford College has 7 percent; and Drexel has 8 percent.

According to the university fact book, Saint Joseph's University had only 1.4 percent international students in the traditional undergraduate program for the 2007-08 academic year.

"We are not satisfied with the number of international students at St. Joe's," said Maureen B. Mathis, executive director of Undergraduate Admissions and Marketing. "We are still learning, and looking forward to having more international students."

The latest statistics from "Open Doors," Institution of International Education in New York, shows that international students enrolled in U.S. Colleges has increased by three percent. The total number of international students in the U.S. is 623,805 students.

However, this statistic is not reflected on Hawk Hill. From 1999 to 2007, the ratio of international students at St. Joe's has not changed at all-the ratio has averaged 1.02 percent for the last seven years. Saint Joseph's has 62 international students in the traditional undergraduate program this year.

What kinds of reasons deter international students from Saint Joseph's University? The tuition, SAT scores, or financial affidavits-where international students must prove their financial background to attend schools in the U.S.

Mathis said the biggest obstacle is "due to cost". The cost of traveling to foreign countries to engage international students hampered the admission office's recruiting services.

"I have been to Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Japan in the last two years," said Rachel Johnson, assistant director of the International Admissions Office. "But, we are still in the middle of searching for more international students."

Johnson went to colleges and high schools in these countries and also to college fairs to promote Saint Joseph's.

"I talked to the students and counselors at the schools to bring more international students," she said. "This year, we made a new catalog just for international students."

Other local colleges are having more success in recruiting and making international students feel welcomed.

Stephen McWilliams, international student coordinator from Villanova University, said the school has several organizations for international students such as those from India, China, Muslim countries, Samoans, and Asians Students.

Also, admission officers at Haverford embarked on more aggressive tactics in order to recruit international students.

"Our primary means of recruiting international students is the trips Haverford Admissions officers take each fall," said Elizabeth Geiger Pandian, associate director of Admission. "They visit local schools as well as American and International schools. Also we occasionally receive applications from Institute of International Education."

The admission officers at Haverford have been to France, England, India, China, South Korea, and Hong Kong in this fall.

Pandian believes that international students are an important part of having a diversity of thought and experience.

"The college students in the U.S. need to have many opportunities to bridge the gap between foreign students," she said.

The president of the International Student Association at Haverford College, sophomore Thao Linh, has planned several major events for the international students.

The ISA at Haverford annually hosts an event called "Tasty Bite" to share various foods with other students. Also, the ISA provides an interesting gift to international students during Parents' Weekend, when they have nowhere to go.

"Our care packages this year include candies, a figurine, and cough drops," she said. "The package's value is not much, but it's just a way to show them that someone cares about them."

Some faculty and students at St. Joe's want to meet more international students.

Rajneesh Sharma Ph.D., assistant professor of Finance, said he has "very few" international students in his introductory-level Finance class.

Sharma thought that it would be beneficial to both American and international students to broaden their perspectives.

"Ethics is a very important component in Finance," he said. "Bringing more cultural differences and perspectives will be helpful to understand and prevent unethical issues."

Some international students shared the same ideas with the Sharma.

Qiujing Zhang, '11, said she felt that the school needs more international students to provide opportunities for her American friends.

"I would say it's not easy to make friends with American students," she said. "They're more likely to stay in their own circle. So, I spend most of the time with my Chinese friends."

Zhang might not feel lonely anymore on campus-the university is striving to grow the percentage of international students.

"We should have more diversified groups at the school," Mathis said. "Also, support of current international students is crucial. They are one of the greatest benefits to us. A more diversified community is what we want from the university."