While high school students in the U.S. attended college fairs and opened letters from interested universities, Winnie Huang, now a psychology senior, was listening to presentations about U.S. colleges from across the globe in China when she did her college hunt.
Huang remembers her high school teacher telling her about MSU. A presentation she saw from an MSU representative sealed the deal.
Presentations are one of many avenues university admissions use to help bring foreign students to MSU.
“I talked to some of the other students, (and) they have tons of information to come (to MSU) before they apply or come to America,” Huang said. “I think that’s really helpful — actually coming to China.”
In order to promote the Spartan experience, Associate Director for International Admissions Patty Croom said the university relies on physical and written communication with students, as well as word-of-mouth advertising to promote MSU abroad.
MSU also receives help from agencies stationed in other countries, which provide information for prospective students and guide them through the sometimes stressful process of applying for college in the U.S.
Huang experienced this stress when applying to MSU. She had to take an English language test and adjust her application for an entirely new grading system in the U.S. Huang was one of thousands of students who seek the guidance from a third party agency specializing in U.S. universities.
Despite the hurdles, 13.5 percent of MSU’s total enrollment consists of students from other countries.
During the fall semester of 2012, the College of Engineering and the Eli Broad College of Business had 1,018 and 2,111 international students respectively, according to the Office of International Students and Scholars 2012 Stats report.
Although most students come to MSU to fulfill their academic goals, some find new interests along the way.
When graduate student Bharathi Murali first thought about studying in America while she was pursuing her undergraduate degree in India, she was aware of the academic opportunities available to her in East Lansing.
What she wasn’t aware of was the culture she would absorb from the college-town atmosphere that surrounds her — the fact that it’s an ideal environment for her to earn her engineering degree was the last piece of the puzzle.
“I’ve been to a couple of tailgates — I love tailgating,” Murali said. “Since it’s a college town, (the) entire essence of grad school abroad (is) fulfilled here.”
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
