Compared to last year, MSU welcomed 6.7 percent more international students this past fall, including a growing number of students from Brazil and Africa.
According to their annual statistical report, the office of international students and scholars saw another rise in Chinese students, which currently outshines other represented countries on campus.
Of the students at MSU, just over 15 percent are international, including undergraduate, graduate and non-degree students. Of the 7,643 on campus last fall, 4,733 are from China — about 61.9 percent.
“If you took China out of the equation, we do have a really well-rounded international student diversity,” said Elizabeth Matthews, Office of International Students and Scholars assistant director. “Visually, when you are walking around campus, and you look at the data, that skews the data and the experience quite a bit.”
There are students from 130 countries represented, she said.
Admissions Associate Director of Office of Admissions Patricia Croom said that MSU is working to recruit more international students from regions less represented on campus, such as South America and Scandinavia.
In efforts to attract these students, MSU continues to work with abroad student programs to financially support them coming to the U.S. to further their education.
Students from countries such as Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Malaysia might receive money from sponsored student programs from their countries to attend universities in the U.S., Croom said.
MSU is among six U.S. countries involved in the MasterCard foundation scholars program. A $45 million grant to MSU allowed an increase number of undergraduate and graduate students from sub-Saharan Africa to study abroad in U.S.
A fluctuating number of international students can also be caused by the U.S. dollar against other countries currencies. Cost of attendance rises every year, and currency fluctuations can make studying abroad more challenging financially.
Chinese students are heavily populating MSU’s international community because of their large economic growth, large middle class, and one child policy which allows students to have resources from multiple adults, Crooms said. In addition, education is highly valued in China, which is why parents send their children to U.S.
From MSU, only a small number of merit-based scholarships are granted, Croom said.
Although there are various factors that may influence these students to study in the U.S., MSU is working to make the transition easier, with a pre-departure orientation, which is launching this year.
This would allow these students to learn about what life will be like in the U.S. so when they arrive in East Lansing, they can focus more on the academic prepping that takes place at orientation.
“MSU has intercultural aides that has helped my transition to the American college experience in a diverse manner,” said Naina Rao, a journalism freshman from Indonesia. “With cultural events that they attend and share and with everyone smiling and being friendly helped me adapt to this environment easily.”
