The cost for Yue Yuan to come to college in the U.S. has increased ever since her sister and cousin came to the U.S. for college, but her parents knew the value of an education at MSU could result in a better life.
The economy in the U.S is making it a struggle for some parents to pay for their children to attend college. International parents also hold the financial burden of sending their child to another country.
“It took a lot for my parents to send me to MSU,” said Yuan, a finance freshman. “They wanted me to come here because the Chinese education is not very good and they know the U.S. will give me a better education.”
Peter Briggs, director of the Office of International Students and Scholars, or OISS, said there is not a big difference in the financial ties between out-of-state students and international students, and people should assume international parents and students can handle paying tuition better.
“There are a lot of international middle-class families dealing with a lot of sacrifice to send their child here to MSU,” Briggs said. “It is wrong to assume every international student is wealthy because they do all they can to get an education in the U.S.”
Guofang Li, associate professor of second language education and researcher in the Asian Pacific American Studies Program, has given presentations about Chinese students’ former education and financial backgrounds.
“I gave a few presentations about Chinese parents and Chinese undergraduate students in the summer of 2012 to the faculty in the development office for MSU,” Li said. “I wanted to show that a majority of international students come from middle-class families, and there is an influx of undergraduate Chinese and international students at MSU.”
Li said she wanted to show local communities and MSU faculty that most international students come from regular schools and families with a normal salary.
OISS noticed the influx of international undergraduates and is working to provide more financial support, possibly in the form of a work-study program.
“Education is the key to the future and to escape physical labor,” Briggs said. “International parents send their kids to MSU because they want them to have a better life than they had — this is a long-term view for any parent.”
Yuan knows that her family is able to handle the financial situation to send her to MSU, but she feels the need to get high grades for her parents.
“Doing good in school is … the best way to repay my parents.” Yuan said.
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