With the hefty price of a plane ticket and the appeal of American life holding them back from traveling home, more international students are making the choice to stay on campus over summer vacation.

A time to travel

Director of the Office for International Students and Scholars Peter Briggs said international students choose to stay in the U.S. for a variety of reasons.

Some students may use summer vacation as an opportunity to travel to tourist spots and visit larger cities in the United States.

“There (are) a lot of things you can do (during the summer that) you don’t have a chance (to) as a student,” Briggs said.

He added by taking summer vacation to travel, students who are not as confident with their English speaking ability have the chance to improve it.

“You learn just as much on the streets and in the city as you do in the classroom,” Briggs said.

Chinese graduate student Xuan Zi said if she has time this summer, she would like to travel to Chicago.

“I prefer to stay here to experience more of American life,” Zi said.

Instead of traveling the U.S., other students stay in Michigan either to take classes or because traveling home is too much of a financial burden, Briggs said.

Financial difficulty

When a flight home is too expensive, staying in the U.S. to study or work is easier for some international students.

The price of a round-trip flight from Lansing to Beijing can cost between $1,500 and $2,000. Sometimes, it costs even more.

Even though staying in America may be easier, international students still have to find a way to support themselves either by getting a job or taking out private bank loans.

Zi said another reason she decided to stay in Michigan over the summer was because she wanted to get an internship. 

Although she was unable to accomplish this, she decided to continue working for MSU Culinary Services.

“It helps me to improve my language and get better use of the lifestyle,” Zi said.

The Office of Financial Aid does not provide assistance to international students. Many grants and scholarships are restricted to U.S. citizens with occasional exceptions made for students from Mexico or Canada.

Doctoral student Hong Lei said the process of coming back to the U.S. is another obstacle to face once he is in his home country of China.

In China, Lei said he has to apply for a visa to return. The visa application process can be very long, taking about a month, and occasionally people are denied.

“If you were to take a vacation within the U.S., there’s no issue of the visa … but if you want to take a vacation back to China and come back to the U.S., then the visa is an issue,” Lei said.

To re-enter the U.S., students need a valid visa with a signature from the Office of International Students and a valid passport with a visa stamp.

Lei said the visa costs about $100, but he stressed the biggest issue with the visa is the time it takes to apply and be approved.

Accelerating graduation

Students also use the summer break to further their studies. Some see it as an opportunity to take more classes in an attempt to graduate early or to work on research projects.

Finance sophomore Hang Lian is from China and said she made the decision to stay on campus over the summer because she wants to graduate early.

Lian also said many of her friends are still in the area, which is another reason she chose to spend her summer in Michigan.

Marketing sophomore Kam Guo is from China and said he decided to stay in Michigan over the summer so he could take classes and enjoy the quieter campus.

“All the people are going back (home), so there’s more quiet and it feels nice and peaceful,” Guo said.

He added he heard the summer weather in Michigan can be nice, which played a factor in his choice to stay and take summer courses.

Lei said he does not have the chance to take a summer vacation because he works as a research assistant and taking time to go home would mean a delay in completing his research project.

“If we ask for like half a year of vacation, then that project probably will be stopped,” Lei said.

Lei is working on his dissertation for his doctorate degree in electrical engineering and he said it is a continuous project which could take five to six years.

During the summer, Lei said he is able to devote more time to the project as opposed to during the fall and spring when other schoolwork can get in the way.

“I think that’s the major reason why we stay here, and also (my employer) wants us to stay here during the summer,” Lei said.

Although Lei said he misses home and would like to go back to China, taking too much time off is not an option.