http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110212_us_colleges_and_chinese_students_courting_each_other.html
Tangentially related to Melissa’s post, this article also pertains to admission criteria issues. However, I also raise issues of institutional responsibility to its students well-being. Lets figure out how to provide a college education to 1) ALL US kids and 2) that is equally supportive ACROSS demographics before we accept to many international students...
US colleges are courting Chinese students and the booming Chinese economy is allowing for an increase in Chinese students applying to US colleges.
Issues of admissions criteria (i.e., US admissions rubric not applying to Chinese students, having Chinese teachers write their student’s admission essays in English, etc.) as well as ‘fit’ between student and institution are discussed.
Do US colleges just want the international tuition revenue and/or statistics to demonstrate they have a diverse student body? But, at what cost? Students from China have limited knowledge about the college lifestyle - regarding the focus of this article - in central Iowa…
What measures do institutions eager to accept Chinese students take to ensure a smooth and productive undergraduate career? Is the university responsible to provide student programming that can support the influx of international students they are attracting? Certainly, if large universities struggle to provide for their students, smaller, elite schools will be even more burdened to develop safe places, services and a sense of community for their international students.
I'm not sure I understand the objection to Grinnell admitting 15 students of the "more than 200 applicants" from China. Also, in my experience, international students' command of the English language is not judged by the Admission essay - which can and often is written or edited by others. (BTW - That is also the case with native students.) International students are usually required to meet a minimum score on the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language). TOEFL measures a student's competency in writing, speaking and comprehension of the English Language.
ReplyDeleteInteresting article, and I think it is true for many institutions. As Dena mentioned, most institutions do not hold too much weight on the essay (example...my youngest sister was applying to numerous institutions, and forgot to change the first line on her essay that she sent to Purdue...stating 'I am very interested in the University of Illinois' :) she got into Purdue...although maybe they saw it as a challenge, if they read it). But they can make a difference, but there is alway that question of validity. It is good that there are institutional relationships being built in order to cut through some of the essays in order to figure out if they are just for show, or represent the student. I think that admissions for international students would be one of the most difficult due to the similarity of test scores, you may have to look outside the box as this article states...volunteer experiences and such.
ReplyDeleteInternational students add a valuable diversity to campus. I think that many campuses, once they admit students, try to engage these students in the atmosphere so they can be part of this "college way" that is part of the experience, but it is difficult to engaged some international students due to the differences in culture and many times strict adhearance to academic standing.
Just to clarify, my comment is NOT that the institution doesn't give weight to the essay. Rather, I was pointing out that the essay is not relied upon to evaluate an international student's command of the English language. That is established by TOEFL scores.
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