<p>First, let me say that I'm not trying to start WW III. I remember innocently asking a question about sports as an EC, and people went ballistic on each other. I'm not asking whether this is a good idea or a bad idea, just for colleges' philosophy on the issue.</p>
<p>OK, so my questions are: Why do U.S. colleges spend money on educating students who aren't American? Trying to export an American ideal? </p>
<p>I ask because I was on a particular college's forum an international student asked others to chance her. She looked like a very strong candidate, but all the responses indicated that the fact that she needed aid would hurt her. I had never thought about aid to internationals before as I've always heard people talking about taking intl's because they pay full freight. However, as I type this, I'm remembering Barack Obama's dad rcv'd aid to attend the University of Hawaii.</p>
<p>So, when I asked the sports question the response I got was that athletes were attractive to colleges because of the ideal of a sound mind and sound body (and there was a lot of chatter that was beside the point). What is the bumper sticker response to the question of why American colleges feel it's important to spend money educating non-Americans?</p>
<p>On the undergrad level, I can think of two:
For the diversity the student will bring to the college;
For the exposure the school gets in the country of origin of the student (maybe some full paying students will apply)</p>
<p>mominva, I thought of the diversity angle. On the second thought: I wonder how many people who get educated in the States end up back in their home countries and how many stay here. Could be part of it.</p>
<p>I think mostly private colleges offer aid to internationals, so they aren’t taking any money from Americans who pay taxes. (spots in the schools, sure.)
I think it’s diversity and that many international students are smart and well-rounded and add things to the campus. Different viewpoints, if nothing else.
Most other countries in the world allow international students in their university system. Americans go to France, Chinese to England, Swedes to Germany, Romanians to Australia, etc. We have such a globalized world today that educational exchange is important.</p>
<p>Besides diversity, the best and brightest minds might often lie outside the United States - especially for graduate-level science and engineering programs. To sustain top notch graduate programs, cutting-edge research and stay in the game with everyone else, they often have no choice but to attract top students from outside the United States.</p>
<p>Because We now live in a global economy and understanding different cultures benefits our kids. If the network gained at schools didn’t include the international movers and shakers these days, they’d be useless. This turned out to be true of my business school class almost 30 years ago. Today top B schools are approaching being half internationals.</p>
<p>On the staying here front, it’s very hard for most. Some engineers can get temp visas to work for one company, there are exceptions in academia but most go home, not by choice in many cases.</p>
<p>So, the consensus would be that it benefits the college and its student, rather than an altruistic move to give the kid from a perhaps underprivileged country a greater chance at success. OK.</p>
<p>One comment about the aid offered, yes, universities all over the world accept Americans, but rare is the international school that gives any aid- need based or merit.<br>
Yes, there are awards like the Marshall or Rhodes for a few amazing kids, but your typical BWRK does not get anything and often pays an extra international fee.</p>
<p>To add insult to injury, if you are doing a PhD at an American university it is likely fully funded- no tuition, health coverage, and a cost of living stipend. You must usually TA/RA in exchange for a portion of it. Doesn’t matter which country you are from.</p>
<p>My DD is looking at a PhD and many experts in her tiny little sub-field are abroad where unless she wins a very competitive couple of awards, she would have no funding whatsoever and pay an international up charge.</p>
<p>I wish other countries reciprocated on the PhD funding…in some fields Canada seems to, but that is the only one we have seen of the commonwealth nations.</p>
<p>The main reason that most US universities do typically NOT fund that many international students is that a lot of their normal financial aid comes from government sources (pell grants, etc.) that cannot be given to non-citizens.</p>
<p>For many universities, funding a few international students is indeed a diversity thing.</p>
<p>But for the most elite universities, like Yale, they really see themselves as a “world university” more than an “American university” and as a result attempt to recruit the best students from around the world, not just the United States, regardless of financial status. Their commitment to being need-blind and meeting full need is a global commitment, not just a US one.</p>
<p>Colleges give price discounts to international students for the same reason they discount the price to American students: to fill their seats with a student body that has the desired mix of students and/or the optimum revenue stream.</p>
<p>Specifically, colleges give selective price discounts to attract more students from a particular group than they might otherwise be able to attract (aid to internationals to attract foreign students, merit aid discounts to attract wealthy students with an ability to pay, need-blind to increase diversity).</p>
<p>In many cases, colleges are trying to enroll international students to bolster participation in the sciences, academic-oriented students such as future PhDs, and/or to raise SAT scores. Internationals are sometimes the strongest academic students at a college, offsetting some less academically-stellar recruited athletes or development admits.</p>