Part 4
More impact of the internet on collegiate ‘globalization’ . . .
The impact of the internet doesn’t stop with the Common App. It’s at least a part of several other factors that have recently boosted college applications. The rise of the information age, the increasing maturity of the web and the fall of closed communist societies have all contributed to making the world a much smaller sphere. Today’s high school students are the first generation to experience this new international community as college applicants.
The “globalization” of the admissions process has meant that the number of international students applying and being accepted at America’s top colleges has increased dramatically. While the numbers are hardly “dizzying” they are significant. Where international students might have constituted 2% of a college’s freshman class just a decade ago, that number might be 6% or even 10% today. Immediately following the tragedy of 9/11 there was a brief stutter step in the surge of international students coming to America. The dip was primarily due to difficulties in obtaining student visas as security scrutiny was tightened but that process has been refined and the trend continues. Again, this isn’t a problem to be corrected.
The rise of international students on American campuses is no accident. While the new sense of a global community made it possible, the trend was targeted, developed and diligently pursued by most admissions offices. It turns out that nearly all of the international students in America receive little or no financial aid from the school they attend. Many are affluent and others receive some alternative aid from their own government or corporate sponsor. To the college these students are essentially “free” if accepted. In an age of stringent campus budgets and strict attention to the bottom line, only a handful of colleges can afford to overlook this appealing feature.
Fiscal concerns aside, it should be noted that the growth of an international student presence in American classrooms is a positive trend. Few would contest the fact that it improves the social and educational experience on college campuses around the country. But, today’s high school students need to be aware that an increasing number of international students on a college campus means a decreasing number of classroom spaces available for domestic applicants.
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