Is Money What’s Keeping International Students From Getting Better Education?

By Jaclyn Lim

Gathered in the library with a few of his friends, a De Anza international student is busy studying for one of his classes.

George Lukman, 19, engineering major, is an international student currently enrolled in four classes at De Anza and is also in the running to be vice president of the De Anza Associated Student Body (DASB).

Lukman is one out of more than 1,900 international students who pay the international tuition fee, according to De Anza International Student Program. International students are not eligible to gaining access to financial aid.

A recent Reuters article says that international students have become an important funding factor for American colleges.

According to the Institute of International Education, there is a decline of 6.6 percent of new enrollment in 2017 to 2018 resulting in a 3.3 percent decrease in international students.

“People wouldn’t receive financial aid because you’ve come all the way here to pay for your flight accommodations,” Lukman said.

“However, all families are born unequal,” he said. “And therefore if a person is actually trying to apply for financial aid, the school actually has to check if the student needs it.”

Rachel Su, 20, a kinesiology major, said she believes international students, as well as out-of-state students, should not have to pay more than citizens for college tuition fee.

Su said she knows that a lot universities take advantage of the international tuition fee costs by accepting more international or out-of-state students rather than accepting people in state so they can get more money.

“It’s kind of like using people, when it’s already really expensive to live here, not just go to school,” Su said.

Su said based on her experience when she was studying at the University of Washington that she have to pay around $50,000 a year with no access to financial aid since she was a California resident.

Rohan Palla, a broadcast editor of PLD Lamplighter, a school newspaper for Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Lexington, KY said in his article that international students have continuously proven to be hardworking and contributing students at colleges and universities however, the government only funds students based on their income regardless of their contribution.

Chantelle Reyes, 20, a criminal justice major, said international student should not be paying more and if anything they should be paying the same.

“All that money doesn’t just go to tuition for school,” Reyes said. “It should go for food, it should go for housing, depending on how long they stay here.”

Reyes said she believes that international students still deserve to apply for financial aid because international students are technically surviving on their own when they are living here.

“We really need to make sure that everyone is accounted for and helped out,” Reyes said.

Percival Amayun, 19, an English major, said he believes that the government gives the people living over here more advantage by giving them a lesser fee to pay than international students.

“International students, yes, they’re out of the United States, but they are getting the education that America has to offer, they’re taking the opportunity,” Amayun said. Amayun said he believes all students who choose to go to college should be able to get financial aid because they are here for one reason, which is education.

Miguel Lopez, 19, real estate major, said he believes that the U.S needs more international students to come over here because there is so much more minds that can contribute to making the U.S better.

“There are so many other great minds out there in other countries,” Lopez said. “I have family back home that wouldn’t be able to be given this opportunity because of the financial situation that they are currently in.”

Above is the statistics showing the decrease in enrollment of international students through Fall and Winter quarter for the year 2016, 2017 and 2018.