“I was shy, not very talkative,” Wu told them. “And then you see how I am talking right now? You can’t get me to shut up. I hope that this happens to you, too.”
These students are joining the fast-growing international population at U.S. colleges. About 690,000 foreign students attended in the 2009-10 school year, up 26 percent from a decade ago. In the same time, the total at the University of Virginia rose 44 percent.
China is the biggest supplier of foreign students, providing 18 percent of the nationwide total, according to the Institute of International Education, although India (15 percent) and South Korea (10 percent) are not far behind. This academic exchange offers U.S. universities a chance to influence a rising generation of global business and political leaders.
Driving the growth are affluent families, many from Asia, who value Western education and can afford to pay full price. U-Va. recruiters in China also find it helps to mention the school’s famous founder, Thomas Jefferson.
These Chinese students have “off-the-charts” test scores, having advanced through fierce competition in high school, said Parke Muth, U-Va.’s director of international admission.
“They crush this place,” he said.
Foreign students pay out-of-state tuition, which is $36,788 for U-Va. undergraduates this year, bringing more cash to the university at a time when state funds cover less and less of its overall budget. They don’t qualify for government aid and usually do not need financial help from universities. Nationally, public and private schools have found recruiting overseas helps their bottom line.
But U-Va. officials said the greatest value of the foreign influx comes from intellectual stimulus. A late-night dorm discussion about the Chinese government’s blockage of Facebook becomes more sophisticated when a student explains what it means to live with the ban. A history class on the Korean War gains insight when a student shares how it was taught in her high school in Seoul or Beijing.
To help the students acclimate, many universities offer mentoring, road trips, Thanksgiving celebrations and social connections with local families. And U-Va. offers a free airport shuttle bus with emcees such as Wu.
The U-Va. Express, as it is known, began five years ago at the suggestion of an alumnus in Singapore. For two days in mid-August, volunteers greeted students with granola bars, orange juice and balloons in the school colors of orange and blue at the Dulles baggage claim area. In Charlottesville, the program helps new arrivals call their parents, take tours and sample fried chicken.
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