The number of international students in the United States rises as more students choose the U.S. as the place they want to broaden their experience and continue their education.
Nearly 900,000 international students come every year, the United States is now the most popular country for international students, according to The Wall Street Journal.
While there are a variety of reasons for why students come to the United States, students cited five primary reasons for coming to the United States to study:
- Academic Excellence
- Variety of Educational Opportunities
- Flexibility
- Support Services for International Students
- Campus Life Experience
The United States has one of the world’s finest university systems, with outstanding programs in all fields, according to the Migration Policy Institute.
At the undergraduate level, there are excellent programs that exist in traditional disciplines, students also have the opportunity to work directly with some of the finest minds in their field of study, with the chance to become involved with exclusive research and educational opportunities. U.S. degrees are recognized throughout the world for their excellence.
“The reason I picked the U.S to complete my international study was simply because of the level of intellectual recognition it has all over the world academically, The reason I picked UTEP specifically is because they have one of the strongest bilingual programs of all U.S universities,” said Claudia Cantu, a Matamoros-based student attending UTEP, majoring in education.
The United States is home to several thousand colleges and universities, and has something for everyone. No matter what you plan on studying, you will have a wide variety of programs in your particular field from which to choose.
The variety of fields available to students allows them to explore a number of fields for the future.
“When my step-father said we were moving to El Paso for a year, I thought it was great start because I had just graduated high school back home in Belgium and coming here i could really see and try different classes out that had to do with what I’m thinking of majoring in back home which is video and film production,” said Rowan Sunneville, an international student from the Netherlands.
Among the advantages to studying in the United States is that students are able to tailor coursework to fit your specific academic goals, needs and interests.
“Coming to a university in the U.S really had its advantages because I got to tailor my schedule to fit my needs and day, it really made a difference because having the schedule that I wanted really left time for me to explore the city and also gave me a chance to visit California for two weeks, and if I were to be back home it would of been harder for me because schedules aren’t that flexible,” said Michael Boycott, an international student from New Zealand.
The mission of UTEP’s international student office is to assist students and there is often a range of student services that they provide.
For example an orientation is scheduled for each international student to help answer questions they might have regarding visa status, financial situation, housing, employment possibilities, health concerns and more. If the student chooses to complete their degree in the United States, the office often provides resume and employment assistance as graduation nears and help as the student makes the transition into academic and cultural life in the United States.
“It was great when I arrived and I didn’t struggle to find my classes or to not be informed about how UTEP worked,” Sonneville said, “I also felt very comfortable coming in to such a big university thanks to the international office they really made this transition easy.”
When studying in the U.S international students are making a choice to broaden not only their educational opportunities, but their cultural experience as well, most universities offer a variety of student clubs and organizations to match the wide array of student interests.
“I love my social life here at UTEP, I have found a lot of great groups to be apart of and I’ve met a whole bunch of great individuals,” Cantu said, “My greatest time so far is being part of the UTEP Golddiggers, i love performing for the thousands of fans at all the school events”.