Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Chinese Students Overcome Overseas Obstacles

Chinese fervor for American education is growing rapidly.

In the past year, the number of Chinese undergraduate and graduate students at Georgetown has jumped 35 percent to a new high of 342.

Coming from a country where education is highly prized, many students hope a Georgetown degree will gave them an edge in the competitive Chinese economy.

“There is definitely this talk in China that American education is better than Chinese education,” said Yongle Xue (COL ’14), who graduated from a Chinese high school.

“If you graduate from an American university, especially a prestigious American university, you will have more job opportunities.”

But for these students, the road to the Hilltop and their time on campus are strewn with unique difficulties. Whether they are struggling with immigration concerns or navigating a new social scene, these students face challenges that are both strikingly familiar and utterly foreign.

 

GETTING IN

In the last five years, the number of Chinese students applying to Georgetown as undergraduates has jumped from fewer than 100 in 2006 to more than 350 in the admissions cycle for the Class of 2015, according to James Colman, senior associate director at the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

In recent years, admission rates for students applying from Chinese high schools have ranged from the single digits to 20 percent, Colman said. But the overall trend is towards increasingly competitive rates as the applicant pool expands while the number of spots for Chinese applicants remains roughly the same.

“Although the number of applicants from China continues to grow, we are not seeking to change the mix of students admitted and enrolling at Georgetown,” he wrote in an email.

Language difficulties can be a major barrier to Georgetown hopefuls applying from high schools in China, who often have to compete with peers who attended English-language schools in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

“For those whose English language skills are sufficiently strong, I suspect that the admit rate has not changed dramatically,” Colman wrote. “The larger number of applicants coming from China often do not yet have the language skills needed to thrive at Georgetown. This may change over time, but there remains much headway to be made in English language instruction on the mainland.”

In addition to language issues, the idiosyncrasies of the application process may also present challenges.

The application’s personal statement can be difficult for Chinese students who may never have written such essays in school.

“Writing the essay is difficult because it’s different from the way we are used to writing,” Xue said.

Diana Bao (SFS ’15) re-wrote her statement seven or eight times before she felt comfortable submitting it. Bao turned to an agency for guidance in the application and essay-writing process.

“The agent that helped me is mostly like a college counselor at a U.S. high school,” she said.

But Xue said that for other students, there is a stigma associated with using outside resources to get help with applications.

“I don’t want other people to control my decisions,” she said. “Students who do their applications themselves don’t like those agencies.”

Applying to Georgetown from overseas poses logistical challenges, as well.

Letters take about two extra weeks to go through the international postal system, so even after Xue had been notified by schools via email, she was still waiting to hear whether she was accepted to Georgetown.

When her acceptance letter finally arrived, Bao wrote on the Chinese equivalent of Facebook, “I feel closer to my dreams.”

 

FINDING THEIR WAY

Accepted Chinese students lack many of the resources Americans take for granted. They can’t log on to their class Facebook page to connect with peers before the year begins, for example, because the social networking site is blocked by the Chinese government.

But they often have more pressing matters on their minds.

“They’re always worried about being stopped at the border and not being allowed in [to the U.S.],” said Helene Robertson, director of the International Scholars Division at the Office of International Programs. “Immigration status is a huge concern.”

Though this issue is beyond the scope of what the typical Georgetown student deals with, other challenges facing Chinese students are more familiar.

Many applicants struggle to pay Georgetown’s tuition, especially because the university does not provide substantial financial aid to international students.

According to Xue, many Chinese parents will spend a great deal of their savings to allow their children to come to America.

“Most Chinese parents are willing to give everything to their children,” Xue said. “But then you still have the psychological stress that you’re taking their money. It’s very unsettling.”

Bao had a similar experience. When another university offered her money, she almost gave up on her dream of going to Georgetown.

“[Financial issues] are the biggest thing for me and my family,” she said.

Students continue to struggle with finances even after they’ve made the decision to attend Georgetown.

“I know of some Chinese students who live multiple people to an apartment,” Robertson said. “It used to be they really struggled with the cost of living [in D.C.]”

Some Chinese students seek employment in the United States to ease the financial burden.

According to Robertson, a number of scholarship programs created by the Chinese government in recent years can help alleviate students’ financial concerns, and may help explain the recent enrollment spike.

“There is a huge official push to create partnerships with American universities,” she said.

MAKING A HOME ON THE HILLTOP

Once students arrive at Georgetown, the university provides a number of resources to help international students, including international pre-orientation and global living communities.

“We try to match them up with international ambassadors [and] that has become one of the best things that we offer,” Robertson said. “Even before they come here they have a chance to connect.”

Xue said these programs make a difference.

“The OIP definitely provides a lot of help,” she said. “They introduced us to American life and … resources on campus that we can use.”

Given that the number of Chinese students studying at Georgetown is larger than ever, the OIP is also considering developing a program to meet their specific needs, according to Robertson.

“It’s something that different offices on campus have started talking about to see what challenges we’re facing and how we can best help some students…fit more smoothly into the GU community,” she said.

But Robertson is concerned that many Chinese students don’t take advantage of the resources the university already offers.

“When they run into difficulty they don’t reach out for help,” she said.

Roberston also hoped that additional programs could help Chinese students adjust to the American style of teaching — a hard transition for some students.

“The way of education is really different,” Bao said, recalling how difficult it was to transition to Georgetown from Chinese classrooms, where students are not expected to voice their opinions.

“One reason more kids apply to study abroad … is because we don’t like the Chinese education,” she said. “But suddenly, when you are encouraged to talk, you don’t know what to say.”

The altered expectations can be difficult for many.

“Because participation counted in the grade, I had to raise my hand and talk. So for my English class, I always had my hand up and I just didn’t know what to say, but I knew I had to talk or I [would] have a bad grade,” Xue said.

Chinese students also face considerable challenges in adjusting to social differences across the cultures. While some mix easily with American students, other Chinese students find it easier to befriend others from China.

“There are a lot of cultural differences that need to be unpacked,” Robertson said.

“It’s easier for us to make friends with American students who are interested in Chinese culture,” Xue said. “Some of my best American friends speak fluent Chinese or are really into Chinese culture.”

Bao agreed.

“It is natural for us to have closer Chinese friends. We are from the same background. We can easily makes jokes to each other that nobody else understands,” she said.

But Robertson expressed concern about this phenomenon.

“They are an amazingly supportive community. They take care of each other … which is a way of finding a bit of home here, but it also keeps them from interacting with others.”

Yet in many ways, Chinese students face the same obstacles as their American peers.

“They struggle with the same things any Georgetown student struggles with,” Robertson said. “They’re a long way from home. They have the expectations of their families.”

 

Hoya Staff Writer Sarah Kaplan contributed to this report.

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