Foreign students, particularly from Asia, are drawn to the system to attain an education from one of the top public-supported universities in the world.
A shining example of this is Radhika Kannan, who was named Cal's top graduating senior. She is this year's winner of the UC Berkeley University Medalist. There's a great story about the Mumbai-born Kannan written by Yasmin Anwar of Cal's media relations.
As this year’s recipient the University Medal, Kannan will address thousands of her peers on Saturday, May 16, at commencement ceremonies. Her speech, she says, will touch on the unpredictability of life, a topic close to her heart, whose mother died during Kannan's junior year.
“As a Cal grad, you really want to be prepared, but sometimes you just can’t be,” Kannan told the writer.
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| Cal's top senior, Radhika Kannan |
Cal still is one of the top educational destinations for international students - especially from Asia - despite all the budget cuts the university has had to endure in recent years.
During the dark days of the Great Recession, the U.S. was still the educational mecca for foreign students. According to a survey by the Institute of International Education, of the top five campuses for international students, two are public universities: the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, at No. 3. and Purdue, at No. 5. The No. 1 school is New York University with 11,100 foreign students, followed by the University of Southern California, with 10,900 students, according to the report. Columbia ranks No. 4. UCLA came in 6th and Cal, 18th.
Among the states, California had the most international students followed by New York and Texas.
Contrary to critics' claims of too many international students, they only make up 4 percent of America's undergraduate and graduate population.
Years of shrinking state budgets have forced the UC system to rely less on tax revenue and more on tuition. The system began aggressively increasing the numbers of non-California undergraduates six years ago to offset reductions in state support and a freeze on in-state tuition. Out of necessity, UC began mimicking the economic strategy employed by private schools.
A story by the San Jose Mercury News last year indicated that the UC system enrolled about 700 more California freshmen in 2013 than in 2009, a 2 percent increase; and nearly 5,000 more freshmen from other states and countries — a 273 percent increase.
During the dark days of the Great Recession, the U.S. was still the educational mecca for foreign students. According to a survey by the Institute of International Education, of the top five campuses for international students, two are public universities: the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, at No. 3. and Purdue, at No. 5. The No. 1 school is New York University with 11,100 foreign students, followed by the University of Southern California, with 10,900 students, according to the report. Columbia ranks No. 4. UCLA came in 6th and Cal, 18th.
Among the states, California had the most international students followed by New York and Texas.
Contrary to critics' claims of too many international students, they only make up 4 percent of America's undergraduate and graduate population.
Years of shrinking state budgets have forced the UC system to rely less on tax revenue and more on tuition. The system began aggressively increasing the numbers of non-California undergraduates six years ago to offset reductions in state support and a freeze on in-state tuition. Out of necessity, UC began mimicking the economic strategy employed by private schools.
A story by the San Jose Mercury News last year indicated that the UC system enrolled about 700 more California freshmen in 2013 than in 2009, a 2 percent increase; and nearly 5,000 more freshmen from other states and countries — a 273 percent increase.
Despite stories about the purported death of California's vaunted higher education system, the nine-campuses is still proving to be a favorite destination for college students. In 2014, an unprecedented 20 percent of the freshman class across UC in 2014 was from outside California, including states like Washington and Texas and foreign countries such as India and China.
The additional $23,000 in tuition paid by out-of-state students, provides UC with an estimated $400 million in extra revenue that university officials say helps support higher education in the state.
Although UC officials insist that Californians were not losing slots to higher-paying non-residents, the rising number of foreign students has become a hot-button political issue. Many Californian parents and legislators believe this enrollment policy hurts local residents' chances of getting accepted.
UC Berkeley video by Phil Ebiner
"I also appreciate the concern about the level of non-resident student enrollment," Napolitano said. "As you know, non-resident enrollment — and the additional tuition those students pay — allow us to enroll more in-state students."
According to a research published by World Education News & Review, "the three US states that attract the highest absolute number of international students – California, New York and Texas – on average netted $31,000 per international student enrolled at an institution of higher education during the 2013-14 academic year. The total net income from international students in the state of California amounted to $4 billion, around $3.3 billion in New York and nearly $1.5 billion in Texas."
The chief beneficiaries of the UC system's stellar international reputation and its ability to attract the best and brightest in the world may be the nearby high tech and biotech industries. As U.S. firms find themselves competing on a global scale, international students provide a pool of workers who can smooth the industries' foray onto foreign shores while the U.S. strengthens its own educational standards and expectations.
An earlier California Senate report stated that "38 percent of international students stay and work in California after graduation, the importance of these students for innovative California companies cannot be over-emphasized. Even those international graduate students who return to their home countries provide a significant means of outreach and produce a highly desirable global presence for the University of California. Moreover, the presence of international graduate students adds a dimension of diversity to UC’s teaching endeavors that spans the hard sciences to the liberal arts."
Foreign students often find that they prefer to remain in the U.S. after their studies.
An earlier California Senate report stated that "38 percent of international students stay and work in California after graduation, the importance of these students for innovative California companies cannot be over-emphasized. Even those international graduate students who return to their home countries provide a significant means of outreach and produce a highly desirable global presence for the University of California. Moreover, the presence of international graduate students adds a dimension of diversity to UC’s teaching endeavors that spans the hard sciences to the liberal arts."
Students like Kannan, use their education and exposure to new ideas and perspectives to make the world a better a better place. In that way, she's your typical Cal graduate, combining intelligence and altruism.
She'll be at Oxford next year for her graduate studies but for now, Kannan's main concern is the speech she'll be making next week to her fellow graduates about preparing for the unexpected. "We're Golden Bears," she said. "We survive."
She'll be at Oxford next year for her graduate studies but for now, Kannan's main concern is the speech she'll be making next week to her fellow graduates about preparing for the unexpected. "We're Golden Bears," she said. "We survive."
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