In a typical year, more than 1 million students come from all over the world to study at US colleges and universities. They’ve never had more reasons to reconsider.
The coronavirus pandemic has brought health concerns, travel restrictions and shifting immigration rules; online classes and social distancing promise a diluted college experience at a full-strength price. Students from Asia, who make up three quarters of foreign nationals on US campuses, have yet another concern. Anti-Asian bias and hate crimes are at an all-time high.
Foreign students contributed an estimated $41 billion to the economy in the 2018-19 academic year, according to NAFSA: Association of International Educators. The intangible benefits to the US are harder to measure but no less real: By one count, more than 60 world leaders attended US schools. Still, America’s near-monopoly on elite higher education is weakening. After 12 years of steady growth, the number of international students in the US plateaued in 2019, Institute of International Education data show. Other countries including the UK, Canada and Australia are eager to attract students from overseas.
Bloomberg talked to young adults from Asian countries who changed their minds about attending school in the US this fall, even before Covid-19 clusters started breaking out on campuses from Cambridge to Chapel Hill. Most said they still plan to study abroad eventually—when the outbreak subsides, when the economy improves, when campuses reopen. But the pandemic also made them aware that their plans could change, and change again.
Eddy Lin, 23, Taipei
Deferred Master of Laws program at University of Pennsylvania
Our organization promotes young people’s participation in public policy, and most of our ambitions are law-related (Lin is founder of the Taiwan Youth Association for Democracy). I wanted to study in the US because Taiwan uses lots of legal concepts from the US, including our concept of human rights and our rules on freedom of speech and media. One of the things our NGO advocates for is lowering Taiwan’s voting age from 20 to 18, which in the US was achieved through constitutional amendment. So I aimed to build up a solid base for research.
But I decided to postpone the plan in May. Pennsylvania is close to New York, and Covid-19 cases were surging. Given how expensive health care is in the US and the dangerous virus situation, my family and I grew concerned. My friends returned from the US and told me the situation there was very serious. Taiwan has successfully contained the virus, so it’s safer and better to stay at home.
Also, it’s not cheap to study in the US There’s no point if courses are held online with limited learning experience and classroom resources. I’ve already paid a deposit of $2,750. The school said in April that can be fully refunded, but I’m not sure whether the policy will change with the Covid situation. The school also said if most classes have to be online next spring, students can continue to postpone their enrollment. So I’ll just wait and see. —As told to Cindy Wang and Raymond Wu
Clarine Lee, 19, Seoul
Deferred freshman year at Carnegie Mellon. Major: Art
I recently graduated from Northfield Mount Hermon boarding school (in Massachusetts) and came back to Seoul due to the pandemic. We had our graduation online. I’d never been to a proper graduation so I didn’t really know what I was expecting. But it was good to see all my faculty at the chapel, reading out our names and giving advice. Definitely disappointed I didn’t have a proper goodbye with my friends or anyone I met there.
I’m a more in-person, hands-on learner. I’ve never taken art online, but I think a lot of the inspiration and community lives in the studio when we’re making art with each other, and being in that environment and seeing each other and sharing our struggles. I’ve heard most online art classes give you a deadline for each art piece, then you talk together and then critique. I just felt that that was taking away the core of the experience that I wanted.
And in the back of my and my parents’ minds, there was concern that if I were in Pittsburgh, could I take care of myself and stay healthy? I initially wanted take a gap semester but I couldn’t do that. I paid the tuition, which will be applied next year.
I’ve never been to Pennsylvania. I’ve heard Pittsburgh is a great city. I’m so looking forward to it. I’m doing what I need this year so I can do a better job starting school in 2021. —As told to Peter Pae
Max Huang, 24, Taipei
Deferred Master’s degree in human resources at Purdue University
I want to work in human resources in the US and the Krannert School of Management is the top human resource program in the country. Given the strong career center and academics, I was so excited to start the journey and hoped to equip myself with the tools to land a job in the US after graduating.
It’s all fallen down since Covid-19 spread in the US. Taiwan has good control of the virus, so it’s not difficult to decide to stay. Nobody wants to risk getting infected, or graduating into a weak labor market. It’s hard for local students to get a job offer in the US these days, let alone us foreign students, especially with the changing policies from the Trump administration.
Hopefully the US economy will get better next year and they’ll relax any restrictions on foreign students. The US is so strong partly because they import foreign talent, students like us. They get the best people from all over the world. For now, I’m looking for a human resources job here.—As told to Cindy Wang and Raymond Wu
Image credits: Bloomberg