International students are the Holy Grail for many college admissions offices, but recruiting them has it’s challenges, to say the least.
In the days of budget reductions and slumping endowments, a flock of full-paying international students swarming from abroad, cash in hand, diversity in pocket, is music to the ears.
Of the nearly 700,000 internationals studying in America last year, two-thirds of them were paying for their education through their own or family funds, an increase of 12.1 percent from the previous year.
But internationals from countries where admission to top universities is based almost entirely on test scores are often mystified by the seeming randomness and subjectivity of the American process.
And many internationals will not have the opportunity to visit campuses until the day they arrive in the fall to start classes. They’ll be less concerned with social and residential life issues, and more focused on specific academic programs, rankings, and the reputation of the college in their home country.
To compete college recruiters must:
- Present themselves well online, including through virtual tours, and special website sections designed for internationals, as well as in presentation sessions with internationals in their home countries or at summer programs and fairs in the U.S. or in third countries where students might gather.
- Consider carefully where to send admissions officers and other enrollment recruiters.
- Use foreign agents or recruiters to build their international pool. For years, countries like Australia and those in the United Kingdom have paid recruiters to feed students into their universities, and those nations have become major competitors to the United States in attracting international applicants.
- Give clear information and understanding about what financial aid, if any, might be available to support their studies. Communicating up front with families you meet with abroad about your Total Cost of Attendance is essential.
- Band together and work with some for-profit companies to provide a common foundation for international students to learn about U.S. admissions and particular colleges.
- Consider what you need to do to make your campus more supportive and hospitable for international students, many of whom might never have set foot previously on U.S. soil.
Source Article: University Business