For international students, getting an American education is cheaper and increases their chances for getting a job after graduation.
JongHun Lim, a senior business marketing major from South Korea, said that without speaking English, it would be difficult to live in South Korea.
“I am here because I want to know about American culture,” said Lim. “The other reason is because I want to learn more about English.”
“I chose marketing because I’m an outgoing person who wants to meet other people and communicate with them,” he said. “I’m going to get a job after I graduate but I’m not sure if I want to stay here or go back to South Korea right away.”
Lim said his chances of finding a marketing job in the U.S. would be unlikely because he thinks companies would prefer an American who has better English skills. He would have a better chance finding a similar job in South Korea.
There are 685 international students from 40 different countries at Chico State. Approximately 587 of them are enrolled in a four-year program.
The top five countries with the most international students are Saudi Arabia, China, India, South Korea and Japan.
There are 223 students from Saudi Arabia, 85 from South Korea and 82 from India alone.
Hussain Alsadeq, a Saudi Arabian student enrolled at the American Language and Culture Institute at Chico State, said the Saudi Arabian government supports students studying abroad.
The American Language and Culture Institute is an English language learning program that helps international students transition to Chico State academics.
“It’s cheaper to come to the United States,” he said. “You can be in an English school for a year and then you will get acceptance from the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission.”
The Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission is an agency that sponsors students studying in the U.S. by financial assistance and helping their social and cultural welfare. They also implement Saudi Arabian government policies on students they sponsor.
Students must pass an English proficiency test before getting accepted into the agency, Alsadeq said. Saudi Arabia has a limited number of public universities and the private universities are too expensive.
Most Saudi Arabian students choose electrical or mechanical engineering majors because there are a lot of oil businesses in Saudi Arabia, he said.
“Because we are a petroleum country, they’re looking for IT and civil engineers,” he said.
Cindy Phelps, adviser at the Office of International Education, said an American education is important for many reasons.
“I think the education offered in this country is superior to the one they would get in their home country,” she said. “That is why we attract so many different cultures from around the world because of our excellent education.”
Besides getting a great education, studying in the United States helps international and domestic students become better global citizens, Phelps said.
“It’s excellent for our domestic students to be exposed to students from different countries and cultures because they may not otherwise ever get to have that experience,” Phelps said. “International students also have an opportunity to interact with Americans and each other where as if they stayed in their home country they might only be around the same people.”
Jovanna Garcia can be reached at [email protected] or Jo_Garcia19 on Twitter.
Anna Sobreviñas can be reached at [email protected] or manilanna on Twitter.
