Pepperdine projects that Chinese students will be the largest international demographic in the incoming freshman class reflecting a nationwide increase in Asian students.
Of this year’s 555 international applicants 108 are Chinese – a sharp increase from last year when approximately 60 Chinese students applied. Since 2004 Koreans have comprised the largest international student demographic on campus according to Director of International Student Services Rich Dawson.
However though the number of Chinese applicants is increasing enrollment is making slow progress. Of the 60 Chinese applicants for the fall of 2008 20 of whom Pepperdine admitted only 5 enrolled.
In past years U.S. graduate schools began to receive increasing numbers of Chinese applicants as students chose to continue their education abroad after receiving their undergraduate degrees at home. But with China’s increasing economic prosperity currently the world’s third largest economy Chinese families can now afford to send their children to the United States for undergraduate school as well.
“Especially in the U.S. undergraduate education is the best in the world Dawson said. Everybody wants to come here for that.”
Shanghai Program Director Chris Van Velzer agreed that a strengthened economy contributes to the increase in the number of Chinese applicants to Pepperdine.
“China’s economy even in a worldwide recession is still one of the few that is growing – albeit at a slower pace than previous years wrote Van Velzer in an e-mail. In the last decade especially China has seen an overall increase in the standard of living but there has been a large increase in the numbers of the upper-middle class which is the most likely pool that would sent students to Pepperdine.”
Since 2005 the applicant pool for international students at Pepperdine has increased by 11 according to Dawson. India China and South Korea are primarily responsible for this surge both at Pepperdine and across the country.
In the fall of 2007 according to the Institute of International Education there were 623000 undergraduate and graduate international students in the United States a 7 percent increase from the previous year.
Dawson said Pepperdine’s location traditional values the globalization of English and westernized business training are major draws for many international students.
“My parents always wanted me to have an international education … and I also wanted to learn English and was drawn by the culture of America said freshman and Shanghai native Yiming Che. America is the most developed country and is ranked first in so many fields.”
Like many Chinese students Che plans to spend the year after graduation working before returning to China. After attending high school in Australia and now college in the United States Che does not plan to study abroad with Pepperdine partly because of the extra financial burden.
International students are not eligible for government aid including federal grants and work-study. Although Pepperdine offers merit-based aid to international students it does not offer them need-based financial aid.
Because of its high price tag Pepperdine loses some of its brightest international applicants to universities that can provide need-based financial aid according to Dawson.
“If you’re a really good student [have a perfect SAT score] and 4.0 it’s a buyer’s market out there Dawson said. Every place you apply is going to want you and you can sit back and wait for the one that gives you the best financial aid package and go there whether it’s Harvard MIT Pepperdine or Texas.”
To establish a stronger and more diverse international student population on campus Dawson said Pepperdine must raise more funds to support international student aid.