RE-WIND: Marist International Students Open Up About Their Abroad Experiences
- Luke Carberry Mogan
- Oct 16, 2020
- 6 min read
Originally written May 12, 2016 (an enterprise story for a journalism course)
Valuing the experiences learned while abroad, the academic cultures of various countries encourage their students to go out of their comfort zones as global citizens and travel the world. Either continuing their education in their host country or putting a temporary pause on attending school, these students are getting an education in one form or another.
In Europe, a “gap year” is common for high school students entering college to take a break from their studies and reassess what they want to do with their lives. One in 10 American college students is estimated to study abroad for at least one semester before they graduate, according to the Institute of International Education. The tuition costs for American college students usually remain the same when studying abroad, with American scholarships still applicable.
While the financial concerns for American students stays consistent when studying at affiliate college overseas, the costs necessary to pay for an American education rises dramatically for international students wishing to attend school in the United States. A talking point for several presidential candidates in 2016 election, American citizens are put at a disadvantage when compared with nations with incredibly low costs for education or implemented tax systems. International students entering the United States automatically bear this burden in order to pursue an American education.
“I work closely with admissions,” said Karen Tompkins-Tinch, the coordinator of International Student Programs and Services for the CMA office. “One of my duties is to evaluate linguistic skills of incoming students.”
While the Office of Admissions works to recruit prospective international students at college fairs or through guidance counselors, the Center for Multicultural Affairs (CMA) advises these international students after they commit to Marist. According to Tompkins-Tinch, there are 303 international students with Marist issued visas, alone.
Of the 303 international students registered with Marist’s CMA office, exactly two-thirds of them are graduate students. Using an anonymous roster containing only countries of origin, it was discovered that these 202 were comprised of single representatives from Cameroon, China, Kuwait, New Zealand and Nigeria, and 197 graduate students from India.
“International students must demonstrate that they have sufficient funds to study [here],” said Tompkins-Tinch, explaining the financial guidelines for student visas include having visible proof that students can afford the costs in a bank account.
Restrictions are placed on where international students can receive funding from, including foundation, institutional, and endowed scholarships.
“They cannot get anything from the United States federal loans,” Tompkins-Tinch said. “[Meaning] no federal loans or Stafford [loans].”
The only federal funding international students studying in America can receive is that of their native country.
“Each country has their own financial aid,” said Richard Cusano, the coordinator of tutoring in the CMA office and an assistant coach on the Marist men’s soccer team. “A lot of the Scandinavian countries can be very giving with aid [packages].”
Scandinavian countries - i.e. Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Iceland – are several examples of nations with higher tax rates that benefit the public by covering healthcare and education costs. Having recruited or met with potential athletes from these countries, Cusano attested to their willingness to provide aid, even to their international students.
“Denmark will pay for three years because that’s the length of their undergraduate studies, while Germany gives no aid,” Cusano said. Cusano’s evidence of this parallel is supported by the fact there are two international students currently on his roster: one from Denmark and the other from Germany.
Among the 589 student-athletes on Marist’s 21 teams, 20 of them are international students in addition to being Division I competitors. The men’s tennis team roster continues to be the most nationally diverse of them all. Of its 11 players, seven of the student-athletes are registered international students with Marist.
Born in Japan and coming to Marist from France, senior Julien Hochner is a captain on the men’s tennis team.
“The tennis team has two and a half scholarships, or full rides, to share among their players,” Hochner said.
Hochner explained that while some French universities are the best in the world, there is a “huge gap” in the financial and recruiting process between these schools and American ones. France is “less prone” to provide international aid as its intentions are to keep their students in France.
“[If you want to continue playing sports] in France, you either go to a top tier school or a sport university or you go pro,” said Hochner. “There is no mix.”
Mentioned by Hochner, American universities have a driving interest in allowing students to continue their passions, such as intercollegiate sports. There is no balance between academics and athletics for institutions overseas without sacrificing the quality of one for the other.
For junior Jocelyn McQuade, being a student-athlete is one of the only ways she can afford to study at Marist.
“I was recruited by one of my old water polo coaches from when I was younger who now coaches at Marist,” said McQuade.
A Canadian exchange student, and one of three international students competing for the woman’s water polo team, McQuade points out the monetary scaling of Canadian universities. The sizes of schools are taken into great consideration when calculating how much tuition would cost.
“I could go to my local community college for $8,000 a year, while the [University of Toronto] costs about $49,000,” said McQuade. The University of Toronto houses more than 85,000 students.
Similar to Hochner’s interest in Marist athletics, McQuade said there is a dearth of activity for Canadians seeking to continue playing water polo in college: “After high school, you either play on the national team or stop, so you are either really good or really bad.”
Along with an athletic scholarship, McQuade affords to attend Marist using an alumni scholarship, a grant, and an aid scholarship.
“[If I stopped playing water polo or lost my scholarship], I would most likely go somewhere else because I wouldn’t be able to afford it,” said McQuade.
While international students are dismayed at the disproportional “exchange rate” for an American education, there are organizations willing to cover these costs, all expenses paid too.
“School in Nigeria is a subsidized education,” said junior Ebiokomboere Olodiama. “[It amounts to] about $500 a year.”
As part of the United States Pathway Program, an international exchange program offered to students around the world, Olodiama had several choices of colleges in America to choose from. The concept of “student debt” seemed foreign to her, especially since education costs so little in Nigeria.
“We are literally paying nothing,” Olodiama said. She explained how collectivist Nigerian communities are, analogizing how friends and family will very willingly contribute money to pay for debts or expenses.
While the financial obligations of attending college internationally is a large aspect of the process, the buffer between national social norms can be just as taxing on the students.
“CMA has an international orientation which is a huge help to integrating us into the American culture,” said Hochner.
Everything from mannerisms and food and portion sizes to the personalities of the people contrast starkly for international students adjusting to their new home. To Olodiama, the resistance to casual greetings conveyed through Marist students clashes with what she is accustomed to in Nigeria.
“At home, we say ‘hello’, ‘good morning’, ‘good afternoon’, ‘good night’ to our friends and family whenever we see them,” she said. “We are a very collectivist community, which is why many of the other African students tend to stay within that group.”
Fortunately, there are still some international students expressing happiness over their choice to come to an American school, making all the costs for an education even more worth it.
“The first thing I noticed was people’s personalities,” said sophomore Daikia Hirakawa. “In the United States, [I’ve seen that] people are [more] independent and self-confident.”
International studies are a very familiar experience to Hirakawa. A resident of Osaka, Japan, Hirakawa attended a boarding school in Switzerland.
“[Seeing how] my brother didn’t like the education in Japan, he went to Europe for college,” said Hirakawa. “Following him, I took my education to Switzerland and now the United States.”
Hirakawa was searching for an education valuing one’s opinion. He found his education in Switzerland to be more liberal than the practices of Japan, which is measured more on test scores.
“I saw it as an adventure,” said Hirakawa. “I was confident I could be flexible and being here has taught me the importance of self-confidence.”
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