Growing up in India, Himmat Randhawa '09 had only been to the United States once - to go to Walt Disney World - before coming to College Hill. Now over 7,000 miles from his New Delhi high school, Brown "feels like home," he said.
Recruiting international students like Randhawa to Brown is increasingly a priority for University officials. Enhancing Brown's international visibility has been a key goal for President Ruth Simmons, she said earlier this month.
America's top universities are working hard to recruit international students in the age of globalization, said Jim Miller '73, dean of admission. Admission officers travel abroad, often with representatives from other schools, to run information sessions at schools that "have significant populations of talented kids," Miller said.
Applications from international students and domestic students are read and evaluated in the same way, except that admission for international students is not need-blind, Miller said.
"Our first commitment when we became need-blind four years ago was to be need-blind for American students," Miller said, explaining that lack of resources prevent extending the policy to international students. Still, out of the roughly 110 international students in the first-year class, Miller estimated that 30 are on financial aid, which is about 10 percent less than the proportion of domestic students on aid.
The acceptance rate for foreign students is similar to that for domestic students, Miller said. He said countries with the most applicants and admitted students are Canada, Singapore, the United Kingdom and, increasingly, China. The University is hoping to increase applications from the former Eastern bloc countries, Africa and South America, but issues of outreach and financial aid pose obstacles, Miller said.
Though Brown is working to increase its official recruiting processes abroad, many current students said they didn't need to be nudged to apply and come to the University.
"It's up to you to take the first step to apply and research yourself," said Ruben Spitz '09, who is from Colombia. Randhawa did not attend any Brown information sessions, but he did go to a general American college information session held at the U.S. embassy, he said.
"Since it is a good school, basically, the advertising is done for them," Spitz said, though he added that the prestige of Brown's name was not the factor that led him to apply.
A major appeal of American institutions to international students is the flexibility of not having to commit to an area of study during the application process. "I was unsure what I wanted to study," Randhawa said, adding that at universities in India, he would have to decide his field of study early and take courses only in that subject. "I like the liberal environment (and) the high degree of independence given to students" at Brown, he said.
Even though the University might not reach out to all potential applicants, "the highest level of interaction starts after you get accepted," Randhawa said.
Spitz said he was contacted via e-mail by a current Columbian student at Brown after he applied. Interviews with alums can also be key, said Joanna Abousleiman '09, who is from the United Arab Emirates. "I had a really good interview experience. ... (That made me) excited about Brown," she said.
Even though personal initiative led many current international students to apply to Brown, many suggested the University should boost its international profile to better recruit international students.
While Harvard and Yale universities have undeniable name recognition and the University of Pennsylvania is known for aggressive international recruitment, Abousleiman said, "I know a lot of people now have heard about Brown because of 'The OC.'"