Large number of international students choose UCLA
By Marcus Torrey
Nov. 23, 2009 10:58 p.m.
The Bruin community is increasing on an international scale.
UCLA hosts a growing number of foreign students, according to a study released last week by the Institute of International Education.
This study puts the university in eighth place among national universities for the number of international students that attended the 2008-2009 academic year, having enrolled 5,590 foreign students.
“(This ranking) reflects the continued fact that UCLA is a top-choice destination for international students throughout the world,” said Bob Ericksen, director of the Dashew Center for International Students and Scholars.
Guy Louden, a third-year art history exchange student from Australia, said one of the main reasons he came to UCLA was because of its great international reputation.
Louden, who was raised in Perth, Western Australia, attends the University of Western Australia, where he said he got a stronger sense of what he wanted to do in life.
Louden said he has been interested in the fine arts since high school, and his interest was reaffirmed by some of his university professors in Australia.
This specific field of study was another contributing factor in his decision to attend UCLA, since film, TV and 20th-century music are all things Los Angeles specializes in, Louden said.
“I want to live where it’s all going on,” he said.
While moving to a new country is no easy adjustment, Louden said American television aided in his transition to life in Los Angeles.
“We get a lot of American TV in Australia, so there wasn’t much of a culture shock,” he said.
However, Jessica Chew, a second-year biophysics student from Hong Kong, said she has not experienced as smooth a transition as Louden has.
“Living in Hong Kong, … I was used to getting around on my own. Coming to UCLA, it is a lot harder to get to places,” Chew said.
The pace of life in Los Angeles is much slower than the much denser Hong Kong, which has a population of seven million in an area smaller than Los Angeles.
But Chew has faced more difficulties than just a change in environment. Even though she spoke English before enrolling at UCLA, Chew still encountered small language barriers due to Hong Kong’s use of British English, she said.
“People here didn’t understand everything I said,” Chew said.
Certain phrases were different, such as using “lift” instead of “elevator,” or “flat” instead of “apartment,” she said.
However, the difficulties that Louden faced were in the classroom rather than in the social realm.
“What’s difficult is the style of coursework (here at UCLA),” Louden said. “It is different from my university.”
Compared to the coursework at the University of Western Australia, the workload at UCLA is heavier and is taken more seriously by students, Louden said.
Smaller problems, such as acclimating himself to American food, have also arisen during Louden’s short residency in Los Angeles.
“I just got sent tea from my family,” Louden said.
Vegemite, a type of Australian spread, is something that he misses as well.
Chew, however, said she misses a lot about home.
“Everything I’ve known growing up is not here at all,” Chew said.
For instance, people from UCLA go home a lot during the quarter since it is just an hour away for a lot of them, she said.
“For me, home is so different,” Chew said. “I might not go back right after graduation, but I definitely want to move (back to Hong Kong).”
On the contrary, the new environment has not deterred Louden from wanting to live in the United States after graduating.
“I don’t know where I’ll be afterward,” he said. “The idea of not going home is pretty romantic, though.”
The backgrounds and traditions that international students possess help UCLA students experience things they would not normally encounter.
“They bring the global perspective right into the classroom,” Ericksen said. “While we would like to see every student at UCLA have the opportunity to study overseas, the fact is that not everybody can do that.”
However, with the recently approved student fee increases, Ericksen said he fears the number of international students in attendance may take a hit.
“We like to see as much diversity among our international students as we do our national students,” Ericksen said. “Since international students are ineligible for financial aid, it may mean that only more wealthy (international students) may attend.”
