U.S. graduate schools are looking more appealing to international students, according to a recent report.

Jiaquiao Li used social media to pick the University as her grad school of choice. EVAN STICHLER/Staff

The report, published by the Council of Graduate Schools, stated that enrollment of international students in American graduate schools grew by 8 percent this fall, with the majority of students coming from China. Enrollments of Chinese graduate students grew by 21 percent.

At the University, international graduate student enrollment has remained constant from 2009 to 2010, with 1,243 enrolled in 2009 and 1,240 in 2010, according to the UGA Fact Book. In line with national standards, China and India had the highest number of international graduate students both years. About 26 percent of foreign graduate students at the University came from China in 2010, compared to about 24 percent in 2009.

Maureen Grasso, dean of the University’s graduate school, said the University’s 2020 Strategic Plan aims to increase graduate school enrollment overall, including international enrollment. To do so, she said the graduate school is working to recruit students from countries that are not as well represented. The University is working with Education USA, a network of advising centers sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, to educate students around the world about opportunities at the University.

The University has also formed an International Recruitment Committee, which works to recruit students on both the graduate and undergraduate levels.

“We are aiming for a diverse student population and welcome all students,” Grasso said.

For international students already enrolled at the University, finding out what U.S. university to attend from thousands of miles away is often done the same way it is within the U.S.: through online research. Jiaquiao Li, a second year advertising graduate student from China, said she wanted to come to the U.S. because she thought the country had the best quality of graduate education. She said she looked online for good programs in advertising, and ultimately decided on the University.

But Li said she also got some help deciding where to apply from social media – a Chinese website called Taisha.com.
There, she was able to hear from Chinese students about their experiences at different U.S. universities.

“Many students will go on there and they will share their experience of taking the graduate entrance exam, the GRE, or the SAT,” she said. “They will talk to people who go to the school that they want to apply to. It’s a forum.”

Li said her family and friends expected her to go to the U.S. for graduate school. She said in China, families who can afford a U.S. education will often send their children abroad so they can get a better, more well-rounded education.

Xiaokui Huang, a second year journalism graduate student who is also from China, agreed with Li. She said as families grow wealthier in China, they begin to value education more.

Huang also said it’s difficult to find a job in China with only a bachelor’s degree, and employers value applicants with education in Britain and the U.S. more than applicants who haven’t studied abroad.

“Companies, when they seek employees, they look for those kinds of things,” she said. “If you have studied abroad, it doesn’t only mean you have education. You have different life experiences and you’ve developed your social abilities.”

Huang said after she finishes her degree, she hopes to find a job or internship in the U.S. for as long as her student visa allows. She said she’s enjoyed her time at the University – she’s studied in France as well as China, and said the experiences in the three countries have been very different. She said in the U.S., she’s able to discuss her opinions with professors and tell them if she doesn’t agree with them – in China, she said professors’ opinions are usually the ones that stand.

“The U.S. makes me feel welcome. I feel like I have a life here,” she said. “In France, I always feel like a foreigner, and here I think people are more open to different opinions. People are very nice and helpful, especially professors and classmates in Grady.”