Stony Brook University’s international undergraduate population has nearly doubled over the past five years. International students now make up 7 percent of the undergraduate student population, up from 4 percent in 2003.
In this, Stony Brook reflects a national trend. The most recent Open Doors report, which is released annually by the Institute of International Education, found the number of international students on American campuses to be at an all-time high.
At Stony Brook, the proportion of international graduate students — 20 percent of all graduate students — has remained constant over the past few years, but the number of international undergraduates has increased about 93 percent in the past five years.
The university has established increasing the enrollment of out-of-state and international students as a main goal, said Judith Burke-Berhannan, the dean of admissions.
“We want to continue to establish a stronger reputation across the nation and the world, which means bringing top students to our campus from all over,” Burke-Berhannan said.
“We have more than doubled our applications from international students in the past five years,” she added. “We’re admitting roughly the same proportion.”
The marked increase in interested international undergraduates is a result of various factors. Stony Brook continues to receive high international academic rankings, drawing attention from overseas students.
This past year, the university received its highest ranking ever in the Times Higher Education – QS World University Ranking report, published by the Times Higher Education magazine and Quacquarelli Symonds, a global education network. Stony Brook moved up to number 127 from the previous year’s 224.
Stony Brook has also begun overseas recruiting efforts and has made all necessary forms and applications available on the Internet for easy access.
“Prior to about 2002, the university did virtually no [overseas] recruiting at all,” said Elizabeth Barnum, assistant dean for international services.
Last semester, the international admissions travel schedule made 46 stops in seven countries — India, China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand.
“But a lot of it is still word of mouth,” said Barnum, explaining that many students apply after their friends or relatives return from America and share their stories.
“My cousin came to Stony Brook from South Korea, and that’s how I heard of Stony Brook,” said Yumi Kim, a South Korean student studying applied mathematics and statistics at the university. “I had been wanting to study in America to learn English better.”
Barnum said that more students are able to afford to study overseas because of recent economic booms in India and China. The majority of international undergraduates come from South Korea, China and India. According to 2007 data from the CIA World Factbook, China has one of the highest numbers of broadband users in the world, second only to the United States, and followed by Japan and India. The widespread use of the Internet in these countries, as well as the growth of Internet users all over the world over the past decade, allows large numbers of students to connect to the web sites of American universities.
“We do a lot of outreach to international students through our web site, e-mail and online communications,” said Burke-Berhannan.
Volha Astrouskaya, a Stony Brook student from Belarus, said she found out about the university through the Internet.
“I was just browsing and looking at schools,” she said. “Stony Brook’s website described the international population, the programs available, and it had descriptions of the campus.”
Mailing informational material overseas is not easy, but the Internet has allowed more international students to receive advice and help from admissions advisers and send in applications. Universities across the country have made all instructions and materials available on their websites.
“We’ve cut down a lot of our mailings. It’s been almost impossible for us to mail overseas. It isn’t cheap or reliable,” said Joseph J. Hindrawan, director of international enrollment management at SUNY Buffalo, which ranks twelfth in the country in total international students, according to the Open Doors report.
“Now we steer students to our web site,” he said.
