Jalean Wong said she wanted to study abroad in the United States since she was a little girl but went to Australia instead to be closer to her home country, Singapore. Recently, she decided to finally fulfill her dream and came to the University in January to study for her undergraduate degrees in economics, sociology and English.
But because of cumbersome new visa procedures, she had to miss her orientation meeting in Austin and came close to not being able to attend the University at all.
"Getting my visa was such a pain," Wong said.
Her attitude is exactly what Jim Wilcox, director of the UT Inter-national Office, is worried about.
"Since September 11, there have been a series of regulatory security changes that have accumulated to make it more difficult and expensive for international students to contemplate studying in the United States," Wilcox said.
These new procedures contributed to a 25-percent drop in international graduate school applications at the University this year, Wilcox said. About 7, 219 students applied to attend graduate school at the University this fall, while last year, 9,669 students did.
After the Sept. 11 attacks, immigration procedures were overhauled, and students who want to study abroad in the U.S. are now required to pay additional fees and complete an in-person interview. Colleges are also required to submit information about each student who came from another country as part of a large national computer-monitoring system.
"The combination of these things has had a chilling effect," Wilcox said. He believes more students will attend universities in Australia and the United Kingdom because of the stringent requirements.
Other universities are closely watching their international admissions applications for sudden drops also.
Kay Clifford, an associate director of the International Center at the University of Michigan, said her office has noticed a drop in graduate school applications from international students this year.
Students are not only scared off by the personal interview, but processing the visa can take months and cause students to miss entire semesters, said Clifford.
Wong, the student who missed her orientation to attend her visa interview, said students are also put off by the treatment they receive from immigration officials.
"You don't feel so welcome to come here anymore," Wong said.
Wilcox said there isn't much universities can do to change the requirements right now, but UT officials are discussing the issue of declining numbers of applications whenever they can.
"It's a tough sell right now to anybody that we should compromise security," Wilcox said. He said the computer monitoring system that universities must enroll their international students in is an appropriate security measure, and the other requirements just serve as a deterrent to students who want to study abroad in the United States.
"Let's just let that do it's job and lighten up," Wilcox said.
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