Some of the most unlikely victims in the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001 have been international students studying in the United States.
International student enrollment nationwide has dropped significantly since 2001. One study, conducted in 2004, reported that nearly half of 250 surveyed institutions suffered a drop in the number of foreign applicants. Another similar study, conducted by the Council of Graduate Schools, found a 32 percent drop in international applicantions in 2004.
Though national figures began rebounding as of last year, the challenge of recruiting foreign students — who make up a sizeable amount of the graduate student population in the country — has left administrators across the country and at Princeton seeking reform.
"The public face that the U.S. is presenting on the international scene is not as welcoming as it used to be, and in that sense the United States will feel effects in education," University visa services director Mary Idzior said.
Though the University's admissions data do not match the national trend — graduate and undergraduate applications actually rose for two years after 9/11 — for foreign students, the experience of coming to Princeton has proven to be difficult for some, even though once on campus, international students say their experiences have been positive.
New hurdles at the gate
Interviews with several foreign graduate students showed that it has sometimes been tricky to secure visas or navigate lines at airports.
Alex Ntelekos, a civil and environmental engineering graduate student from Greece, was in the process of applying for a master's degree when the twin towers collapsed. "I was afraid in the beginning because the world was changing so fast," he said. "But I had already made my decision [to come to the United States]."
Ntelekos found the airports to be the most difficult part of coming to the United States. After 9/11, students had to register to the Student and Exchange Visitor Information Service (SEVIS), which provides information on all international students to the State Department and other government agencies.
Ntelekos had to sit for three to four hours, waiting to be registered in the system. "I had a hard time in the airport," he said.
Taylor Xi, an electrical engineering graduate student from China, also endured a long visa application process. She waited three hours past her scheduled interview time before speaking to an official, and it subsequently took five weeks for her visa to be cleared because her electrical engineering major is on a government watch list called the Technology Alert List.
The visa she obtained is valid for one year. If she returns home after her visa has expired, it may be difficult to renew it.
Najwa Aaraj, a graduate student in electrical engineering, came to the United States from Lebanon two years ago seeking higher-level research opportunities.
Aaraj was worried about Americans' reactions to her Middle Eastern heritage. More specifically, she was "worried about the airport entry into the United States, about getting inside although I had a visa."
The visa process for Aaraj turned out to be less of a nuisance than Ntelekos's. "It took me two minutes to get it," she said, noting that though she waited three hours in the American Embassy, the interview for her visa took less than five minutes.
But some of Aaraj's interactions on her way to the United States were less than favorable. An English man at Heathrow airport once saw Aaraj's passport and said, " 'Oh, you're an Arab. All Arabs are terrorists.' "
But a warm welcome
The Princeton community has made special efforts, though, to offset the inconveniences that international students have faced in order to enroll at the University.
"We recognize that this is an area where we need to remain vigilant," University spokeswoman Cass Cliatt '96 said. "As a university and as a country, we have an enormous stake in being able to attract and enroll the very best students from around the world."
Since Ntelekos's arrival to campus, he says that University officials have been helpful in taking care of the forms and fees required by the government. The University waived the $100 SEVIS fee and got Ntelekos' I-20 form signed when he traveled out of the country to visit Canada.
Aaraj also experienced a warm reception campus. When she saw all the activities the Graduate School had planned and the support the administration was giving, she said, "all my doubts and my fears went away."
Xi praised the welcome she'd received this past couple of weeks as a new graduate student at the University. Her only worries were about her English, understanding other foreign students with difficult accents, and the unappetizing food she's found here, such as cookies and pizza.
"I'm so longing for rice," Xi said.
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