UH was recently ranked 13th nationwide in the number of minority students who earned a baccalaureate in the July 2007 issue of Diverse Issues in Higher Education Magazine.
It’s no surprise why UH is receiving national recognition for its diverse student body, especially with international student applications on the rise, an employee at the UH Office of International Admissions Rahul Patel said.
"Every day in here is so busy," Patel said.
UH experienced a 5 percent increase in degrees awarded to minority students from the 2004-2005 school year, Patel said.
"There is a good correlation between Houston being so diverse and UH having so many minority students," he said.
The magazine’s rankings are based on 2005-06 data submitted to the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics. The submissions were from the "vast majority" of two-and-four-year higher education institutions and are based on students’ ethnic identification, according to the magazine.
UH showed growth in the number of degrees awarded to African American, Asian American and Hispanic American students. In the 2005-2006 school year, the top five countries with the most international students who attended UH were India, China, Nigeria, Taiwan and Korea.
"This year, a large concentration of students are from India, China, Vietnam, Turkey and Saudi Arabia," Patel said.
International students are drawn to particular universities based on the "department’s strength," he said.
"International students are career-oriented. No matter what college you graduate from, you’re still going to get a job, so it’s really the strength of the department that is the most important thing," Patel said.
"The trend is that after graduation, most students will work toward graduate school or try to obtain a work visa to stay in the United States."
Many international students also work while pursuing undergraduate degrees or participate in work-study programs to offset the high cost of education.
"Today, I have 35 applications to work in this office," Patel said. "There are many international students who want to work."
Computer engineering student Abbinash Babashyam, a tutor at Learning Support Services, came from India and receives a waiver to pay in-state tuition as part of his work-study agreement.
"I would still be here if I didn’t have an in-state waiver, but it would make it a lot harder," Babashyam said.
Electrical engineering sophomore Minh Tran is an international student from Vietnam and is also a tutor for Learning Support Services.
"The major reason I work is because tuition is expensive, even for Americans," said Tran. "Tuition is high, but the education is high too."
In addition to paying tuition and fee bills, being away from family is another difficulty that international students face.
Babashyam’s only uncle in the U.S. moved from Houston to Galveston last year, and Babashyam has visited his family only once since he has moved.
"In India, I was used to staying with a big family," Babashyam said. "I had to get used to it here."
Tran lives with his uncle in Houston and has some extended family in the United States, but has not visited his parents and sister in Vietnam for four years.
Still, Babashyam and Tran both say that the positives outweigh the negatives.
Tran first came to the United States as a high school exchange student four years ago.
"I like the education system here," he said. "It encourages you to have critical thinking and be creative."
Being part of a university that is so diverse is a critical part of their college experience and something Babashyam and Tran weren’t exposed to previously.
"There is no social segregation here," Babashyam said. "The best part is that you get to mix with people of different ethnic origins."
"I love being friends with people from different cultures because I learn something new," said Tran.
Patel agrees that being exposed to different cultures is important, and "it’s a big part of the experience."
"When I came, to be honest, I didn’t like it," said Babashyam. "But after I got a job and made friends, I feel it’s good to be here."
