Tufts graduate schools seeing drop in international applications

Tufts' graduate programs are suffering from a shrinking international applicant pool as students become deterred by increases in U.S. visa restrictions.

The decrease is common across the U.S., with top American research universities noticing a decrease in graduate school applications from abroad for the first time in years.

"Everyone's down," Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Robin Kanarek said. She said that deans from other graduate schools have listed drops from 10 to 25 percent.

Some schools have experienced as much as a 30 percent decline in their applicants, according to a recent article in the Boston Globe.

"Deans from schools all over have been e-mailing each other to verify that this trend is not unique to their institution," Kanarek said. "I'd say that [Tufts is] probably in the mid-range of the statistics," she said.

The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy has witnessed a similar decline in applications.

Fletcher School Executive Associate Dean Jerry Sheehan said that after holding steady for the past two years, international applications are now down eight percent. "This is the first year since 9/11 that there is a noticeable difference," Sheehan said.

Both Kanarek and Sheehan mentioned students' difficulty to obtain student visas under new U.S. restrictions outlined in the Patriot Act as a possible factor for the decrease.

"Unfortunately, the U.S. is not seen as welcoming a place as it had in the past," Sheehan said. "Our unilateral actions in world events have undoubtedly made a negative influence in the willingness of students to study in the United States."

The combination of frustration with the visa process and international politics can prompt foreign students to look to non-American graduate schools.

"Universities in Europe and Asia in particular have made a conscious effort over the last five to six years to increase their yield of students," she said.

According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, the U.S. share of international students has dropped to 30 percent in 1995 -- the last year figures are available -- from nearly 40 percent in 1982

But visa issues have appeared for Tufts graduate students, and made some parts of studying in the United States harder.

Graduate economics student and Iranian Sara Mohammadi missed her first semester of her undergraduate senior year because it took six and a half months last year to get her visa processed following the implementation of the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS).

She said that both the University and the Institute for Global Leadership helped her contact state representatives to help expedite up the process.

SEVIS is an electronic database instituted to keep better track of foreign students studying in the United States. The system was created by Congress in 1996, but was not fully implemented until after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

According to Mohammadi, "not all universities are as accommodating as Tufts," but that "their leverage is limited."

Mohammadi said her brother -- a student at Boston University -- was unable to return to the United States for school last fall.

As well, Mohammadi's family was unable to attend her graduation last year from their home in the United Arab Emirates, and she was unable to visit them during this year's winter break. "The visa process works against us in both ways," Mohammadi said.

"The immobility is really suffocating and it does affect quality of life," she said. "I can't leave the States, because I am constantly afraid that complications will occur and the U.S. consulate will not issue a re-entry visa."

Despite recent data, Kanarek said she is confident that a smaller foreign applicant pool will not result in a decline of international presence at Tufts.

"We will still accept consistent numbers of foreign students," Kanarek said. "The strongest students, those serious about studying at an American university, will continue to apply."

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences admissions officers have also made their application deadline earlier to ensure students enough processing time for their visa applications.

The deadlines used to be in February, Kanarek said, and have already been moved to mid-January. She said the school is currently looking at pushing the deadline further back to late December.

Tufts' proactive role in assisting its international students with visas seems to have been effective in ensuring enrollment. According to Sheehan, no students have been unable to enroll at Fletcher due to visa issues.

In order to expedite the process, both the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and Fletcher School have tried to make information about new government policies readily available to prospective students.

In addition, the International Center is offering a list of resources to help students simplify the process.