Number of int'l freshmen rises

The international portion of the freshman class has increased by almost 50 percent over the last five years. Approximately 10 percent of the students in this year's freshman class are international, compared to 1988, when about six percent of the freshman class came from abroad. Elisabeth O'Connell, director of transfer and international admissions, said earlier this week that the growth in the international population has been an "an ongoing process" which began with with the establishment of a University international admissions program in 1979. O'Connell said the University has become "more visible" abroad through "personal contact with [international] secondary schools, government officials and students." She added that the trend of greater internationalization prevails in many institutions of higher learning today. "There's a lot more information out there than there was 10 to 15 years ago," she said. A common perception is that international students are primarily attracted to the Wharton School, but O'Connell said students are distributed equally throughout the University. "About a third go to the business school, a third go to engineering and a third go to the College," she said. Ambrose Davis, director of international recruitment, dismissed the perception that Wharton is the chief lure for international students. He said that "a small group of Wharton people perpetuate this [belief]" but that admissions officers "don't play that up too much." College freshman James Sweetbaum, an American citizen who attended the American School in London, said he was aware of the international image of Wharton. "Penn should do more advertising as an Ivy League university separate from Wharton," he said. "Wharton is an international magnet." As a result, he said, the University's name still garners the response "oh, Penn State" abroad. But he said he thinks the University is "really helpful to international students" even though he said "international students don't need to be looked after." College senior John Kim, who attended Seoul Foreign School, said the University is well-recognized in South Korea "because it's Ivy League." Nevertheless, he said many Koreans perceive Wharton and the University as "synonmyous." Wharton sophomore Oliver Dunsche, who attended an American school in Singapore, said the University has a good reputation overseas. "Penn has a good image abroad," he said. "They recruit in a lot of places where a lot of other prestigious universities don't visit." Though he said he thinks "a lot of [the University's] curriculum and courses don't emphasize internationalism," he said he believes the University community is interested in international concerns.

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