The City of Brotherly Love is opening its arms to the east.
As the city has fallen from the sixth most popular destination for international students in 2002 to eighth in 2004, delegates from five Philly schools -- including Penn -- will try to attract more international applicants when they visit Korea and Japan this week.
While Philadelphia's international-student population did not actually decrease -- San Francisco's and Dallas' grew faster -- international recruitment is important to city officials because of students' contribution to the city's economy.
An increase in international enrollment of just 3 percent could bring in $224 million to the city's economy, officials estimate.
The delegation plans to meet with high school principals and guidance counselors to build interest and help ease the process of getting visas. The number of international students nationwide declined 2.4 percent to 572,509 in 2004, the last year for which data is available. Some blame tougher post-Sept. 11 regulations for the drop.
Despite Philadelphia's relative decline in popularity, international-student applications to Penn are as strong as ever, Undergraduate Admissions Director for Asia Elisabeth O'Connell said.
International applications increased 11.4 percent for the Class of 2009, even though fewer international students were admitted. The Class of 2008 contains 320 international students, while there are 288 in the Class of '09.
Penn's name recognition plays a large role in keeping international-student interest high, O'Connell added.
"People are going to be more willing to jump through visa hurdles to [get] the kind of education Penn has to offer," she said.
Because Penn's undergraduate program is already well-established internationally, O'Connell personally did not see the need to participate in the delegation. Penn already has strong ties to high schools in Japan and Korea, she said.
But Kristine Billmyer, the executive director of the College of General Studies, is representing Penn on the tour.
International applications have increased at Drexel University as well, from 935 for its 2008 class to 1,360 for the 2009 class. Drexel President Constantine Papadakis is leading the delegation.
International students bolster the city's economy because they are more likely to spend money on tourism, generally taking time to explore America, Pennsylvania Economy League spokeswoman Allison Kelsey said.
The delegation will stress that "if you want to get a really good American experience, Philadelphia should be the obvious choice," Kelsey said, because of its proximity to both New York and Washington.
Janet Kim, a College and Wharton sophomore from Korea, said that Penn's location just outside Center City was a factor in her decision to attend Penn. While she was mainly drawn by the opportunity to study liberal arts and business, she said that the locale gives her the opportunity to get away from the commotion downtown.
"The whole vibe of the city is kind of old and gray, whereas in New York everything changes really fast," she said. Philadelphia is "not afraid to age."
Kim said that one of the ways she found out about Philadelphia and Penn was through information sessions at her school in Korea.
