Today we are fortunate enough to have a guest blog from our International Counselor, Michelle Massey. Enjoy!
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Hello, My name is Michelle Massey and I am an admissions counselor here at UMBC. I specialize in working with international students, and thought you might be interested to know a little more about our international student population here at UMBC.
You probably have already heard that we were recently ranked as the second most diverse University in the US, but I thought I would share where our international students have applied from this year. So far, applicants come from China, Indonesia, Ghana, Benin, Nigeria, South Korea, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Uganda, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Nepal, Jamaica, Russia, Sweden, Cameroon, Georgia, Egypt, Estonia, Poland, the West Indies, Albania, Italy, Peru, El Salvador, Brazil, Slovakia, Iran, New Zealand, and more!
Now keep in mind, these are only our students who have student visas. Many of our students come on different visa types, or as citizens with heritage from outside the US. There are many layers to the diversity at UMBC, and here we are looking only at the element of diversity that addresses ethnic heritage and geographic origin!
Did you know that some students come to the US just to study, without their families? They apply for student visas—a visa is like a permit to enter the US, and there are many different types of visas for different reasons someone might want to come here. In the case of our students, in order to get their student visa, they need to prove that their English is strong enough and their grades are good enough to attend the University and that they have therefore been admitted to a University in the US; that they have enough funding to cover their educational and living expenses for one year; and they also have to prove that they plan to return home after they have completed their education. And you thought the college admissions process was difficult from inside the US…
However, as you can see many do what is required and join us each semester at UMBC, contributing to the wonderfully rich diversity on campus and taking full advantage of everything UMBC has to offer! We look forward to welcoming our incoming international students this summer, and hope that all of you new incoming students, international or otherwise, will take time to get to know as many people as you can on our campus and enjoy friendships with roots all over the world!
