Foreign Students (FS) and Domestic Minorities: Complements or Competitors?

1. Foreign Students (FS) and Domestic Minorities: Complements or Competitors? Jayanti Owens, Office of Population Research and Department of Sociology (jowens@princeton.edu) • Texas’ heightened selectivity regime leads to a ‘College squeeze’, particularly at public universities: • Baby boom echo (40% increase in h.s. cohorts until ‘20-’21) • Educational upgrading—college degree more necessary • Sky-rocketing college costs, particularly at private universities • Priority admission for Texas residents (cap out-of-state enrollments) • 50% of admits in2005 enter through Top 10% Law • Why, then, do universities continue to seek foreign students? • 1) Most are full-fee paying; increase university’s revenue • 2) Signal high institutional status (Golden 2002) • Findings and Conclusion: • Foreign students: Signals of institutional status • Heightened selectivity among foreign applicants to each of the four institutions of ranging selectivity, size of undergrad pop., and public/private university status • Growth in size of FS pop. at each institution • Universities of ranging selectivity desire FS • Universities want to attract as selective of a group of FS as they are able—reflected in the higher SAT scores of admitted foreign applicants at selective public universities like UT-Austin—compared to domestic applicants • Admitting an increasingly selective group of FS reinforces reputation as an ‘up and coming’ university b/c FS reflect an increasingly global student body Research Questions: 1) Are the numbers of foreign students at Texas’ largest public universities and its most-selective private university decreasing over time? 2) Are the foreign students admitted to Texas’ most selective public and private universities becoming increasingly selective over time? 3) Are the chances of being admitted higher for foreign students in technical fields that are in high-demand, such as the sciences and engineering? 4) How do foreign students’ chances of being admitted compare to those of domestic minority applicants? • Texas Higher Education Opportunity Project Administrative Data: Census of all applicants to: • UT-Austin (1990-2003): 50,000 students: 36,000 undergraduate students and 14,000 graduates • A&M (1992-2002): 46,000 students: 37,500 undergraduates and 8,500 graduates • TX Tech (1991-2003): 28,000 students: 23,000 undergraduates, 5,000 graduates • Rice (2000-2004): 5,000 students: 3,000 undergraduates and 2,000 graduates Foreign Applicants, Admits, and Enrollees, By Institution Foreign Students and Domestic Minorities Experience Approx. Equal Admissions Odds: FS Continue to be Desired Despite College Squeeze Narratives About Competition Public Universities and Caps on Foreign Students Changing Odds of Admission (=1) Among All Foreign Applicants vs. High-SAT (>1300) Foreign Applicants • 1995: Senior administrators speak out about how attracting foreign students reflects a university’s prominent reputation. • April, 1996: Dr. Gregory Walters, Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Montclair State University in New Jersey reported to the New York Times: • “As a public university, our primary goal is to provide an excellent education for New Jersey residents. Most out-of-state and international students come here because they have heard of our reputation for offering a fine education at an affordable price, and they contribute to New Jersey's economy during their stay with us.” • 2003: UT-Austin experiences a 120% increase in its numbers of foreign applicants between 1990-2003. TX Tech and A&M increase % foreign students admitted, allows them to claim an appeal for foreign students. • 2005: Statements by university leaders expanded focus beyond the status-signal associated with a university’s ability to attract foreign students. Sheer competition becomes apparent. • President Steven B. Staple of USC, which boasts the highest enrollment of foreign students at any American university (enrolling 6,647 foreign students in 2004), says in an interview with the Houston Chronicle: • “We compete no holds barred among ourselves for the best faculty, for students, for gifts and for grants, and that's one of the reasons for our strength. Now we'll compete with some overseas universities [for international students]. Fine with me, bring 'em on.” • Mid-1990s: UT-Austin reaches caps on foreign admits permitted by a public institution. • Numbers of foreign applicants continue to rise between 1996-2003. • Texas A&M and Texas Tech are less appealing to foreign applicants because they are: • Roughly half the size of UT-Austin • Less-selective • Less able to cater through their specialties to the • types of training in demand among foreign • applicants • Ex: UT-Austin offers a petroleum engineering division that is in high-demand among foreign students, • TX A&M has a strong agricultural tradition that is much less in demand • In 2000 and after, less dramatic increase in foreign applicants at TX A&M and TX Tech so cap not reached. • Implication: TX A&M and TX Techs’ acceptance rates continue rising. Controls for female, h.s. rank, AP exams taken, h.s. characteristics, 1st choice major, social class background. All FS SAT >1300 FS Figure 1. Enrolled Foreign Students in Each Cohort By Institution Over Time Foreign Students: Artists and Social Scientists? Odds of Admission by Major Figure 2. Numbers of Foreign Applicants and Percent Admitted by Institution and Year, 1990-2004 Increasing Selectivity in Foreign Admissions Acknowledgement: The author would like to acknowledge Marta Tienda for generous use of the THEOP administrative data and the Office of Population Research, Princeton University for support in attending the Population Association Annual Meeting in 2009.