Local colleges welcoming international students

It might come as a surprise that the Oakton Community College president was part of a State Department delegation to India to recruit foreign students. Or to learn that there are more than 100 foreign students from more than 50 countries at College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn.

In fact, local community college officials say their schools can draw foreign students looking for a chance to improve their English skills, save money or adapt to the U.S. school system in a less intimidating environment.

For Elif Oyman, an 18-year-old from Turkey at Harper College in Palatine, the U.S. offered more options than her own country, where access to the system is limited.

"My exam results weren't so good," Oyman said of her score from a single exam comprising everything she had ever learned. "I couldn't go to the school that I wanted, and if I had gone to one that accepted my score, I wouldn't have been happy."

Oyman is majoring in computer science. "For my family and me, the U.S. was the best country for education. It's much easier to find success in America," she said.

Colin Lopez, 19, left Malaysia last fall to study engineering at College of Lake County. His brother Glen graduated from Northern Illinois University and assisted in his college search.

"I picked CLC because in the pictures -- everyone's faces looked friendly and it seemed like a nice setting," he said. "When I got here, it was the same as the pictures. I love it."

While he plans to continue his education at a larger school, he feels he made the right choice starting at a two-year college. "Academic-wise, I think it is easier because there are only 15 to 20 people in the classes. You can really talk to the instructor."

At Harper College, international students fit in well, said Phil Burdick, assistant to the president for media communications and governmental relations.

"The Northwest suburbs is a new destination for immigrants and immigrant families," he said. "This rapid rise in the number of immigrant families in the area is a new trend, and may be why our international student population is increasing."

At Oakton Community College in Des Plaines, Admissions Specialist Judy Bloink echoed that theory.

"Our campuses are located very close to this large immigrant population," an attractive feature for international students, she said.

"The international students who start here can go anywhere because we transfer very well," said Bunny Lynn, admissions specialist for Oakton Community College's international students.

Oyman has already taken the necessary steps to transfer to DePaul University in Chicago next year.

"I have to do it for my career, but I don't want to leave Harper," she said. "I love it here. It has everything I needed, and I couldn't want any more from it."

Sept. 11 cast a cloud over international students seeking access to U.S. schools. Many people had trouble obtaining the F-1 visas they needed to study here.

Last spring, Oakton Community College President Margaret Lee was in a group of six college presidents who visited India to personally tell the country's youths the U.S. wants international students in its schools.

"The idea of gathering the presidents of higher education from across the country was to announce that we are making an effort to overcome the barriers to the visa process that were set up after 9/11," she said.

She had the challenge of reaching foreign students whose dream might be to attend America's elite universities and Ivy League schools.

"I told them that it was more important for them to find a college that could play the right role for them and where they would fit best," she said.

That was an issue Oyman faced as she searched for a school. She said a family friend whose son transferred to a four-year university after spending some time at Harper told her about the college and recommended that she enroll there. The friend helped with the difficult paperwork and introduced her to Harper's curriculum.

"I was lucky that I could come here," Oyman said. "A lot of my friends back at home don't have a way of leaving as easily as I could."

Community colleges offer international students like Oyman a comfortable starting point that equips them with fundamental skills, especially English-speaking skills, which they can acquire through the rigorous English as a Second Language programs at community colleges. Many live with relatives while attending school here.

For the community colleges, international students increase diversity, which enhances the educational experience for all students in an increasingly global world, said Bill Paige, Oakton manager of communications.

Foreign students at Oakton pay out-of-district tuition, 3.6 times the in-district rate of $82 a credit hour. They make up about 1.5 percent of the 10,000 full-time students.

Harper's Burdick said some international students return to their homes upon completing the ESL program, but that others advance on either to the community college's career-oriented programs, where they can pursue an associate's degree, or to the transfer programs that prepare them for a four-year institution or graduate school.

As for Oyman, she says she's hoping to stay in America when she graduates.

"But if I have to go back to Turkey, then that's OK, too," she said. "Having an American education is really a plus over there, and it'd be easy for me to get the job I want."

International students

Here's a look at how many international students there area at some of the community colleges in the suburbs.

College Students Countries on F-1 visas

College of DuPage 136 52

Elgin Community College 20 NA

Harper College 97 28

College of Lake County 78 32

Oakton Community College 148 40

Waubonsee Community College 9 6

NA: Not available

Source: college officials