Student Union
- By Hitender Rao
Half the Battle of US Dental School Is Getting In
![FILE - UT Health Dental School student volunteers provide a free dental screening on a child at Fiesta Mart in Houston, June 13, 2015.](https://gdb.voanews.com/e6b09dfc-95f2-43ea-b1b6-67078e84ab4e_cx0_cy1_cw0_w250_r1_s.jpg)
A career in dental surgery in the United States is lucrative, but intense competition to get into American schools makes it a hard slog for international students, especially mothers.
The number of students competing for slots in dental schools is higher than the number of seats, says Indian Navneet Dhillon, who earned her bachelor's degree in dental surgery from an Indian school in 2001 before studying and graduating with a doctor of dental surgery (DDS) degree from the University of Southern California in 2008.
When Dhillon applied, there were 4,200 enrolees to American dental school selected from 7,200 applicants. In 2016, 12,000 students applied to U.S. dental schools; 6,100 were accepted. Of those, only 4 percent came from outside the U.S., according to the American Dental Education Association.
Every school seeks a diverse mix of students, making admission more challenging, according to Dhillon. More than half of the applicants in dental schools were Indians when she applied, putting them in competition with each other.
Dhillon initially came to North America from Punjab to study in Canada. However, seats were limited and the number of international students was high. The exams she took to be admitted in Canada turned out to be good practice for her exams to apply to U.S. dental schools, where she was accepted.
But once in school in California, she had to juggle her studies with family: Her husband and 2-year-old daughter remained in Canada. She traveled back and forth to see them.
"But it was kind of hard traveling back and forth every four weeks to see my family, so we decided to move them to U.S.," she said. Her husband, Rupinder — who had Canadian citizenship — could visit her for up to six months a year. The absences were shorter.
While Rupinder stayed home to take care of their daughter, Dhillon "slogged at the school till midnight."
The hard work paid off. After her graduation, she got a job in the U.S. on an H1B visa through her employer. She applied to become a permanent resident, and got it. Dr. Dhillon now practices in Virginia, outside Washington, D.C.
Pushpinder Kaur, who runs her own dental clinic in New Jersey, has a similar story. Kaur also first studied dental surgery at an Indian institution before graduating from New York University in 2002.
"Since my husband, Navdeep, was [financially] established in the U.S., I could completely focus on my studies. His support meant a lot," Kaur said. However, since the couple had a one-month-old daughter, it was tough managing studies and taking care of the child. "It was difficult, but I could continue studying due to family support."
Both Dhillon and Kaur say studying in the U.S. brought them focus and maturity they didn't have in India.
"There is just no comparison. When we go to school in India, we are like 18, 19, and not very mature," Dhillon said. "We were not very focused. And we had the support of our parents, financially and psychologically."
But more independent in the U.S., "one attains maturity levels very quickly. One knows one has to get good grades and the graduate degree. One acquires in depth knowledge," Dhillon said.
Kaur say going to an American school gave her practice she wouldn't have gotten in India.
"When I was studying dental science in India, I only knew the theoretical part," Kaur said. "But I learned the procedures here. In fact, I gained lot of knowledge."
Dhillon agrees, and says a U.S. school gave her an edge.
"In the U.S., one learns every skill in the school," she said. "Thus, one gets better when one practices."
Dhillon offers advice for aspiring students.
"Be patient. Don't get demoralized if you don't make it to an American school in the first attempt," she said. "You will probably get it in next attempt."
Added Kaur: "Be focused and study practice tests for the board exams."
After taking exams and waiting for the results, take a position in dentistry, Dhillon said.
"It could be as a dental assistant, in a dental lab, or taking up continuous education courses. This will help you build your resume," she advised. "One can even volunteer for free dental clinics. If one does not have a work permit, then one can work as an observer.''
Kaur says that Indian students have a distinct advantage compared to other international students: their native English language skills.
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- By VOA News
International students have options to pay for grad school
![Children play outside Royce Hall at the University of California, Los Angeles, campus in Los Angeles, Aug. 15, 2024.](https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0aff-0242-c0a6-08dcc2504f9d_w250_r1_s.jpg)
U.S. News & World Report tackles the challenges of paying for grad school as an international student with this story giving tips on paying for school. Read the full story here. (August 2024)
- By Tracy Liu
Economics, tensions blamed for Chinese students shifting from US to Australia, Britain
![FILE - Chinese students wait outside the U.S. Embassy for their visa application interviews, May 2, 2012, in Beijing.](https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0aff-0242-4fea-08dc96d3d82c_cx0_cy5_cw0_w250_r1_s.jpg)
U.S. universities are welcoming international students as the academic year begins. But while the total number of foreign students is steadily growing, the top sending country, China, is showing signs of leveling out or shrinking.
Industry analysts say the negative trend is mainly due to higher costs amid China’s struggling economy, with a growing number of students going to less expensive countries like Australia and Britain, and tense ties between Washington and Beijing.
The number of foreign students studying in the U.S. in 2022-23 passed 1 million for the first time since the COVID pandemic, said Open Doors, an information resource on international students and scholars.
While the U.S. saw a nearly 12% total increase year-on-year for that period, the number of international students from China, its top source, fell by 0.2% to 289,526.
That’s 600 fewer students than the 2021-22 academic year, when their numbers dropped by nearly 9%. The COVID pandemic saw Chinese student numbers drop in 2020-21 by nearly 15%, in line with the world total drop.
While it’s not yet clear if the drop is a leveling out or a fluctuating decline, analysts say China’s struggling economy and the high cost of studying in the U.S. are the main reasons for the fall in student numbers.
Vincent Chen, a Chinese study abroad consultant based in Shanghai, said although most of his clients are still interested in studying in the U.S., there is a clear downward trend, while applicants for Anglophone universities in Australia and Britain have been increasing.
"If you just want to go abroad, a one-year master's degree in the U.K. is much cheaper,” Chen said. “Many people can't afford to study in the U.S., so they have to settle for the next best thing."
Data from the nonprofit U.S. group College Board Research shows that in the 2023-24 academic year, the average tuition and fees for a U.S. private college four-year education increased 4% to $41,540 compared with the previous academic year.
The British Council said three to four years of undergraduate tuition in Britain starts as low as $15,000.
The number of Chinese students in Britain was 154,260 in 2022-23, according to the U.K. Higher Education Statistics Agency, HESA, up from 121,145 in the 2018/19 academic year.
Australia’s Home Affairs office said in the 2023-24 program year, China was the top source foreign country for new student visa grants at 43,389, up slightly (1.5%) from the previous year.
Chen said Chinese state media's negative portrayal of the United States and concerns about discrimination have also contributed to the shift.
Bruce Zhang, a Chinese citizen who received his master's degree in Europe after studying in China, told VOA Mandarin he had such an incident occur to him after he was admitted to a U.S. university’s Ph.D. program.
When he entered Boston's Logan International Airport last year, Zhang said customs officers questioned him for more than an hour about his research, and if it had any links to the military, and took his computer and mobile phone for examination.
"Fortunately, I had heard that U.S. customs might be stringent in inspecting Chinese students, so I had relatively few study-related data and documents on my personal computer," he said.
Zhang was allowed to enter the U.S. for his studies in materials science, but the questioning left him so rattled that he has encouraged other Chinese to study elsewhere.
Cui Kai, a study abroad consultant in Massachusetts told VOA Mandarin that experiences like Zhang’s or worse happen for a reason.
"Students who were questioned or their visas were revoked at the customs are usually those who completed their undergraduate studies in China and come to the U.S. for a master's or doctoral degree in a sensitive major," said Cui.
Former President Donald Trump signed Proclamation 10043 in June 2020, prohibiting visas for any Chinese student who “has been employed by, studied at, or conducted research at or on behalf of, an entity in the PRC that implements or supports the PRC's “military-civil fusion strategy.”
The U.S. says China has been using students and scholars to gain access to key technology and, under Proclamation 10043, revoked more than 1,000 visas issued to Chinese nationals and has denied thousands more.
Critics say the policy is costly to the U.S. and is encouraging Chinese students to look to European and other universities.
Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.
- By VOA News
Duolingo report details the reality of Gen Z international students
![FILE - A Dartmouth Athletics banner hangs outside Alumni Gymnasium on the Dartmouth University campus in Hanover, NH, March 5, 2024.](https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0aff-0242-e46b-08dcc24fe52c_cx0_cy9_cw0_w250_r1_s.jpg)
A report by Duolingo takes a look at the experiences of Gen Z international students studying in the U.S., Australia and the U.K, The Pie reports.
The report, the site says, debunks "characterizations of them as 'tech-obsessed, attention-deficit and self-centered'" and highlights "their emerging role in shaping global politics and economics."
Read the full story here. (August 2024)
- By VOA News
School with the lowest costs for international students
![FILE - A newly printed U.S. dollar bill is shown at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing's Western Currency Facility in Fort Worth, Texas, on Dec. 8, 2022.](https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0aff-0242-5bb0-08dba10bf4ed_w250_r1_s.jpg)
U.S. News & World Report crunched the numbers and came up with a list of 20 U.S. colleges and universities with annual total costs at or below $20,184. Check out these best bargains for international students here. (August 2024)
- By VOA News
How to make the most of schools' international student services
![FILE - Students walk down Jayhawk Boulevard, the main street through the main University of Kansas campus, in Lawrence, Kansas, April 12, 2024.](https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0aff-0242-b8af-08dca145cc99_w250_r1_s.jpg)
U.S. colleges and universities offer a variety of services for international students.
U.S. News & World Report takes a look at them and details how to best use them. Read the article here. (June 2024)