"Foreign students flock to the US; Surge in overseas applicants driven by weak dollar" by Peter Schworm, Globe Staff | July 5, 2008
The faltering US dollar, which has steadily lost value against major currencies around the world, has produced a silver lining for foreign students, and the American universities that recruit them.
With every dip in the exchange rate, the cost of college for many foreign students has dropped in kind, a discount that has contributed to a surge in demand for Boston-area colleges and universities, college administrators, consultants, and higher education specialists say.
"Everyone wants an American education, but for many families the cost has been prohibitive," said Marguerite Dennis, vice president for enrollment and international programs at Suffolk University, which attributes a sharp rise in international enrollment this fall to the exchange rate. "But now, the dollar has made coming here so much more attractive and realistic."
Never mind YOUR SUFFERING here at home, AmeriKa!!!!
Widely considered the worldwide gold standard for higher education, American universities have suddenly emerged as a bargain for a growing number of international students, whose yen, rupees, and pounds go much further than they used to. The influx is expected to reverse the declines in foreign student enrollment that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Yeah, they gotta get that September 11 crap in there, don't they (flog, flog).
Yeah, WTF they letting in potential 'terrorists" for?
I mean, if they are gonna play that "game"....
Many colleges in Massachusetts and across the country report sharp increases in applications and acceptances from international students for the coming school year, especially from India, China, and European countries.
As the throngs of foreign tourists who flock to Harvard Yard and other local campuses attest, the Boston area has long been a beacon for international students. With nearly 24,000 foreign students, Boston is the country's third-leading host city, trailing New York and Los Angeles. Higher-education institutions such as Harvard University, Boston University, Boston College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Northeastern are known around the world.
The surge in foreign student enrollment could have a considerable positive economic effect on the region, education specialists said. Last year, the nearly 29,000 foreign students in Massachusetts contributed almost $1 billion to the state's economy, according to a new study by the association.
India set the pace, the sixth consecutive year it has sent the most students to the United States, followed by China and Korea. Some college officials are skeptical that favorable exchange rates are the main reason for the increase. Officials at Harvard, Amherst College, and MIT report increases in international enrollment, but say their financial aid packages make money less of a concern. Since most colleges offer limited scholarships to foreigners, international students tend to be well off to begin with, others say.
Colleges also point to enhanced recruitment strategies abroad and increased global awareness of American universities, particularly in China and India. But most admissions officers say they are convinced that the exchange rate has fundamentally altered the financial equation for many middle-class families abroad.
One wishes the power structure and AmeriKan MSM (like the Globe here) would give as much attention to OUR KIDS and THEIR EDUCATIONS, rather than ripping them all the time and calling for more state control!
You'll never see it from the agenda-pushing MSM though.
Which is why YOU and I are HERE!
Peggy Blumenthal of the Institute of International Education said some national governments, such as Saudi Arabia and Chile, have taken advantage of the low exchange rates to expand international scholarship programs.
Yesterday, one euro bought about $1.57, while the pound bought almost $2. The Australian and Canadian dollars had reached near-parity. "Ten years ago, we had to provide scholarship assistance to offset the difference between the Canadian dollar and ours," said Peter Miller, vice president for admission services at American International College in Springfield. "Now it's more economical for them to come here."
Yeah, so the dropping dollar has been GREAT -- for some!!!!
NOT YOU, American!
Adam Goldberg, an education consultant in Braintree, said families with college-bound students from Toronto and Montreal are "giddy over the exchange rate imbalance."
Some colleges say they would like to expand recruitment to capitalize on the currency situation. But because exchange rates are a zero-sum game, there's a catch.
"Unfortunately, it will make my [international] trips that much more expensive," said Stu Schmill, MIT's admissions dean."--MORE--"
I hope you were not expecting any sympathy, guy.
At least you get to travel abroad!
Of course, there are two sides to every story:
"Global tourism up, but US percentage of foreign visitors dips; Frosty image to blame, analysts say" by Oskar Garcia, Associated Press | July 5, 2008
LAS VEGAS - Despite the weak US dollar, a boom in international travel around the world hasn't translated into an explosion of foreign tourists in the United States.
Explanations range from post-9/11 security headaches and lower air fares elsewhere to poor marketing by the United States.
There they go with the frikkin' 9/11 again!
Whatever the cause, travel industry specialists say the nation is missing an opportunity to make up for the shortfall in domestic tourism caused by high fuel prices.
GOOD!!!! Please, world, DON'T COME HERE!
Make the travel industry SCREAM in AGONY so that maybe, MAYBE, we can jettison this "TERRORISM TYRANNY," 'kay?
Thank you!
The US share of international tourism dollars has slipped, too, though the United States still drew more money than any other single country in 2006 and more than it did in 2000. From 16 percent of the market in 2000, or $82.4 billion, the United States took in 12 percent of the $733 billion worldwide tourism market, or $86 billion in 2006.
Major destinations such as Los Angeles; Orlando, Fla.; San Francisco, Miami, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Boston all saw 20 percent to 34 percent fewer travelers in 2006 compared with 2000. Of the Top 10 cities, only New York saw more visitors in 2006 than in 2000, with a 9 percent increase to 6.2 million arrivals, according to the US Commerce Department.
Part of the problem is the perception of frosty US attitudes toward foreigners, starting at customs, said Roger Dow, president of the Travel Industry Association. That and other factors make it hard to attract overseas travelers.
Translation: AmeriKa is a bunch of RACISTS (thanks, divisive, lying, agenda-pushing Zionist press).
--MORE--"
Yeah, thanks "terrorism!"
And I don't know where the world would get that perception; do you?
"Welcome aboard; On dock next to USS Constitution, 26 people become citizens" by Bryan Marquard, Globe Staff | July 5, 2008
Voice quavering ever so slightly, Seaman Ryan Ellis sang a patriot song yesterday for the 26 people who took the Oath of Citizenship on the dock next to his ship, the USS Constitution.
As they waved miniature American flags like tiny conductors' batons, the new US citizens began to join in, timidly at first, until by the end a full chorus, born in Laos and Lebanon, in Syria, Switzerland and 16 other nations, helped Ellis finish the final refrain, "God bless America, my home sweet home."
They may have been uncertain about adding voices to an impromptu choir, but some of those interviewed were eager to participate in an impending rite of citizenship: voting in the November presidential election.
"The right to vote, for me, is very important - it's a privilege that's underestimated," said Jill Hackett, who arrived from South Africa nine years ago and is now director of training at Partners in Health, an international healthcare advocacy group based in Boston.
"You look at what's going on in Zimbabwe," she said of the widely-discredited presidential election in that African nation. "In this country, your vote counts. The power really lies in the hands of the citizens."
Sigh. Have you seen the last few election cycles, lady?
I'm so tired of the BS propaganda shoveled out by the Zionist War Dailies.
I gotta move quick.
The fact is, there is no real reflection on what yesterday truly meant in the Zionist-controlled shit rags -- it is just the same old divisive agenda-pushing they do every day.
Alan Herbert, who left New Zealand and now is an assistant professor at the Boston University School of Medicine, decided to become a US citizen in part because of his strong opinions about the war in Iraq, which he opposes.
Yeah, that's how much or vote matters right there!
"It's fine to be a critic, but at a certain point you have to participate," said Herbert, who wanted to change citizenship in time to vote in November, noting that the next president also might make appointments that will affect the balance on the US Supreme Court.
Hey, don't lecture me, bub!
I've done everything I was supposed to do, which is how I ended up here!
Yesterday's ceremony represented a trifecta of sorts for the new citizens. They took the oath on the Fourth of July, the most patriotic holiday in their adopted home. Raising their right hands, they faced the USS Constitution, a potent symbol of preserving democracy. And afterward, Vice President Dick Cheney dropped by to shake hands and ask them about their countries of origin.
Oh, what a thrill! A war criminal got to shake their hand?
Did yours smell like dog shit afterwards, new citizen?
Anybody protest the guy, Globe?
"At home we cannot shake hands with the vice president," said Rasikbhai Patel, who immigrated from Surat, India, and was sworn in yesterday with his son, Hardik.
Who would want to here? NOT ME!!! I'd spit in his fucking face!!!!
From the tent that shielded the gathering from the rain, Cheney stepped aboard the USS Constitution, where he was scheduled to attend a military reenlistment ceremony that his office said was closed to the public.
Why? Don't we PAY for them? Isn't it OUR ARMY?
But the brevity of his visit didn't dim the enthusiasm of those who were thrilled to meet the nation's second-highest elected official.
"I can't believe that on my first day as a citizen I shook hands with the vice president," said Dor Juravski, who used to live in Israel.
The 26 Massachusetts residents who took the Oath of Citizenship were among about 2,500 people to do so yesterday nationwide, said Shawn Saucier, a spokesman for US Citizenship and Immigration Services.
"It's a great day to be an American," Tom Paar, chief of staff for the agency, told the gathering. "It's an even greater day to become one."
US District Judge Richard G. Stearns presided over the ceremony, telling the new citizens that the USS Constitution, docked behind him as he faced those gathered for the event, was an apt metaphor that "reminds us that freedom is not always a natural state of human affairs."
I'm really getting ill now, 'kay?
Along with the privilege of voting, Stearns said, citizenship carries responsibilities, including one he called "close to my heart" - jury duty. "If I am fortunate," he said, "I will get to see you in my courtroom."
The new citizens moved to the United States for reasons as diverse as the countries they left behind. Sarah Inam traveled from Saudi Arabia to study communications management at Emerson College. Christelle Salemme moved from Switzerland in 1994 to become an au pair.
"I wasn't really planning on staying," she said, "but I got married."
And Petty Officer First Class Edwin Arango didn't travel far for the ceremony, though the country of his birth was a continent away.
Arango serves on the USS Constitution and led the Pledge of Allegiance yesterday. He was 5 when his family moved to the United States. At 33, a dozen years into his Navy career, he is finally a US citizen.
"I've done a lot of things with the Navy," he said, "but this is by far the most exciting and the most nerve-racking."
Hackett, who came to the United States eight years ago on a Fulbright scholarship to get her MBA at Brandeis University, said the hourlong ceremony was at once exhilarating and humbling.
"It's such an honor," she said, clutching the certificate of US citizenship that is sought by so many. "Just holding this in my hand - how many want it?"--MORE--"
That why we got so many DUAL ISRAELI NATIONALS running this government?
