U. admits 441 foreign students

The University admitted 441 international students for the class of 1996, a dramatic increase since the development of the rapidly-growing program for international students in 1978. This year, 1678 students from around the world applied for admission to the University, a 25 percent increase over last year. The recruitment of international students began in 1978 when only 248 students applied and 69 were accepted. Since then, Director of International Admissions Elisabeth O'Connell has been in charge of formulating a comprehensive recruitment program. "The great increase in the representation of international students at the University relates to the fact that there is a commitment by Penn as an institution [to diversification]," O'Connell said yesterday. "In more recent times, Penn has had a strong international representation." O'Connell attributes the increased representation of foreign applicants to the Admissions Office's commitment to recruiting them through visits, a special brochure for applicants outside of the United States and active alumni in distant regions. "We saw a ripple effect since the University started actively recruiting internationally by visiting schools, developing a publication and talking to alumni," she said. "The biggest change came about when we started to travel because personal contact is crucial." There are three members of the University who recruit internationally -- O'Connell and international admissions officers Jody Robinson and Ambrose Davis. They started recruiting overseas 11 years ago in countries such as Europe, Latin America and Asia. A global recruitment began eight years ago, O'Connell said. The alumni, who form 56 committees, are responsible for interviewing candidates, arranging programs for the traveling international Admissions officers and acting as a local resource, according to O'Connell. "They are critical because the alumni function in society to validate within the local community what we say about the Penn experience," she said. O'Connell said that for the past three years, approximately 10 percent of the incoming class is composed of students from countries outside of the U.S. She said it is a cyclical process because as more international students attend the University and return to their native countries, they talk about the school and what it has to offer. This leads more and more people to investigate and apply. "Over time, Penn becomes more visible because it is a pro-active process," O'Connell said. "It is a circle, which perpetuates and the numbers keep going up and up." While O'Connell said there is no quota for the number of students from other countries the University admits, she said they like to see a fair representation. "When we first started [international recruitment], a little over one percent of the student body was international, so they were underrepresented, but now they are very well represented," she said. "If you compare us to other schools, you would see that we have the highest number of international students in the Ivy League." Admission Dean Willis Stetson said the high percentage of students from countries outside of the U.S. adds to the diversity of the University. He said this heterogeneous student body gives people the chance to learn outside of the classroom. "The true impact of diversity embodies not only ethnic, racial and geographic presence from the states, but also includes students from around the world," he said last night. "Their presence at Penn makes the experience a richer one for everyone -- faculty and students alike." This year, the Admissions committee admitted students from 63 countries, according to O'Connell. She attributed the greater number of countries represented to the political situation in the world. "As the world opened up, students applied from places we have never received applications from before . . . and this is a reflection of what is going on politically," O'Connell said. "This year, we received our first applications from Czechoslovakia, Romania, Poland and Estonia."

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