Emory University News Release

Release date: March 9, 2004
Contact: Deb Hammacher, Associate Director, University Media Relations,
at 404-727-0644 or dhammac@emory.edu

Emory's Graduate Schools Hold Steady with International Applications for 2004

Unlike many colleges and universities this year, international applications at Emory University's graduate schools held steady for fall 2004, with the exception of a steep drop in applications from China for the university's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

A recent survey by the Council of Graduate Schools found that more than 90 percent of American colleges and universities have seen a drop in applications from international graduate students for the fall 2004 term, and the number of submissions has fallen 32 percent from last year.

Emory's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences received 1,043 applications from international students, a 36 percent decrease from last year's total of 1,626. However, the decline is specific to China. Applications from that country accounted for 97 percent of the decrease, with 387 applications from China this year, compared to 952 last year, says Richard Rubinson, interim associate dean of the school.

"We have read several articles reporting that the Chinese government has been actively trying to increase the number of students staying in China and reduce the number going abroad. Overall, we have not seen any general reduction in international applications across the board as other universities seem to have experienced," Rubinson says.

Emory's Goizueta Business School actually saw a slight increase in international applications this year, according to Julie Barefoot, assistant dean of admissions and career services. The business school had a slight drop in applications from China, but not enough to affect the overall number.

"Over the past three years, international applications have accounted for about 50 percent of our pool, so we were pleased to see that the numbers stayed steady and went up. With the changes in student visas, students tend to be discouraged from applying to U.S. schools. As a result, we are very proactive in recruiting, and in working with them to obtain the visas they need to study here," says Barefoot, who adds that the school had a 100 percent success rate in obtaining visas for international students last year.

These trends at Emory mirror some of the findings of the Council of Graduate Schools survey, which found the largest drop in applications from countries that usually send the most applications. Applications from students in China declined by 76 percent, those from India fell 58 percent. Students in the Middle East sent 31 percent fewer applications, and even Western Europe had a 30 percent decline.

The results among the 32 research universities with the largest international enrollments were much worse. Thirty-one of those institutions (97 percent) saw declines; 90 percent reported fewer applications from China, and 72 percent reported fewer from India. More than 90 percent saw drops in engineering applications, and 80 percent saw fewer for physical sciences.