California State University East Bay

The Pioneer

California State University East Bay

The Pioneer

California State University East Bay

The Pioneer

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The Appeal of CSUEB

Universities in the United States, especially those in California, attract students from all over the world. CSU East Bay is not an exception to this trend. Ray Wallace, of the Center of International Education (CIE) at CSUEB, states that the number of international students (holders of F1 and J1 visas) this fall quarter is 1,061. This number, he emphasized, does not include other non-immigrant visa holders.

Wallace said that among the international students attending CSUEB, Asians are the majority. Hundreds of Asian students attend the university each quarter either as matriculated students in degree programs, or to study English or join a certificate or pre-undergraduate or -graduate program.

One question barely asked and worth asking is why these students chose CSUEB for their program.

Yifan Caroline Wu from China, a theater and broadcasting major explained her case.

“I had always dreamed of studying television production,” Wu said. “After reading about the United States—especially about the San Francisco Bay Area—I came to realize that it would the best place to study television production as technology is very advanced in the U.S., especially here.

“Another reason why I chose CSUEB is that it is located in a very nice area, and life is pretty cheap here,” added Wu.

“The frog in the well can just think and see inside the well,” said Jay Patel, an international student from India and a management option business major. “He cannot see the reality outside the well.
“He will think that the world he knows is not more than a well, while the reality is far away from his thinking,” said Patel, using this example of the frog and the well to describe what he thinks of the United States and why the San Francisco Bay Area especially is so important to him in terms of learning and exploring the world.

Patel explained that the Bay Area is a great place to explore the rest of the world and learn more because here you will have a chance to interact with people with different cultural backgrounds—not only with Americans, but with people from all over the world.

He also added that Americans have some attractive values, such as punctuality and handiwork. These are among the many values he came to incorporate with his old habits.
CSUEB tuition is affordable to many international students.

“I made a list of some colleges in the Bay Area and then started searching on it,” said Patel. “I found that for CSUEB, they are offering the exact program that I wanted, and I found the tuition affordable compared to other universities.”

He added that the weather is a reason for picking CSUEB. “The sun is shining and I am getting good knowledge from the college. I am satisfied with the U.S. and with CSUEB.”
Although they are not high in number, African students can be found within CSUEB student’s communities.

Wallace explains that African students on campus are most often from Nigeria and Kenya, but still their number is very small compared to Asians.

Henry is an African student from Ghana in West Africa, studying statistics. Fall 2010 is his first quarter and CSUEB seems to meet his expectations.

Most African countries are still lugging behind when it comes to technology, which unfortunately plays an important role in education, a key element to development, explains Henry.

“The United States is very advanced in computers and software compared to African countries,” he acknowledges.     This is what led him to come here for his studies and to Henry—the perception that CSUEB is one of the best in the Bay Area.

“I have not been here for long, though I heard many people speaking of the school with respect,” said Henry. “I then thought it would be a good idea to get my degree here.”

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California State University East Bay
The Appeal of CSUEB