By Edward R. Bauer
Director of International Programs
Davenport College

Sufficient information is an essential ingredient for making the right choice in selecting a college. In addition, more accurate information generally leads to better decision, and the best information is always available through first-hand experience.

In this aspect, the traditional admissions process, designed to serve the needs of the American high school student and the institution being applied to, does not equally serve the needs of the prospective student from another country.

American students generally begin thinking about which college they will attend two years before graduation from high school. They enjoy a resource of background information from their families and friends. Advisers at their high schools provide more detailed information about a wide range of career possibilities and academic programs, and help direct them to colleges which can provide the means to achieve their goals.
American high school students often continue the process by attending college fairs, visiting with college representatives, or simply reviewing materials from selected institutions.

After narrowing their choices of prospective colleges, students visit college campuses. In this manner, American students usually arrive at few final selections, and proceed to submit application forms. The final step, of course, is waiting nervously for an acceptance letter. This process has been in place for many years and works well for American high school students, as well as for the institutions they apply to.

When American colleges and universities began recruiting students from other countries, the same admissions process used to recruit American students was used with only slight modification.

The international admissions process at most institutions in the United States does provide the prospective student access to information. And international students have ample opportunity to visit college fairs, meet with college representatives, and review materials.

In addition, they can solicit information from alumni and governmental agencies. Although the process works well for the institution, it doesn't entirely serve the needs of the international students because something is missing from the traditional process. The something is the campus visit.

The campus visit is an extremely important part of the admissions process. It provides experiential information to the students which helps them determine if the college is the "right place" for them to spend the next four years of their lives.

During the visit, the student meets faculty, staff and students at the college, visits student living quarters, classrooms, the library, and generally experiences life on the campus.

Without the campus visit, the student would be lacking much of the information needed to make the right decision which is in their best interest. For American students, a campus visit lasts for one, or maybe two days. Associated costs are relatively low and usually the parents go to the college with the student.
Making a campus visit can be difficult or impossible for international students. It makes no sense for the student to go so far for only one or two days, yet the institution is not prepared to receive the student for a longer period.

Travel abroad is both costly and time consuming and traveling alone can be a frightening experience for a young high school student.

Traditionally in the United States, the student is responsible to arrange the visit to the campus and pay all expenses. It's clear that the international student is at a disadvantage in completing this important part of the admissions process. Innovation by American colleges is needed to make the campus visit part of the admissions process for prospective students from abroad.

Innovation is the act of introducing something new to an existing process to improve the results. A recent innovative idea enables international high school students to visit the United States and experience American college life at a very reasonable cost.

The goals of the program were designed to benefit students specifically during their college selection process. It provides the opportunity for each student to enhance his/her English skills, learn about American culture, and experience life on an American college campus.

Although programs that contain those goals have been offered for years, this new program benefits the students in more ways than just the enjoyment of a summer visit to America. It includes concurrent enrollment, a practice common in the United States where high school student scan take college level courses before graduating from high school. Such a program was recently introduced to high school students in Taiwan.

In the new program, instructors from the American college conduct classes at the high school during the spring term, starting courses which the students complete when they visit the American college in the summer.

The students remain on the campus in the United States for almost four weeks where they study, experience American culture, make new friends, and learn what it is like to live the life of a student on an American college campus. When they return home, the students can continue in the program and prepare for the next level of courses t0 be conducted the following spring, when another American instructor will arrive at the high school.
As a result of concurrent enrollment, students who successfully complete course work in the program earn credit which can be used to fulfill academic requirements in their future bachelor degree programs.

Participants in this program actually receive more benefits than American students do from the admissions process. Not only do the international students have ample opportunity to experience life in the United States, develop English skills, and learn about the college and its academic programs, they also generate enough credit to receive advanced standing as freshmen if they choose to enroll in a degree program at the college after graduation from high school; and the cost savings are tremendous. The students in this program can earn the credit at 1/3 the cost of regular enrollment for the same number of credit hours.

Although there are many important aspects to the program which benefit all parties involved, the most important is that it provides opportunity for the international student to experience a campus visit and gain the knowledge necessary to make an informed decision on which college to attend. Innovation has given them the chance to experience the entire traditional admissions process.

Tradition is good. Innovation is good. Tradition with innovation is great. This program proves that the student wins when you combine the two in international admissions.