Do International Students Receive a Positive Experience at Ramapo College?

By DANIELLE DEANGELIS

It’s college decision season for the incoming class of 2024, and Ramapo College is doing everything in its power to bump up their international student population.

However, with Ramapo’s international student population being in the triple digits, students and faculty wonder how the students are supported being so far from home.

“We receive anywhere from 20-40 international students per year,” Roukema Center for International Education Director Rajesh Adhikari said. “Sometimes when I travel, I go to their schools/centers and talk to the students about Ramapo and the application process.”

Because of the large population and heightening recruitment rates, some observers on campus ask: how are international students supported by the campus while they are so far from home?

The International Student Process

The Office of International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) is responsible for recruiting, accepting and helping international students from 30 countries during their transition period from their home country to Mahwah, New Jersey. On their website, they claim to heavily assist international students when regarding financial support.

International students at Ramapo are given a housing grant, which splits the price of on campus housing in half. They are also given an application fee waiver that covers the price of their application and “freezes” their tuition payments until after one’s graduation.

With the presidential merit scholarship, an international student at Ramapo college is estimated to pay $6000 a year, which creates a total of $24000 in housing fees. This is less than half of what a student from New Jersey attending Ramapo and living on campus with the same scholarship is expected to pay.

Bamar international senior Seint Sandy Aung professed to have only achieved a positive outlook while attending Ramapo, stating in the ISSS website’s “testimonials” section that “Ramapo has so much to offer and has a lot of room for academic and personal development.”

The ISSS claims to hold “an open and welcoming environment for all [of their] international visitors” in their website’s introduction. There are many students in Ramapo’s campus general body, however, that are concerned for the well-being of many international students.

??China: 369,548
??India: 202,014
??South Korea: 52,250
??Saudi Arabia: 37,080
??Canada: 26,112
??Vietnam: 24,392
??Taiwan: 23,369
??Japan: 18,105
??Brazil: 16,059
??Mexico: 15,229

(IIE 2019)

— Dr. Kash Sirinanda (@kashthefuturist) January 23, 2020

Many international students on campus do not have the money to go back to their home country to visit family during winter, summer, or Thanksgiving and spring break. During these times, most of the campus’ offices and dining halls are closed, so it is hard for the few residents that remain on campus to receive appropriate accommodations.

“I have a friend that is an international student from Bulgaria, and I know that he stays on campus during winter break because he does not have enough money to go home for the holidays,” Milos Miladinov, a student at Ramapo said.

Miladinov is an immigrant who said that it was “hard” to understand English when he moved to America from Macedonia as a teenager. He has friends who are international students attending Ramapo, and he finds himself being concerned for them during breaks, especially due to their similar experiences.

However, when asked about managing their time and meals when most campus facilities are closed, one international student, who asked to remain anonymous, did not note any complaints.

“I’ve only stayed on campus during a holiday once, and it was a pretty decent experience and I certainly didn’t find it difficult,” the student said.