This spring, half of Bucknell’s international students were Chinese — that’s a jump from just five years ago, when only 37 percent hailed from China.
In the last decade, Bucknell saw its international student population increase by 102 percent. The Chinese student population in the same period grew by a whopping 694 percent.
Brett Basom, associate director for international recruitment, says Bucknell actively recruits in China, but Bucknell is also experiencing a national trend — China sends more students to the United States than any other nation.
As it turns out, the specific appeal of Bucknell to Chinese students is much the same as it is for American students.
“By and large, they focus on the quality of the academics,” says Jennifer Figueroa, director of International Student Services. “And understanding about the liberal arts is increasing in China too.”
Yuan “Alex” Gao ’19 was fascinated by the liberal arts concept and wanted to study engineering, so he applied to colleges offering both, including Swarthmore and Davidson.
“My mom helped me decide … she told me if I want to change my major, Bucknell has a lot of other options,” he says. “The ironic thing is that’s exactly what happened. Now I found two majors [film/media studies and environmental studies] that I love.”
Milenna Huang ’22 hadn’t chosen a major, so she wanted a college with plenty of options and small classes. Her parents wanted the name recognition so she’d have more opportunities in China.
“My parents are really traditional, so the rankings were definitely important for them,” says Huang, who also considered Colgate and Smith. “For me, Bucknell has the advantages of a big research university and a small liberal arts college.”
Chemistry major Jiayi “Echo” He ’20 was the first in her family to study abroad, so she looked for a good chemistry department, grabbed Bucknell’s early decision offer, then hooked into the extensive social network Chinese Bucknellians enjoy.
“My parents wanted me to study abroad, but not in a dangerous place — there’s a lot of news about students abroad having issues,” she says. “So I chose a college in a rural, safer area that would be a good start to my college life.”
— Susan Lindt