Unfair Education for American Undergraduate Students

When I was a graduate student in the early 90s, there were hardly any American citizens in our program. I think there were just two.
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New York City Development Corporation recently launched an initiative to start a new Applied Science and Engineering Campus in New York City focusing on graduate level studies, research, and entrepreneurship. The City will provide land, seed investment with full support of the city administration. The city has received 18 proposals involving 27 top institutions from 8 countries. Among the top U.S. institutions, Stanford University submitted a proposal to develop $2.5 billion, 1.9 million sq. ft. campus to be located in Roosevelt Island, focusing on graduate-level teaching and research in engineering with an emphasis on transferring discoveries to the marketplace. Other U.S. universities that submitted proposals include Carnegie Melon and Cornell.

This is good for the city as it will position New York to take lead the way in new economy and frontiers of new technology. The success of this initiative depends upon many aspects but the one key factor is the quality of graduate student who will be pursuing Master's or Ph.D. degree in engineering and applied science. If NYC wants the next high growth company like Google, Amazon, or Facebook to emerge in their city, and not in China or India, then it will have to attract absolutely the best graduate students. Unlike undergraduate students who have to pay for their education, these graduate students usually do not pay tuition or other fees. They even get paid for living expenses. So most graduate students pursuing graduate studies in engineering in top institutions in the U.S. get paid for studying, and the money usually comes from organization such as National Science Foundation (NSF), which is funded by tax payers. All this sounds great but who are these graduate students and where do they come from?

Here is the answer: According to 2006 NSF data foreign student population earned 64 percent of the doctoral degrees in the U.S. The percentage has been steadily increasing since the 90s when it as around 40 percent. These figures do not include students who obtained a Master's degree in engineering. For those who work in higher education, this data is not a surprise. When I was a graduate student in the early 90s, there were hardly any American citizens in our program. I think there were just two. I came from India, and I wondered why everyone in our program was Asian, mostly Chinese or Indian. There is nothing wrong for the U.S. to attract the best students from all over the world. Many in the academic community and industry believe that U.S. needs to bring skilled foreign talents in order to remain competitive. I received a full tuition waiver for my entire Ph.D. program and did not a pay a penny for my education at UMASS, Amherst.

So we get qualified graduate students from all over the world, give them tuition waiver, pay them living expenses and help them get high paying jobs if they choose to remain in America. Thus more and more universities and industry are choosing foreign workers to fill paying research positions jobs due to the fact that the U.S. is not producing enough qualified people to meet our needs. So what is wrong with this?

The problem is students have to pay for undergraduate education in America. According to the College Board, average tuition, at private institutions for academic year 2011-12 is $28,500 and $8,200 in public schools. Few students can afford to pay for college without some form of financing. Studies indicate two-thirds of undergraduate students graduated with a Bachelor's degree and some debt in 2007-08 , and the average student loan debt among graduating seniors was $23,186 excluding PLUS Loans. Among graduating 4-year undergraduate students who applied for federal student aid, 86.3 percent borrowed to pay for their education and the average cumulative debt was $24,651.

Compare this data with their counterpart international students, especially from Asia, as they receive 75 percent of the doctoral degrees in engineering in the U.S. China, which has the largest higher education system in the world with over 25 million students, had free public education. After educational reforms in 80s, private educational institutions have grown substantially in the last two decades. To meet the higher demand for higher education, the central government implemented a dual track enrollment policy in which students, who scored below the cut-off line on the national college entrance examination, had to pay for their tuition. Since 1997 all students are expected pay for higher education but support is provided through grants, scholarship, work-study and loans. According to International Comparative Higher Education Finance Projects, higher education instruction costs (tuition) born by parents and students vary from $797 at low public institution to $3,333 at high private institution in 2009 in China.

The cost of higher education in India is supported by central and state governments. The 16 central universities receive grants from the central government through University Grant Commission. Students attending these institutions pay almost nothing for their education. According to International Comparative Higher Education Finance Projects, higher education instruction costs (tuition) born by parents and students vary from $106 at Central university to $155 at private colleges in India.

The picture is clear. Students from China and India, who come to the U.S. for higher education, mostly graduated from top tier institutions where they got their undergraduate degree without paying much for tuition, or had marginal loans which they can pay off when they are working as graduate student here. If someone in the U.S. were to go to even a state college, the tuition payment alone will be several times more when compared with a low public schools in China and a Central University in India. To be precise, an American student will have to pay 10 to 80 times more for a 4 year degree. With over 80 percent of students borrowing to pay for school and carrying a debt over $24,000, no one wants to go to graduate school. In my personal experience, I see my own students, well qualified and interested in pursuing graduate studies choose work wherever they can just so they can start paying their student loans. On the other hand, foreign graduate students, who come here get tax-payer supported tuition free education and a generous stipend that helps them to even pay off their student loan back home, if there is any, and help them get better paying jobs after their education.

Welcome to America where we make our own students cough up money for basic, undergraduate education and pay others for higher education. Good luck, America!

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