Jaber Alhazzaa
Andrea Francis
ENG105
2 October 2016
The Tuition Problem for International Students
Part One: What I Knew and What I Wanted to Find Out
Tuition in the United States is a topic that has a lot of attention right now. Even though tuition for American students is extremely high, there is a smaller group of people that are also suffering from the high tuition prices. In this case, international students are an easy way for schools to get money which is what I believe is the reason it keeps increasing year after year. The I-Search question that I am trying to research will be Is the international tuition price fair for international students like me? Even though my country pays for my scholarship, not all students are this lucky. I know some Kuwaiti students and even some Saudi students that do not have a scholarship from their country. This means that they are paying around $20,000 a year just for school and it does not include their apartment, food, clothes, and everything else they have. For many students this is not affordable and they have to give up an education just because they do not have the money for it. I know there are scholarships for international students as well, but it is limited money and if you are not a very good student then you do not have a big chance of getting a scholarship.
For my I-Search there were some questions that I wanted to know more about. First, how does international tuition compare to other countries? Even though other countries have very good schools I wanted to see how much it costs to go to a university in the United States compared to other countries. This would help me to know if it is just the United States that has this problem or if all the advanced countries have it. Second, what are the reasons that education is so expensive? Some of the reasons that I can think of is that international students need extra services, but this is not really the case at NAU. The PIE school here charges the same tuition so it does not make sense to keep charging us the same even after we graduate from PIE and do not need extra services. Also, I know that out of state students only get charged that high amount their first year. After that they become in-state and the price lowers. I am interested in why this does not happen with international students. Third, is the cost of education in the United States worth it? Since a university is very expensive in the United States, I wanted to know if I was getting this value from it. Paying $20,000 at a school that is not even in the top 50 or 100 does not seem like a good deal. Especially because there are some better schools than Northern Arizona University which are less expensive. Some private schools are also cheaper than NAU and I do not think that this fits the price for it. Fourth, do the schools think this is becoming a problem? I wanted to know if the schools even cared about this problem or if they just wanted to get international students accepted so they would have more money.
Part Two: My Search Process
Before I started my search, I wanted to get an idea about how different the tuition at Northern Arizona University so I checked on the school website. At the Flagstaff Campus it showed three different tuition sections: residents, non-residents, and Western Exchange students. The total semester tuition for a new resident student is $5,382.00; for non-residents it was $12,072.00 and for the Western Exchange students it was $7,819.00. According to the NAU website, a Western Exchange student is a student from the Western United States such as California, Nevada, New Mexico, who get a cheaper tuition than students from New York or Florida. For international student the tuition price is $22,900 per year. The tuition for non-residents is a little more than international students, and I was not sure what that meant so I knew I had to do a google search for this.
I searched “different tuition prices” on google and it showed 8 million search results. When I was scanning the term out-of-state tuition showed up a lot so I decided to search that term instead and it gave me 84 million articles this time. The first link was from U.S. News with the title “Get In-State Tuition at Out-of-State Colleges.” I opened it but it was very long so I looked at the names of other articles and I decided to click on one with the title “Difference between In-state and Out of State Fee.” I thought maybe this might explain it more easily than the other article. This article explained what I was looking for in a very easy way: “Out-of-state fees, is paid by students who are not residents of that State where they go to school. For instance, when a student goes to school in Texas, but lives in Florida, he/she must pay out-of-state fees simply because the school (in Texas) is outside the student’s residence” (Sukumar). This showed me that the tuition problem in the United States is much bigger than I thought before. It is not just international students that they take advantage of, even their own students.
After getting that background information, I went on the NAU library website and I searched with the key words “international student” AND “tuition”, which showed me 484 results. After this I switched to the keywords “foreign student” and “tuition” which showed me 368 results. I knew this was a lot of results and I would not be able to search through them so I decided to limit my results to the years 2012 through 2016. When I changed this it showed me 100 results. The first three articles had the titles “Return migration of foreign students and non-resident tuition fees”, “To include or exclude: a comparative study of state laws on in-state tuition for undocumented students in the united states”, and “Global competition for brains and talent.” The first article looked interesting and talked about the economic reasons why there should be high tuition fees for international students. I thought this article would be interesting since it says that international student tuition should be higher if there is a chance that students from poorer countries decide to stay in the more advanced country (for example Indian students in the United States). This made me think about the Arab students, most go back to their countries so it does not make sense for the United States to charge such high fees for us. I decided to add this source for my works cited page.
I went onto Google Images to see if there were any good graphs or information from pictures I could use. I searched international student fees and there were many interesting images that showed up. I decided to use figure 1 (McCarthy) because one of my questions was how the tuition fees in the United States compared to other countries. I picked this image because it shows the top 10 countries for highest tuition and like I believed, the United States was at the top. The image source is from Forbes.com, an article titled “Where Do Foreign Students Face The Highest University Fees? [Infographic]”.
![Infographic: Where Foreign Students Face The Highest University Fees | Statista]()
Figure 1. Countries with Highest International Student Fees
In my opinion, I do not think it is fair and there is a huge gap between international student and American citizens. For example, an international student might end up paying three or more times the price of other students. I think that the schools should focus some attention on the tuition for international students and make it reasonable. I decided to ask some of the international students about the tuition problem. The question I asked them is do you think the international tuition is fair? Hassan Alyami said, “Well. No. It's too much. And there is other colleges/uni's that's as good and stuff but cheaper. Tuition includes a lot of stuff that we don't use at all. It's waste of money.” Hassan was born in the United States but grew up in Kuwait and he said he did not think it was fair that he had to pay three times more even though he is an American Citizens and studied at an English school in Kuwait. Later I texted some of my other friends but only two more replied to my question. Salim Mohammed said, “No because it is too expensive” and Abdulaziz Omar said, “I don’t pay it because my government has scholarship. But if I had to pay it I would not come. It is too expensive and other countries is cheaper.” I am wondering if I asked American students about this, what their opinion would be? It would be good to compare the answers.
For my third question I went on to google and searched “is the cost of US college worth it?” The first article I read was from the Washington Post titled “Is college worth the cost? Many recent graduates don’t think so.” This article said that only 38% of students believed that their college degree was worth the cost they paid (Selingo). It adds that 9% of college graduates are unemployed and that 50% of them have a job that does not require a degree. These are things that make the cost of a college education a big waste of money for many students. I did not want to trust this website too much so I decided to do an academic search. I put in the key words “college worth it” and it showed over 2,000 search results. The first article that I took a look at is “Are college costs worth it? How ability, major, and debt affect the returns to schooling.” This article suggests that because of the cost of an education and the rewards that students have after graduating that it is not worth the cost. Students graduate with an average debt of $30,000 and many careers do not pay well after graduation (Webber 298). This makes the degree ineffective for the purpose of what they did.
I decided to go back on Google and search my final question so I searched “international fees an issue.” There were over 173 million results which most did not have to do with credit card fees. I skimmed through the pages and the third page I found an interesting article titled “Tuition Fees – A Human Rights Issue” from the Times Higher Education which is a magazine dedicated to international higher education. I found this article interesting because it actually states that International lottery cards University education as a universal human right which made me question and why universities were allowed to charge so it's outrageous rates for Education even if it was on top of quality. The article was about the UK and it states that the UK had required their universities to progressively make free education for all students, unfortunately till this day they still charge pretty high tuition rates for international students.
Part Three: What I Concluded/How This Search Matters
This search has given me a lot of information that I did not even know was out there about the topic of international tuition. One of the biggest surprises that I found was the fact that there are even American students that pay it's hard to leave soon as international students just because they are considered out of state (Sukumar). The reason I find this a problem is that many times they use the excuse that international students have not paid taxes over the years therefore they should not be entitled to the same benefits of national student but then what is the excuse they use for out-of-state students (Stephens 56). Stephens goes on to state that state universities receive public funding for their education and regardless of what state you were in as long as you are in the United States you are paying taxes or your parents are paying taxes (58). Therefore, it should not matter what state you were in because of the money that schools have come from federal funding. I hope to have found an American student I could interview about this topic, however my problem seems non-existent compared to out-of-state tuition players. Therefore, I did not want to make it seem like my issue deserved more attention than it has. This is obviously not the case, it was just a personal research paper.
This research has helped me understand what education means in the United States and the different ways in which it is valued for the most part it seems that the education system here is merely a business rather than an actual service for the country and for the people. Additionally, if international law states that it is a human right to have a higher education why aren't countries with these extremely high rates being accused of violating human rights the same way that other countries are called out for smaller issues.
Works Cited
McCarthy, Nial. “Where Foreign Students Face The Highest University Fees”. Statista. 28 July 2015. Web. 25 September 2016.
Selingo, Jeffrey J. “Is college worth the cost? Many recent graduates don’t think so.” The Washington Post. 30 September 2015. Web. 27 September 2016.
Stephens, Paul. "International Students: Separate But Profitable." Washington Monthly 45.9/10 (2013): 55-59.
Sukumar, Raghuram. “College Tuition Fees: In State vs Out Of State Fees.” Happy Schools. 25 Mar 2016. Web. 24 Sept 2016.
Webber, Douglas A. "Are College Costs Worth It? How Ability, Major, And Debt Affect The Returns To Schooling." Economics Of Education Review 53 (2016): 296-310.
Jaber Alhazzaa
Andrea Francis
ENG105, section 3
13 September 2016
Eating Ethnic
Flagstaff is a college town with thousands of students looking for the most affordable ways to enjoy their high priced tuition. Sometimes when students get tired of eating ramen noodles and hot pockets they like to have an affordable meal outside. One of the biggest concerns for students is having a meal that will not empty out their wallet. Some of the most affordable places are the fast food restaurants, but as a family man, I prefer the traditional restaurants. One cannot only eat hamburgers, fries, and pizza so many times. Additionally, I try not to fill my son up with fast food, opting instead for healthier options. I am a student from the Arab world, which means I enjoy a variety of spices in my food. One of the best places in town that I enjoy is the India Palace in the downtown area, which has been here for two years. For anyone interested in a restaurant close to campus with delicious food, excellent service, and affordable pricing, the India Palace is the way to go.
The Northern Arizona University campus sits slightly south of downtown Flagstaff, close to India Palace. A large majority of the students do not own a car or have many friends with their own means of transportation. These students must rely on walking or public transportation, which is why the proximity of places is extremely important for them. For students, downtown is easily reached either by biking, walking, driving, or riding the free NAU route bus. Students can ride down to the downtown connection center and walk less than half a mile before reaching the Indian Buffet. For students who only have an hour for lunch, this ride is very convenient. Even though my friends and I have cars, we sometimes leave them at school and simply take the bus towards the restaurant. Although I live farther away from the restaurant, it only takes about 10 minutes to drive downtown. However, I decided to take my family during Labor Day weekend which extended the usual trip. Like most buffet restaurants, the Indian Palace opens at 11am, which is a convenient time for students out on lunch break. Their buffet hours run from 11am to 3pm, which allows enough time for students to go out for their lunch meal and enjoy the benefits of an entire Indian buffet. Luckily, I do not have classes during their buffet hours, which makes it very convenient for me to enjoy a meal out with my friends or family.
As a family man, I have to make sure that I invite my family to eat healthy food that is delicious. Otherwise my son might get used to the junk food and refuse to eat healthier meals at home. One of the best things I love about the India Palace is the healthy and delicious food. Being a Muslim means that we must refrain from eating certain kinds of food, which means we search for halal food. Not only does this mean we cannot have pork, but we must make sure that the rest of the food we eat is healthy and was prepared in a specific way. Although I did not see a sign outside of their restaurant, I made sure to ask the main cook about the food and he confirmed that it was halal. Fortunately, they know the Islamic ruling on food and abide by the standards to appeal to a greater group of people.
Healthier food tends to taste better than junk food. Not only does the preparation affect the taste, but the choice of chemicals as well. The different meat dishes such as Tikka Masala, Biryani, and Korma are amazing. The Indian sauces are spicy enough to satisfy the taste buds without ruining the dish. The lamb is tender and juice, just the way it should be. For those that have not had lamb there is always the option of chicken or goat. Even those that have never had curry based cuisine will surely fall in love with the different dishes. There are a variety of rice dishes to choose from, Biryani being one of them. The freshness and savory of the rice prove that it is not left over food, but rather recently cooked. My son loved trying the different rice dishes and as always my wife devoured the Tikka Masala and Biryani.
In addition to the main meal, the server is quick to offer the famous naan bread, which is Indian garlic bread. Although it looks nothing like the ones served at American restaurants, it is delicious and no one should miss out on this side. Crispy and chewy, you can use it as a side or use it to grab some of the main rice dishes. Whatever you choose, you cannot go wrong want the naan. It is warm and its flavor fills the taste buds. For those who cannot or choose not to eat garlic bread, you can order the naan without it. However, it is the addition of garlic that really makes the bread worth it.
Fortunately, the deliciousness of the food does not end there. There are a small number of deserts to choose from. For those that have never had Indian deserts, the ice cream would be the best place to start. I had some mango ice cream, which was rich in flavor and creamy. It has a slightly different texture to that of traditional American ice cream, but it was worth the try. The texture of it is much more natural and was very fruit and ice based. However, for those who are interested in really going all out, I recommend the Gulab Jamun, which are small pancake balls in runny syrup. My son loves this desert, despite it being very sweet. However, since the main courses are spicy, it is the perfect mix of spice and sugar. The Gulab are heaven in your mouth and each bite tastes better than the last. The syrup is delicious all on its own. The Gulab Jamun is truly worthy of the name desert.
Although a place with excellent food and close to campus is great, the service can really boost the status of a restaurant. In this case, there is not a single complaint I have towards the India Palace. When I went this weekend, is what somewhat busy and I saw the server seating others, yet it did not take us more than three minutes to be seated. She quickly made her way towards the front, welcomed us to the restaurant and even before we reached the table she had already taken our drink orders. Before we even got back from the buffet, the drinks and warm naan bread were waiting for us. She was constantly on the move, cleaning up tables and tending to people’s needs. Once your drink was half way empty, she came back and offered to refill it, ensuring that you never went thirsty throughout your meal.
In a city where most things are overpriced, the $10 buffet is a great deal for many students. It is a similar price to the cost of the Student Union buffet so essentially it is more of a preference than monetary limitation. Although fast food places are much cheaper, it is the variety of food, excellent service, and ethnic taste that makes India Palace worth it. It will not break your wallet and allow you to experience the cuisine of a different culture. The delicious food, pushes you to constantly be filling up your plate, making the $10 price very worthwhile. The selection of drinks come at an addition price, but the endless refills are great. This weekend when we went we ordered a special drink that they running short on. In exchange for that we were given a free drink of a different flavor. Many places simply recommend substitutes, but the India Palace goes the extra mile by offering a different drink for free.
Overall, the India Palace is a great place for NAU students who need a place accessible from campus, affordable, and with excellent taste. For those looking to find something healthier than the typical burger and fries, this is an excellent buffet with a variety of selections to ease the hunger of any college students. The atmosphere is calm and very welcoming, making it a great place for families to enjoy an exotic cuisine for an affordable price. For my family and I, this is our go to restaurant from now on, when we need to get out of the house and are craving an authentic Asian flavor.
jaber1980
hw6.docx
