As the school year begins, Miami University students reacclimate themselves to classes, extracurriculars and sleep schedules. Amid the readjustment, there has been a noticeable change in the makeup of the student body; a change in the international student population.
Molly Heidemann, the director of International Student and Scholar Services, said that while there was a slight decrease in international students before the pandemic, COVID-19 is what caused the significant decline.
In 2023, the Oxford campus had roughly 1,000 international students, however in 2024 the number decreased to 750, Heidemann said.
“If we look at all campuses, which is how we think of our international student population, we have about 900 international students currently among the three campuses and 750 are here at Oxford,” Heidemann said. “We have seen a decrease in our overall international student population numbers since the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Despite the changes enacted during the pandemic, Miami University’s policies on international students have remained unchanged.
“The government relaxed some of the rules pertaining to international students, so students were allowed to study fully online during that time,” Heidemann said. “And then once it was kind of seen as more or less over, the regular regulations were back in effect, so aside from that, there hasn’t been any real policy changes.”
Charlie Ha, an international student from Vietnam, said the kindness he received on campus surprised him.
“I found people here to be really nice and friendly,” Ha said. “The professors are great and really open to questions.”
Ha also said he felt nervous at first because he anticipated an unwelcoming environment.
“Based on what some of my other friends in universities in America have told me, I expected people here to be unfriendly,” Ha said. “But it turned out to be much more positive than I expected.”
However, not all international students share Ha’s experience. Vanessa Pan, an international student from China, said she appreciates the academic and career-focused aid Miami gives her, but often feels isolated on campus.
Pan, who transferred from a Chinese university, originally meant to spend two years attending university in China and two years in America, but a change of major led her to spend all four years at Miami.
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“At Miami, I think the greatest help was the alumni and grad students,” Pan said. “The internship at the company I am working at now was gotten through an alumni helping me to network into the spot.”
Despite this, she said she struggles to fit in at the Farmer School of Business. As an international student, Pan said she sometimes feels “uncomfortable being surrounded by 98% white students.”
On campus, she hopes to bring more attention to the international student presence.
“I hope that the university can shift its focus to remember us more clearly,” Pan said.
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