Addendum: This story has been edited for accuracy.
Schooling can be a very overwhelming and stressful experience, and living and adapting to a new country is a challenge in itself. Combining these stressors is the reality for 832 Weber State University students.
“My stress has eased up a lot compared to when I first came here, but I still feel stressed a lot,” international student Shota Muraishi said.
The fall semester saw a huge increase in international students, introducing 372 new students seeking higher education in the United States, most of whom arrived from Nepal.
Becoming an international student is already difficult, involving enrollment, transcript evaluation and testing the students’ English proficiency requirements.
Students interested in WSU must first apply and pay the $65 application fee online and have a picture of their identification page on their passport. Students will also need a copy of their transcripts of their academic records and a diploma showing a date of completion.
International students must also prove that their English is up to standards by achieving a high enough English language proficiency score. Valid forms of testing include the Test of English as a Foreign Language, the International English Language Testing System or Duolingo. Students who cannot achieve a high enough score are encouraged to invest in an English tutor before retesting.
International students must also provide a bank statement or bank letter with the account holder’s full name, the account balance, and a signature and stamp from a bank official on bank letterhead in English. The amount of currency in the bank account should be the equivalent of one year’s tuition.
Becoming an international student is stressful, but Weber State offers options to help keep students on track. The university’s International and Scholar Center offers virtual tours of the campus in various languages as well as opportunities to meet with advisors physically and virtually.
Weber State University recently posted on its website under its International Student and Scholar Center tab notes for current students, stating, “For ANY life challenge where you want to talk to someone or if you need help with suicidal thoughts, find general and focused support crisis lines.” WSU aims to do its best to provide help and resources, including a link to various crisis lines that are readily available to all students.
The university is also aware of the tax deadline, posting on its website, “Taxes are due April 15th, so be sure to meet with a non-resident tax expert to help you file for 2024.” Taxes are a major contributor to the stress of international students, many of which have no idea how to file taxes in the United States.
Weber State University Student Association Engagement and Belonging Senator Marketa Havlova recently helped set up and implement a tax workshop, encouraging students to make their way to the Westminster Tax Clinic, where international and domestic students can get one-on-one advisory and assistance filling out their taxes.
Although WSUSA made known to many international students that Westminister Tax Clinic is an option for them, they are hoping to provide a fast form of transportation for international students wishing to utilize their services.
“Westminster is far, and many international students don’t have a car. They do have UTA passes, but that would take a whole day dedicated to just an hour session,” Havlova said.
Viewing public transportation as an ineffective form of travel, Havlova hopes for assistance from the university by providing Uber vouchers.
“The school should be responsible and held accountable for certain things to some extent,” Havlvoa said.
International students don’t have the opportunity to work off-campus. Havlova is aware of this and hopes that providing transportation to Westminster shows international students they aren’t forgotten.
“They (Weber State) cannot oversee everything; they are the busiest people on campus, so somebody had to bring that to their attention, and I took that initiative,”
Havlova said.
International students and WSUSA are hoping to implement more events encouraging engagement from international students.
“One thing that I think might be a good idea is to have more blending activities between international students and American students. It will help improve the relationships of students on campus,” international student Khoi Dinh said.
Recently, Havlova and the International Student Program Coordinator Shannon Sandau set up a trip to Loveland Living Planet Aquarium for 45 students, many of whom were international students. Many international students reached out to Havlova, expressing how much the aquarium trip helped reduce their stress levels.
“If we would have more funding for those events that would be awesome. Not only for them but for everyone. I would love to see the international students be more interactive with the whole US population, especially on campus,” Havlova said.
International students often end up only interacting with each other and WSUSA is hoping to hold more events with the help of the university to encourage blending between international and students from the United States.
WSUSA is seeking more assistance in advertising resources and events for students from faculty and staff.
“The university has all sorts of resources, and it’s just about whether we know they exist or not,” Dinh said. “I walked around campus a few times, go inside buildings, meet with professors and advisors and collect the resources by myself.”
Dinh had to put himself out there in order to find the resources he needed. WSUSA is hoping to get help advertising resources so that it’s not the student’s responsibility to seek out resources as much as it is readily available information.
Havlova, WSUSA and international programs continue to strive to help bring together international and domestic students with readily available resources and inclusive events.
“It’s my pleasure to be their senator and representing the whole student body and actually helping them and listening to them and being their face and voice,” Havlova said.
