By Karla Lopes
Packing your life into a 50-pound suitcase to start over in a new country is difficult, but for international students, it’s hardly their greatest challenge. They arrive carrying their dreams, fears and the courage to face the challenges of living in a foreign country.
Some of them must build a life from scratch, while striving for academic success and future opportunities.
The United States has been attracting international students for decades, who now make up 4.5% of the nation’s higher education population.
According to data released by the Open Doors Organization, responsible for the annual nationwide count of international students, there were 63,922 international students enrolled in Associate’s Colleges in 2024-25, a 7.8% increase compared to last year.
City College now hosts about 400 international students, a significant decrease compared to the 1,400 in pre-pandemic years.
“The pandemic was one of the major reasons, but the current Donald Trump administration immigration policies are also contributing to the enrollment downturn,” explained Tuan Uyeda of the Office of International Programs (OIP).
Although international student numbers have decreased, their presence continues to enrich City College’s community with their diverse cultural backgrounds. They represent many countries, with the largest numbers currently coming from Myanmar, Mexico, Colombia, China, Japan, South Korea and Thailand.
Business, Marketing, and Computer Science are among the top three choices for international students, who also maintain a strong academic performance.
“Most international students perform better than domestic students; their majority GPA is 3.0 or higher,” Uyeda shared.
Students from overseas pursue higher education for a variety of reasons. “City College attracted me because of the beauty of San Francisco and the good English program they offer for international students,” said Nicolás Rodríguez, a Computer Science major from Colombia.
Gender Studies and Social Work major Jing Shi is from China and has been an international student for 13 years. Shi was attracted by the opportunities of meeting like-minded people, and cultivating community in San Francisco.
As a social worker and mental health advocate, Shi wants to contribute by sharing resources and knowledge.
“I come to college, not only to gain education, but also to give. That’s why I am committed to building safe student organizations on campus for people to connect and get support,” Shi said.
Beyond the shared experience of moving to another country with the desire for a degree, international students also face the struggles that come with holding an F1 visa status, which includes strict regulations.
Paying higher tuition fees, maintaining health insurance, and only working with approved authorization under limited conditions can be overwhelming.
According to Uyeda, tuition prices have increased dramatically over the years due to inflation. What once cost international students around $2,700 for the required minimum of 12 units in 2011 now exceeds $5,000 per semester.
“The college would have a higher tuition fee due to inflation and San Francisco cost of living,” Uyeda said, “but is giving lower prices to not affect students.”
Veronica Lopez, a Psychology major from Mexico, pursued the Special Education certificate because of past experiences.
Lopez chose City College mainly because its tuition is lower than that of other Bay Area Colleges, yet the cost is still difficult to manage.
“We pay a lot of money as international students, and sometimes it is very hard to manage your budget,” Lopez said. “Besides College, we still need to pay for housing, food and transportation.”
“I had to save money, so I went through food insecurity,” Shi shared.
Isolation from community, distance from family, not knowing what resources are available, and living in a climate that can feel threatening to immigrants were also highlighted as concerns.
“The political environment has been a little threatening for immigrants. Even though I’ve done everything correctly, I still feel scared to go out, and I feel afraid of speaking in my native language in public,” Lopez said.
Shi has been contributing to the International Students Union at City College, a group formed this fall as a means to build community among international students.
Although City College already provides resources, like campus job opportunities, tutoring/orientation services and “keeping the OIP doors always open,” students believe that more could still be done.
Shi highlighted that OIP has been slow to connect with the International Students Union and hopes to see more support from them.
Rodríguez shared that although the OIP has been very helpful, he still thinks that more Optional Practical Training (OPT) and Curricular Practical Training (CPT) should be provided to make it easier for international students to access internships.
Lopez expressed that the college should add more course sections for required classes. “It is hard to keep up with my educational plan when classes are not available.”
Despite their many challenges, international students are united by their desire to achieve career success that higher education can unlock.
“My goal is to start working in the field of Special Education soon,” said Lopez.
Rodríguez aims to transfer to a 4-year university to pursue a Bachelor’s in Computer Science. “My dream is to get into a big tech company, like Google, and later make a meaningful change in the tech world with my own company,” he said.