Before his dream of receiving a degree in business law from a U.S. university comes true, Abdulaziz (Aziz) Alghamdi, 23, must learn English first. He is currently studying English through the UO’s American English Institute where Saudi Arabians students currently account for more than half of the total learners.
Over the last six years AEI’s Intensive English Program, under the linguistics departments, has grown 255 percent, according to the 2013 AEI Profile Report with 749 enrolled students in 2007-2008 to 2,661 in 2012-2013. Although numbers fluctuate term-by-term, students from Saudi Arabia and China make up the largest portion of students learning English at the UO.
According to Amy Harter, the Director for AEI’s students services, Saudi Arabian students typically score lower on the Test of English as a Foreign Language iBT (TOEFL iBT), and as a result stay in AEI for a longer period of time, steadily increasing their demographic over time.
In January, Aziz made his way to Eugene from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He had already graduated with an undergraduate law degree from his country, free of charge, and decided continue his education abroad, also free of charge.
Aziz is one of 462 Saudi Arabian students (including spouses) learning English at UO, according to the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission (SACM), an organization that works between the U.S. educational institutions and the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia and their Ministry of Higher Education. About 34 percent are at a graduate level.
“Although we have very good universities in Saudi Arabia, our country is interested to send us to learn new things. Not just studying in universities but also (to learn) about culture, how people live and know about different things in the world,” Aziz said.
IEP costs $3,295 for tuition. This number does not include additional costs, such as the university fee, international student fee, mandatory health insurance and living expenses.
Though Aziz’s government covers the cost of his tuition and personal expenses through the King Abdullah scholarship, of which he receives a monthly stipend of $1,847 and a plane ticket home every nine months, this is not the case for all Saudi Arabian students. The scholarship application is open for three weeks of the year. During this time all students apply, but to be awarded the funds, these students must have a high test score.
Like most accredited universities, UO requires international students to be proficient in English before pursuing a degree. Students must take the TOEFL iBT, comprised of four sections. Each section is 30 points, worth 120 points total.
Required scores vary by institution. The UO requires a score of 61 with having earned at least 15 points on each section. Ivy league schools like Harvard and Columbia require scores of at least 100.
UO has one of the larger populations of English Second Language (ESL) students, with 878 enrolled this term. UO also has among the highest percentage of Saudi Arabian students out of the 709 universities that the SACM approves for Saudi Arabian student to attend, according to the SACM website.
Childhood friends and aspiring civil engineers Abdulhamid Aldubaykhi, 17, and Ahmed Alghamdi, 18, learned English in high school but did not achieve high enough scores to receive the scholarship. Their parents are currently footing the bill until they can achieve high enough scores to receive the scholarship. They have only been here for a month and study in classes with other international students from 26 countries around the world.
The UO awarded 1.3 million dollars in financial aid to international students who have financial need and show academic merit. IEP students are not eligible to receive these funds. They are considered conditionally admitted until they achieve English proficiency and can choose to matriculate to the UO. Last year, AEI was able to award $66,000 in scholarships to its students by partnering with national and international, private and government organizations.
“It’s difficult to come from a developing country without significant scholarship help,” Director of International Student and School Services, Abraham Schafermeyer said. “So the countries you see represented in large numbers typically have population where it is economic feasibly to study at non-resident tuition rates … It’s economics, it’s supply and demand and it’s geo-political realities.”
Aziz is looking forward to spring 2014 when, if all goes to plan, he will have completed the program and will be a step closer to completing his goal: returning to Saudi Arabia with his degree in business law.