UCC still a top destination for international students | Margaret Perry

With a new semester comes a new intake of international students. Deputy News Editor Margaret Perry looks at what makes UCC an attractive destination. UCC hosts over 2400 international students in a typical academic year and continues to attract students from all over the world. In a survey of 209,000 international students from 238 universities in 16 countries, UCC’s International Office was ranked first in Ireland and third in the world and achieved a 94% satisfaction rating from UCC’s international students.This study, called the International Student Barometer, was conducted by the International Graduate Insight Group (I- Graduate), an American organisation that, according to their website, specialises in “customer insight for the education sector” and works with universities around the world to “enhance competitive advantage and quality” for their students.Gabriella Steinberg is an international student spending this academic year at UCC. Originally from Santa Barbara, California, Gabriella studies at Sarah Lawrence College, a small liberal arts college in upstate New York. A theatre student, she explained, “I’d heard about Cork through current Irish theatre.” Cork’s size was a factor, too – she liked the idea of living in a small city after the engulfing metropolis that is New York. “Cork sounded like a town I needed to be a part of,” she said.Settling in to a new country and way of life can be daunting, but Gabriella explained that her interest in theatre has helped her enormously to settle into campus life. She had one main piece of advice to offer to international students who have just arrived for this semester. “If you play a sport, go join a club, if you have a certain hobby… just find those people!” she said. “As soon as you find your hobby that you’ve done at home, it’s like finding a family. Having something in common with someone else is a the best way to make friends.I sound like a college brochure!” she said.Gabriella is very enthusiastic about her study abroad experience at UCC so far. “I sound like such a cheerleader for this college,” she said jokingly. I asked her if there were any major differences that had struck her when she first arrived. “People here are a lot quieter than Americans… there’s a noticeable volume difference!” she said. In adapting to her new way of life here, the staff at UCC International Office were very useful, Gabriella explained. “They definitely helped with academically settling us in…. they were very patient, as I had a lot of questions,” she said. “Those in the office and others had to prepare us for Irish student life, because it’s very different from back home.”Gabriella’s classes at Sarah Lawrence were much smaller than at UCC, with most classes taught in seminar form. Students are often on first-name terms with their lecturers. “They expect you to be ready to talk about the material,” she said. Another difference Gabriella found was that while US students tend to study during the week and go out at the weekends, in Ireland it’s the opposite. As many students go home at the weekends here, students usually go out on weeknights instead. Since arriving in August, Gabriella balances her time between getting involved in UCC campus life and travelling, walking the line between native and tourist that is part of the study abroad experience. “If you choose to travel around Europe, you might not be really engaged in college activities, but you can very well choose to do both,” she said.“You just need to find your balance!” Some good advice for the international students who have just arrived on our campus for the new term.