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| hope college > admissions > international students |
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What Students Say Han Chen  "Hope
is a college that's small enough and personal enough, so that people really
care for you and are willing to do something for you in case of difficulties." I came over to Hope because Hope has a good academic curriculum, because they offered me financial help, and because it was a small school," says Han Chen, a student from Beijing, China. Hope is a college that's small enough and personal enough, so that people really care for you and are willing to do something for you in case of difficulties," Chen says. He did have problems coming to America because of visa difficulties, but the school helped him to obtain passage by writing to the consulates in Beijing who granted him a non-immigrant visa, "which they don't normally provide for undergrads," Chen explains. Chen has made the most of the opportunity. For example, he is involved in several groups, such as a philosophy discussion table, Students for Community Service, and The Baker Scholars. In speaking about Students for Community Service he says, "Right now we're working on a project called 'walk for warmth,' and the benefits will go to people in this area who lived this winter without sufficient heating." Baker Scholars is a group for business and economics majors, and "through the program you learn a lot of things that you can't get from a classroom," Chen says. The group sometimes organizes dinners with business people in the community, "and this gives me a fuller, more complete picture of the business community." Chen is also pursuing a computer science internship with neighboring Western Theological Seminary. He says, "This is one of the numerous internships they have here in the computer science department. At the Seminary I get exposed to different kinds of computers, and different kinds of computer programs." In his internship Chen replaces computer parts, loads software, upgrades software and participates in buying decisions. Even though he's involved with all these things, however, Chen notes that it is the classroom education-the aspect of American college life that initially appealed to him-that he most enjoys. "I enjoy the education the most because it's an opportunity that's unthinkable for me back home." "In the U.S. you are provided with the opportunity to explore different kinds of things," he says. "Back home you have to decide your major before you enter college, but here you can decide your major your senior year if you want to. That's something I really like. You can really know what things are, and then you can make a well-informed decision." "I also enjoy the faculty over here," Chen continues. "They are really helpful. They're people you can learn from not only in terms of academies but also in terms of their way of life, the way they handle things, the way they think about things. They're very willing to talk to you, and I enjoy that a lot."
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