When Anna Jones-Owen secured her visa appointment at the U.S. Embassy in London, she didn’t know she narrowly avoided a crisis. Just two weeks later, the Trump administration halted student visas — leaving thousands in limbo. Jones-Owen narrowly avoided what could have brought major concerns about her future as an international student at Cal Poly that coming fall.
After a visit to California with her family, and researching universities in the area, Jones-Owen decided to transfer from University of Birmingham to Cal Poly to study political science.
“I mean the process should have been pretty straightforward,” Jones-Owen said about her student visa procedure.
Two weeks after her visa appointment, Trump had announced his halt on student visas and nearing appointments at the Embassy were cancelled.
“Luckily I already had my appointment,” Jones-Owen said. “But when it came to other people, they didn’t know if they were going to be able to come or not, it was quite stressful. There was no warning, it came out of nowhere, and it didn’t become clear for a few weeks about what was actually going to happen.”
In recent months, changes under the Trump administration reshaped the international student experience in the United States. More than 1,800 international students lost their visa status, including 40 Cal State students who temporarily lost their visas, only to be given back after complaints and lawsuits. The restrictions and requirements have also increased for international students, including requiring all social media accounts to be public.
While Jones-Owen’s experience was marked by uncertainty, the process was much smoother for environmental management freshman Luca Fontes. Originally from Mazatlán, Mexico, Fontes has deep roots within the Cal Poly community — both Fontes’ dad, who is originally from Tijuana, and his mom who is from the Bay Area attended Cal Poly.
“Of course it is a big difference, sometimes I experience some culture shock. [But] people are very nice here and I just really got to highlight the weather,” Fontes said.
While Fontes’ journey to Cal Poly was fairly simple, he also acknowledged the broader difficulties international students face.
“We can tell how our government is shaping our country, and it’s not what anyone would want,” Fontes said.
With threats to the Operational Training Programs designed for STEM students to have work experience after graduation, many international students are deciding not to come to the U.S. or are leaving out of fear and uncertainty. Other international students expressed concerns about shortened visa durations and less job security.
With sudden administrative changes, the universities are not given any warning or context beforehand. “We often find out at the same time as students, which gives us limited time to gather all the information we need to respond to students’ questions,” International Student Coordinator Bianca Silva wrote in an email to Mustang News.
Jones-Owen said “it was quite stressful cause it was out of nowhere where even Cal Poly did not know what was going on.”
Compared to other major California universities such as UCLA, where 7.6% of undergraduates are international, and UC San Diego with around 18% undergraduate international students, Cal Poly has comparatively less, Cal Poly’s international students make up 2.2% of the student body.
The university’s approach to help diversify the campus and have a higher population of international students was designed based on the practical resources such as money and student visas.
The strategy “allows the university to expand its international student population while managing budget limitations for overseas travel and responding to broader global and political factors affecting international mobility,” the Strategic Enrollment Management team wrote in an email to Mustang News.
Adapting to a new campus and culture
While international students’ journeys have become more uncertain, the students who are able to come tend to experience culture shock and changes.
Fontes said he loves being able to surf and enjoys the mountains and greenery. Growing up in his hometown of Mazatlán, where summers are hot and humid, he said San Luis Obispo is a nice change.
Jones-Owen was attracted to Cal Poly for similar reasons, falling in love with the culture and scenery and wanting a change from the city life.
“When I visited California a few years ago with my family, I really liked the vibes and the weather,” Jones-Owen said. “I did my research and ended up here.”
Since starting the school year, Jones-Owen found many administrative and cultural differences between England and the U.S..
“I think the whole standard of the school system is different. There is much more specialization,” Jones-Owen said.
The changes aren’t all academic; they’re also social and cultural. Jones-Owen navigated new challenges finding community in Greek life and understanding the social normalities within itas well.
“I definitely did not know anything about the rush process at all. And English people cringe quite easily,” Jones-Owen described. “But I actually had the best time. I think because I was relaxed and did not have many expectations for it, it made the process quite enjoyable.”
Both international students offered advice for those hoping to attend Cal Poly.
Jones-Owen said while being an international student can seem glamorous, it’s a big step.
“It is such a thing to romanticize being an international student, but you are going to be living so far away from home with a massive time difference,” she said.
Fontes recommended for students to look and apply for scholarships early.
“Opportunities aren’t really going to be given to you,” he said. “You got to really be looking for what you want and what you want to achieve.”
This story originally appeared in a printed newspaper on Nov. 12. For more stories from the November print edition check out the featured print section on our website or the full edition.