Seniors, are you excited about going to college this fall?

Since May 1, the class of 2010 has been announcing their college decision and may feel relieved from the stress by now. However, this does not apply to some seniors: international students.

While VA colleges and universities are known for their rigorous academic programs and are nationally recognized for their excellence, they are also known for their relatively low tuition cost compared to the quality of education.

All accepted seniors who are residents of VA are given the opportunity to pay low tuition to attend some of the nation’s best public universities, but some seniors are barred from this benefit – the international students.

Since in-state tuition is only offered to state residents, it is reasonable to say that international students do not deserve the same benefits. But in fact, the majority of international students and their families pay income taxes in addition to the fees they have to pay out of their pockets in order to maintain their legal status.

The complex processes used to maintain their status puts financial and emotional burdens on international students. Now, after taking intricate routes to applying and getting accepted to colleges, do they receive same benefits as state residents? The answer is no.

Because of the irrepressible stress over the immigration visa status, international students end up going to local community colleges or cheaper universities that were not their first choices.

Aishwarya Venkat, an international senior student said, “Since FAFSA doesn’t help us at all, many international students are forced to settle for community colleges and other relatively cheaper options rather than going for their dream school.”

Even in their non-first choice colleges, they are obligated to pay more for tuition because public universities do not provide the essential scholarships for non-green card holders or non-citizens, making it more challenging for them to go to school.

International students, who need to perpetuate consistent effort to maintain legal status, are exasperated by the unfair advantages that most illegal alien students obtain at certain educational institutions.

Until recently, the Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC) had given more leniency to undocumented documents by offering in-state tuition while all the legal, international students were charged as out-of-state.

“I do feel that it is unfair, and is depriving more well-deserving students of the opportunity to gain a quality education,” said Venkat.

For that reason, some international students begin to consider being “legal” ineffectual by the fact that illegal immigrants are obtaining more advantages through their unlawful status. Eventually, they would jeopardize themselves to commit crime of becoming illegal aliens.

As Obama’s administration is only working to legalize the illegal aliens and put an end to the illegal aliens’ “grief”, majority of the neglected international students become somber and lose the motivation to study in the U.S. and tend to renounce their American dream.

If this continues, the illegal alien rate would increase to unmanageable level every year.

To avoid any further immigration troubles and to create an impartial education system, I believe that every student residing in the U.S. legally and fulfilling their duty, such as paying income taxes, should be granted equal treatment of tuition at public institutions.