China Daily – Staff Writer
“Guo Yupei does not fit the mold of the traditional Ivy League student from China: Her journalist parents are neither rich nor members of the governing elite. Growing up, she thought the cost would make it impossible for her to attend one of the famed universities in the United States. But by the time she applied to Yale, it was among the US schools investing in more economic diversity among their growing ranks of international students. Guo, 19, is now a second-year student at Yale, happily settled among the school’s gothic buildings. Most would never guess university grants cover much of the Beijing native’s tuition, at least not judging by the questions she gets around New Haven. I did get asked if I were some sort of distant royal family member, which I’m not,” she said. Top US universities that worked to overcome reputations for serving only children of the US elite are now pushing to do the same with their international students. With more undergraduates coming from overseas than ever, Yale, Harvard and other schools－with help from the US State Department－are trying to attract students of more varied financial backgrounds.”(more)