International Students Are Not a Number

I live in university housing and I am 46% rent burdened. I am only guaranteed one year of university housing. Given that I am already rent burdened in subsidized housing, I cannot imagine how this number will look like when I enter the Santa Barbara housing market. As an international student, it is much more difficult to find housing without a credit record in the U.S. Also, as international students there are added costs like flight tickets that are simply not affordable with our current funding packages. For example, this year I had to pay $1200 for a one way ticket! If we also take into account visa, SEVIS, and application fees, we already go into graduate school in debt, only to find ourselves not making enough money to meet our basic needs. UCSB lists “diversity” and a high number of international students as one of its strengths, but is not willing to pay these students enough to live in an expensive city like Santa Barbara. “Diversity” comes at a cost. We need a COLA!

UCSB lists “diversity” and a high number of international students as one of its strengths, but is not willing to pay these students enough to live in an expensive city like Santa Barbara. “Diversity” comes at a cost. We need a COLA!