There has been a lot of discussion since Athens about foreign swimmers training in the United States. Most of them attend U.S. Universities, receive athletic scholarships, and compete at NCAA's. Some notable examples include Duje Draganja (Cal), Fred Bousquet and Kirsty Coventry (Auburn), Markus Rogan (Stanford), and the South African sprinters (Arizona). Some train in the U.S., but don't compete for a university (Inge de Bruijn). All of these athletes benefit from U.S. coaching, from training with U.S. swimmers, and in some cases, from financial support provided by U.S. entities (athletic scholarships). They all turn around and then win medals for other countries.
A couple questions: 1) What do you think about this arrangement generally? 2) Is it of benefit or detriment to U.S. swimming to have these foreign athletes training and competing here? 3) Should we be giving athletic scholarships, which are a scarce resource in swimming, to foreign athletes who will represent their own countries internationally instead of U.S.-born swimmers who will represent us internationally?
I'm sure there are other issues, but these come directly to mind.
Parents
Former Member
Elaine,
I'm going to assume that by "taking care of ours first", you mean the admittance of American students to American universities, and that "then helping others" refers to the international students in the universities.
As far as taking care of ours, I think we've more than got that covered, thanks to the US citizen or permanent resident-only requirement for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. That provides our American students with the Pell Grant, SEOG Grant, Stafford Loan, Perkins Loan, PLUS Loan, and Federal Work-Study Program. I'm sure y'all have heard of those.
The reason international students are using athletic scholarships to get into American universities is because that's the only way they can pay for it. If you want more Americans to get the scholarships, maybe the government should consider opening the FAFSA to every student.
That is, unless you think only Americans are entitled to furthering their education.
And for those of you who think international students should become permanent residents if they want to swim for our schools, I want you to think about moving permanently to someplace like, oh, Japan, and leaving your family and friends behind. It's not like they can just pack up their families and bring them here, because you're right, US citizenship isn't just paperwork.
And who are you kidding by thinking that international students are only in American universities to swim? Don't be ignorant. I'm pretty sure the three international swimmers at ASU aren't getting Speedo endorsements. But I can tell you they're getting an education. Cuz face it, how many swimmers do you know, American or not, who are swimming their four years of elegibility and then dropping out? THEY AREN'T, although, if you want to talk wasting money, let's talk about the losers I went to school with who attended one big party for three years on the government, and ended up flunking out their junior year, or majoring in pre-law, and then getting rejected by every law school in the country because of their 2.1 GPA.
But I guess it's better to have American students wasting American money, than to have non-Americans actually using it, right?
Geek, my sincerest apologies for calling you a Republican. :D
Elaine,
I'm going to assume that by "taking care of ours first", you mean the admittance of American students to American universities, and that "then helping others" refers to the international students in the universities.
As far as taking care of ours, I think we've more than got that covered, thanks to the US citizen or permanent resident-only requirement for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. That provides our American students with the Pell Grant, SEOG Grant, Stafford Loan, Perkins Loan, PLUS Loan, and Federal Work-Study Program. I'm sure y'all have heard of those.
The reason international students are using athletic scholarships to get into American universities is because that's the only way they can pay for it. If you want more Americans to get the scholarships, maybe the government should consider opening the FAFSA to every student.
That is, unless you think only Americans are entitled to furthering their education.
And for those of you who think international students should become permanent residents if they want to swim for our schools, I want you to think about moving permanently to someplace like, oh, Japan, and leaving your family and friends behind. It's not like they can just pack up their families and bring them here, because you're right, US citizenship isn't just paperwork.
And who are you kidding by thinking that international students are only in American universities to swim? Don't be ignorant. I'm pretty sure the three international swimmers at ASU aren't getting Speedo endorsements. But I can tell you they're getting an education. Cuz face it, how many swimmers do you know, American or not, who are swimming their four years of elegibility and then dropping out? THEY AREN'T, although, if you want to talk wasting money, let's talk about the losers I went to school with who attended one big party for three years on the government, and ended up flunking out their junior year, or majoring in pre-law, and then getting rejected by every law school in the country because of their 2.1 GPA.
But I guess it's better to have American students wasting American money, than to have non-Americans actually using it, right?
Geek, my sincerest apologies for calling you a Republican. :D
