Overseas students face reality of virtual study
For some, attending lectures will mean having to stay up all night
Aradhita Arora was expecting to be at the University of British Columbia this fall, mingling with new-found friends on the Vancouver campus while studying psychology.
But the 18-year-old international student is stuck in her New Delhi home for at least one semester, staying up all night for online classes because of the 12-hour time difference with India, hoping her internet doesn’t crash in the middle of a lecture. The COVID-19 pandemic put her plan to study overseas on hold after the federal immigration department said Tuesday that international students won’t be allowed to enter Canada if they received a student visa after the country’s border lockdown on March 18.
On top of the usual problems first-year university students face, Arora will have to deal with navigating online classes and exams, social isolation, as well as a time difference.
Arora said she’s “really scared about virtual education.”
“Most of my education has been in person,” said Arora, who has a scholarship that would cover most of her firstyear international tuition and take some financial burden off her parents.
“I have always learned in a way that is completely based on personal interaction.”
Arora also said she won’t be able to enjoy the social aspect of the university experience.
“I can’t connect with a lot of people, and even with a virtual background, it’s hard to get to know people. For me, personal interaction was always the first priority,” said Arora.
While many universities are offering a mix of real-time and pre-recorded lectures, this is problematic for many international students because of the time difference with Canada.
For instance, students in India and Asia will have to stay up all night to attend real-time lectures in Canada, which can be problematic for their mental and physical health.
“I am very concerned about online classes because I’m a morning person. It’s going to impact my sleep schedule and it’ll take a lot of time to adjust,” Arora said.
Earl Blaney, an education recruiter who assists many international students with their post-secondary education, believes the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada department “couldn’t have handled the situation worse” and that it’s a total “disaster for international students.”
“The IRCC hasn’t replied to students and has left them in the dark for months, and now they suddenly change their travel bans,” Blaney said. “International students deserve better. There are tens and thousands of dollars on the line here.”
Chandan Samal, another international student from India, is planning to attend Rotman School of Management at University of Toronto this fall. To prepare for online classes, Samal now sleeps during the day and stays up all night to sync his sleep cycle with lectures.
“I’m lucky because some of my classes are (pre-recorded lectures), however it will be hard tackling the rest. My math class starts at 2 a.m. India time,” Samal said.
“But it’s OK because I’m also saving a ton of money by staying at home. I can always go to university next semester, so I don’t mind sacrificing a few months,” he added.
Samal is disappointed he won’t be able to meet new people or build new connections — what he believes university really is for. “I don’t mind studying alone, but the reason we go to university is to build that connection and to do other activities like clubs, internship opportunities. I won’t get to do any of that.”
In response to the problems overseas students are going to face with the time difference,
UBC spokesperson Matthew Ramsey said the university supports all government efforts to ensure the safety of all students.
“Our key commitments in the shift to online learning are to provide quality learning experiences and to maintain flexibility for our faculty and students,” Ramsey said.
A U of T spokesperson wasn’t immediately available for a comment.
While Arora and Samal are already gearing up to change their lifestyle for university, others have deferred their education plans citing time difference and financial burdens.
Bubu Zhang, currently living in Denmark, was planning to attend U of T to study biology with minors in economics and psychology. Now she is planning to defer her studies.
“Online classes would be difficult with a time difference of five hours,” Zhang said. “Also, I guess starting a new school in a different country during a pandemic isn’t the most appealing situation as well.”
Students cancelling or deferring their post-secondary education plans will have an impact on the Canadian economy. In 2019, around 650,000 international students studied in Canada and contributed more than $21 billion to the economy. International students pay nearly four times more in tuition than a domestic student.
Despite the disruption to his studies, Samal chooses to take the optimistic view.
“You have to make the best of it, you know?” Samal said. “I know I’m stuck here for a while, so the best I can do is to work on myself and work hard. It’s only a semester out of four years.|”
“Most of my education has been in person. I have always learned in a way that is completely based on personal interaction.”
ARADHITA ARORA STUDENT