Two days before the rest of the class of 2026 arrived on campus for Welcome Weekend, about 200 new first-year international students moved in at Notre Dame.
According to director of the International Student and Scholar Affairs (ISSA) office Leah Zimmer, the students taking part in International Student Orientation include the largest first-year, degree-seeking international class in Notre Dame history.
Of the about 200 students taking part in orientation, about 145 are degree-seeking students, meaning they plan to stay at the University for four years and earn a degree. In recent years, the number of new, degree-seeking international students has been about 130, Zimmer said.
The remaining 55 students taking part in orientation this year are largely non-degree-seeking students studying abroad at the University for a year or a semester.
According to former associate vice president for undergraduate enrollment Don Bishop, who retired in June, 8% of this year’s admitted students are international students, and 18.7% are international students, dual citizens or U.S. citizens living in another country. He added that 95 countries are represented among the admitted students.
The students took part in International Student Orientation on Wednesday and Thursday where they learned about life as a Notre Dame student and living in the United States. For many of these undergraduates, it is their first time spending a long period of time in the country, director of the International Student and Scholar Affairs (ISSA) office Leah Zimmer said.
Students will be introduced to international student ambassadors and ISSA staff and be connected with resources to help make their transition to the U.S. as smooth as possible.
“This year, like other years, our goal is that students feel welcome and are able to get settled,” Zimmer said. “They have a few extra days to get over jet lag and meet people, which is why [orientation] takes place a few days before Welcome Weekend starts.”
ISSA began preparing the international students for arrival before the students even left home. About a month ago, international student ambassadors and leaders held a pre-arrival information panel online to give new students an idea of what to expect when they arrive on campus.
“We really focused at that point on helping the students get here in time for classes because that … is still really complicated,” Zimmer said. “The Department of State has made it difficult for students to get visas because they’re still understaffed.”
Zimmer said she knows many of the new students arrive from thousands of miles away by plane and are unable to bring most of their dorm essentials, so the first thing on the orientation agenda was a trip to Target by shuttle. This is followed by dinner on Eddy St. with student ambassadors.
The second day of orientation largely focused on connecting students with resources to ease their transition into life in the U.S. At the Thursday afternoon resource fair at the Eck Visitors Center, students will be able to set up an American bank account with Chase or First Source Bank, and they’ll be able to set up an American cell phone and phone number with AT&T or T-Mobile.
Zimmer said ISSA reached out to other banks and phone companies to take part in the resource fair, but they chose not to participate.
Students will also have the opportunity to learn about and connect with other campus offices including the Center for Career Development and University Health Services.
“In planning [the resource fair and orientation], we got a lot of feedback from international ambassadors about what would’ve been most helpful for them during their first days on campus,” Zimmer said. “We tend to send out an orientation feedback form about three weeks after.”
She said one of the main things past orientation participants asked for was more opportunities to meet fellow international students. This year, students spent part of Thursday separated into small groups of about 20 to eat lunch and socialize.
Orientation will also offer programs for parents, including lunch and a panel discussion. This will allow parents to connect with each other over the worries and experiences that come with dropping their child off to study in another country, Zimmer said.
University welcomes its largest first-year international class in history for International Student Orientation
Notre Dame International's department offices are housed in the Main Building
Notre Dame International's department offices are housed in the Main Building
