By U.S. Customs and Border Protection – CBP International Travel Preclearance Operations in Canada, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=66500139
by Anonymous, 2025
Penn hosts one of the largest international student communities in the Ivy League, with students hailing from over 137 countries, a fact often repeated in admissions flyers and marketed as a differentiating strength. In the academic year 2026, there will be 11,385 international students and scholars, including 6,675 students, 2,620 international alumni working in the US whose visas are still bound to Penn after graduation through OPT/STEM OPT programs, and nearly 1,000 visiting scholars. That’s close to one in five students on campus. However, the infrastructure that supports international students doesn’t grow at the same pace the number of students is.
Every international student interacts with Penn’s International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS), whether for visas, work authorizations, or compliance with federal regulations. However, as of 2025, ISSS had a student-to-advisor ratio of 1,245:1, and while it has improved to 950:1 for the 2026 academic year, these numbers are still not enough to cover the demand. By comparison, Penn has a 525:1 ratio for College of Arts and Sciences’ College Contacts-to-student, showing how stretched international advising is relative to academic advising. However, unlike a College advisor, whose main role is course selection and degree planning and is supported by pre-major and major advisors, ISSS advisors handle legal and integration matters: from CPT/OPT work authorization to visa requests, to I-20 yearly signatures for all students on campus, to handling all immigration matters and making sure all students are and keep up to good standing. A missed detail from them, such as sending you the incorrect work authorization, or taking too long to answer an urgent query, can mean losing visa status.
In the academic year 2025, ISSS processed 30,550 electronic requests and managed 3,496 in-person advising appointments. Due to understaffing, for students, this means long wait times, difficulty securing appointments, and reliance on one-off drop-in hours with changing advisors. This is why many international students turn to informal peer advising networks instead (i.e. asking their friend) – helpful in the moment, but risky when immigration status is on the line.
Consequently, the department has been more reactive rather than proactive, at least from the public’s view – an issue laid bare in recent delays and conflicting reassurances round federal rollback of student visa policies. Penn remained largely silent in January 2025 as the Trump administration rolled out new immigration enforcement, refusing to take a firm stand against letting ICE on campus and to issue sanctuary-like protections. It wasn’t until April that ISSS confirmed to the Daily Pennsylvanian – without issuing a statement first – even a handful of visa revocations at Penn – officially citing three cases on April 7 and later admitting to up to eight by mid-April. Yet, as the Disorientation Guide learned, the real number was far higher – with more than 20 students affected, and revocations starting as early as February, making Penn’s public silence and partial disclosures all the more striking.
When nearly 20% of Penn’s student body depends on a handful of advisors to stay in legal status, the student experience is shaped less by “diversity statistics” than by institutional bottlenecks. International students aren’t just here for symbolic value, they are part of the university’s fabric. Thus, Penn must match its global student population with real support, not just messaging. That means, increasing ISSS staffing to bring the student-advisor ratio closer to a reasonable level for complex immigration advising; committing to timely, transparent communications from Penn’s central administration and not just ISSS, especially when policy changes threaten students’ legal statuses; and finally, restoring and publicly affirming Penn’s values of inclusion and protection, such as sanctuary-like policies (for more information about ICE in Philadelphia, click here).
However, if you’re a new to Penn, don’t be discouraged, as there are concrete resources you can use to navigate Penn and U.S. bureaucracy when ISSS won’t answer your emails:
- Useful non-Penn-affiliated websites:
- Job and Internship Search
- Interstride: useful blogs on CPT and OPT, trustworthy information on work authorizations.
- Free American English Pronunciation Resources
- Baruch College: used in the Penn English Language Learning Programs. Exercises on clear speech.
- Purdue University: compendium of resources around American English and pronunciation practice.
- Common Bureaucracy
- Social Security: explains the process to obtain your Social Security number to work in the U.S
- Pennsylvania ID card
- Opening a Bank Account
- Job and Internship Search
- Penn-affiliated resources that are actually good:
- Penn Department Specific:
- Financial Wellness: Credit Score for International Students
- Career Services: Resources for International Students
- Penn Department Specific:
- ISAB, an ISSS-affiliated student group, has created some guides through the years tailored to Penn students.
Penn Disorientation Guide 
3 thoughts on “Penn vs. International Students”