One hundred twenty-six international students enrolled for the fall semester, compared to 90 enrolled last fall, according to undergraduate admission enrollment statistics.Karen Scott, director of international admission, said there are many reasons why international enrollment is increasing, many of which are the same for why U.S. admission at TCU has increased.

Scott listed the business school rankings, word of mouth, Saudi Arabian exposure and conference the university hosted a year ago as reasons for the increase.

She said the Office of Admission has been working to recruit students from all over the world and the success is due mostly to advertising and reaching out to students by visiting other countries.

“We do advertising with magazines, books and Web advertisers,” Scott said.

Scott said the Office of Admission has acquired new ways to recruit students from across the world. For the first time, the office is working with a placement agency in China, Chinese Student Study Abroad, which endorses universities it would like students to attend and helps with the application process.

The Office of Admission also had new opportunities to increase recruitment this year when TCU was placed on the preferred list of universities of the Saudi Arabian government.

Another new opportunity came when the university hosted the 2006 Overseas Association for College Admission Counseling conference. For four days, 150 counselors from overseas stayed on campus in the Tom Brown-Pete Wright Apartments.

“The OACAC was a huge accomplishment,” Scott said. “We rely on counselors to tell their kids about us.”

Scott said enrollment is also increasing because of current students, parents and staff.

“Our current students are amazing,” Scott said. “Current international students and parents call prospective international students and chat with them about TCU, and they visit their old high schools.”

Scott said she travels to India, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, spreading the word about TCU.

“I travel a fair amount,” Scott said. “From September to November, I’m gone two-thirds of the time.”

When Scott goes to Asia and India, she said she travels with the Council of International Schools, which consists of 30 other university representatives.

Scott also said a large number of students from the Intensive English Program applied for admissions in undergraduate, increasing the enrollment numbers of international students.

Director of the IEP, Kurk Gayle, said alumni and generational families help spread the word about IEP. She said the School of Music also has world-class student musicians who train in the IEP.

“Many musicians want to study English first and then want a degree,” Gayle said.

With the study abroad and sister school program, the IEP sends students to schools in other countries, and that school in return sends students to TCU.

“We want students now with a little English so they can go through faster and go straight into undergrad,” Gayle said.