For a select group of students, finding a university relatively close to home is not a factor.

For sophomore Laura Oliver, her home university happens to be more than 6,000 miles away, at the University of Aberystwyth in Wales.

A performance studies major, Oliver learned about the exchange program between her home university and the University through her drama adviser and a presentation about study abroad programs. While Oliver had many universities to choose from, she set her sights on the University.

“Looking at all of the other campuses, Bowling Green seemed to be [where] I thought I would get the best American experience,” said Oliver.

The University also strives to give international students the same kind of experience, said Andrea Voogd, the assistant director of International Student Services.

“We want them to have the same kind of experiences that any other student has. We want them feel like any other student that is on campus,” Voogd said.

The program offered the chance to study in other European countries, Hong Kong and the U.S., but Oliver had already traveled through Europe, and Hong Kong was only for film majors, leaving the U.S. as the only country to study in.

When choosing what university to attend, Oliver looked for an experience she had never had in a country she had never been in before.

“America’s quite of a big country, somewhere I’ve always wanted to visit, as well. I’ve been fascinated in the culture and the differences between America and the UK, even though they seem very similar,” Oliver said. “Part of the exchange program is to immerse yourself in a country you’re not used to and you get a lot out of … I wanted a university that provided a typical American experience, or what I imagined to be a typical American experience.”

Oliver has been able to experience what the American college experience looks like through various activities she has done while at the University, such as pledging with Theta Alpha Phi, attending football games and becoming involved with the plays on campus, she said.

For international students, studying abroad is a major step in their lives, said Marcia Salazar-Valentine, executive director of the Division of Enrollment Management. And for them, the International Student Services office is there to help them.

“The office is here for them from the day they arrive to the day they leave,” Salazar-Valentine said.

The International Student Services office is oftentimes the place international students go to first when they’re looking for help, or they attend activities to help students become familiar to their new lives.

“We always get positive feedback from our students because we are here for them,” Voogd said.

Students who come here from other countries tend to aim for the best they can do, even though the students face a lot of challenges when coming to America.

“International students are very excited and enthusiastic and highly motivated to be here. They have to go through great work to get here. It’s not only an economic hurdle to get over, but an immigration hurdle and a cultural hurdle,” Voogd said.