China takes over India, sends more students to US

Updated on: Wednesday, December 08, 2010

After dominating the US campuses for eight consecutive years India slipped to the second position in sending international students to the US universities leaving the first position to China.

Though India sent 1.05 lakh students, an increase of two per cent over last year and accounting to 15 per cent of the total foreign students on US campuses, it ended up in the second position due to 30 per cent increase in Chinese students.The Open Doors report, which is published annually by the Institute of International Education (IIE) with support from the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, said that the number of international students at colleges and universities in the United States increased by three per cent taking the total to 6.9 lakhs in 2009-10. The report is based on a comprehensive survey of over 3,000 accredited U.S higher education institutions.

The report says that the top three sending countries-China, India and South Korea comprise 44 per cent of the total international enrolments in U.S. higher education. California was the top host State, with more than 94,000 international students. New York was the top host city with 60,800 students, and the University of Southern California is the most popular university with nearly 8,000 international students. There were 186 US campuses with more than 1,000 international students each, the report reveals.

Business Management continues to be the most sought-after subject with 21 per cent of International students opting for it followed by engineering stream with 18 per cent students. The three fields of physical and life sciences, mathematics and social sciences attracted nine per cent of foreign students each.

The report reveals that universities in California hosted the largest number of foreign students with 94,279 followed by New York with 76,146, an increase of two per cent and Texas, with 58,934, an increase of one per cent. The New York City metropolitan area continues to be the leading city for international students, with 60,791 enrolled in area schools. The Los Angeles metropolitan area is in second place with 42,103 international students, a decrease of two per cent over last year.

University of Southern California hosted the largest number of international students for the ninth consecutive year, reporting 7,987 students. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (7,287) hosted the second largest number, closely followed by New York University (7,276). Purdue University (6,903 students) advanced to fourth place, and Columbia University (6,833) is now the fifth leading host.

International students contribute nearly $ 20 billion to the US economy through spending on tuition and living costs, according to the US Department of Commerce, and 62 per cent receive most of their funds from personal and family sources, the report found out.

In total, nearly 70 per cent of all international students' primary funding comes from outside America.

China takes over India, sends more students to US

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