Record number of international students in US

The number of international students studying in the USA has topped 1.18 million for the first time, new figures show.

The latest SEVIS statistics show that more than three-quarters (77 per cent) of the 1,184,735 foreign students in the US on either an F-1 (academic), M-1 (vocational) or J-1 (exchange visitor) visa came from Asia.

Of these, close to a third – 362,368 – came from China, while 206,698 came from India. South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Canada, Japan, Brazil and Mexico were the other eight most popular source countries for international students in the US.

California, New York and Texas retained their traditional positions as the top three destinations for international students, with just over a third of the total (35 per cent) heading to one of the three states.

California alone claimed nearly a sixth of the US’s international student population, with 200,809 in total.

One in ten students attended one of just 10 education institutions: New York University, University of Southern California, Northeastern University, Columbia University, Arizona State University, University of Illinois, Purdue University, Pennsylvania State University, City University of New York and Indiana University.

However, 76 per cent of schools which host international students have 50 or fewer enrolled.

Just over half of all international students in the United States are studying one of the STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

Article published 10th July 2017