Notwithstanding the mounting uncertainties over career prospects for foreign professionals in the United States, the rush of Indian students flocking to American universities continues unabated, recording a 12.3 per cent growth during 2016-17.
The 2017 Open Doors report released by the New York-based Institute of International Education (IIE) on Monday puts the number of Indian students studying in American universities as of 2016-17 at 186,267. India is the second biggest sender of students to the US – next only to China, which is way ahead by sending 350,755 students.
Overall, China and India, between them make up 50 per cent of the 1.08 million foreign students on American campuses – an all-time high. China alone accounts for 32.5 per cent of the total, followed by India with 17.3 per cent. In terms of annual growth in student flow to the US, India led the table, registering 12.3 per cent growth as compared to China’s 6.8 per cent.
Although concerns over career prospects in the US have escalated with the tightening of H-1B work visa regime, international students are taking advantage of the Optional Practical Training (OPT) programme which, in the case of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) stream, allows students to work for three years.
While the number of India and Chinese students continue to climb, there is a marked slowdown from some countries, notably Brazil and Saudi Arabia, which have scaled down their scholarship programmes. This has led to an overall decline of newly-enrolled international students by nearly 10,000 students to about 2,91,000.
International students collectively contributed about $39 billion to the US economy through their spending on tuition, room and board and living expenses, according to the US Department of Commerce. Indian students have alone contributed $6.5 billion.
“Students continue to be attracted to the high quality and diverse opportunities offered by US colleges and universities,” said IIE president and CEO Allan E. Goodman. At the same time, he conceded that it was “critical for US institutions to set strategic goals and be proactive in reaching out to students and families in a wide range of countries in the coming year, and for the United States to keep its academic doors open to students from all over the world”.
“International student exchange is an essential contributor to America’s economic competitiveness and national security,” said Alyson l. Grunder, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Policy in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, asserting: “The US higher education sector remains the global leader in welcoming students from around the world, and at the same time, we are committed to increasing opportunities to study abroad for Americans.”
Apart from China and India, other major places of origin for international students studying in the United States are South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan, Mexico, and Brazil. The top host states were California, New York, Texas, Massachusetts, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana. Each of these states saw increases in international students in 2016/17.