Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: After the post-pandemic recovery, 35 percent of all foreign students who joined the colleges in the United States in 2022 came from India, a new study has revealed.
American colleges enrolled nearly 269,000 students from India, more than ever and second only to China. Most came for graduate programs, often in science, technology, and business. With nearly 290,000 students, China still accounted for the most foreign students in the US. But its numbers plummeted for a third consecutive year.
Students from China in the US spent the most on their education (USD 12.3 billion) in 2022, followed by those from India (USD 7.1 billion).
According to the findings from the US State Department and the non-profit Institute of International Education, international students attended US universities in surging numbers in 2022, rebounding from a pandemic slump, with the help of a 35 percent jump in students coming from India.
More than a million students came to the US from abroad last year, the most since the 2019-20 school year. Overall, the number of overseas students in the US grew by 12 percent in the 2022-23 academic year, the largest single-year increase in more than 40 years, the study released on Monday said.
The increasing popularity of American institutions reinforced the fact that the US remains the destination of choice for international students wishing to study abroad, as it has been for more than a century, said Allan E. Goodman, CEO of the Institute of International Education.
“The US maintains a strong relationship with India on education, which I think is getting even stronger and even more connected,” said Marianne Craven, the State Department’s acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for academic exchange.
The shift from China to India in terms of overseas student numbers has been steady. After years of booming demand from China, interest has ebbed amid frosty international relations and increased competition from universities in the United Kingdom and Canada. Those who studied the pattern for the new study also blamed prolonged travel restrictions in Asia, particularly in China, during the pandemic. China lifted its Zero COVID policy only in November 2022.
In recent years, US universities have focused more on recruiting more students from India, hoping to tap a growing population. India is now the most populous nation on the planet, leaving China behind.
Students from India now outnumber those from China in 24 US states, including Illinois, Texas, and Michigan, which rank among the top destinations for international students.
For the second consecutive year, America’s graduate programs were the main attraction for international students, Graduate enrollment grew by 21 percent, while undergraduate numbers ticked up 1 percent. It reversed a trend from the previous decade, which saw undergraduates come in larger numbers.
Much of last year’s growth is credited to mathematics and computer science programs, which attracted more students than any other subject and saw a 20 percent boost in enrollment over the previous year. Engineering and business followed behind. Taken together, those three fields account for more than half of all international students in the United States.
The surge nearly brings international numbers back to their pre-pandemic highs, with a peak of almost 1.1 million students in 2018. Enrollment fell precipitously over the following two years as COVID-19 stifled academic exchange.
The rebound appears to be continuing, with an 8 percent increase in international enrollment this fall, according to a smaller survey meant to give a snapshot of recent trends.
Overall, international students made up just 5.6 percent of all American college students in the 2022-23 year, but they play an outsize role in US higher education. University leaders say they’re important for global exchange, and they’re also important for revenue international students are usually charged higher tuition rates, effectively subsidizing college for US students.
After China and India, the nations sending the most students to the US were South Korea, Canada, Vietnam, Taiwan, and Nigeria. Last school year saw a record number of students come from Bangladesh, Colombia, Ghana, India, Italy, Nepal, Pakistan, and Spain.
While more students come from abroad, many colleges are also struggling to attract students at home. Total enrollment across all colleges has stayed in a slump in the wake of pandemic decreases, and freshman enrollment decreased by 3.6 percent in fall 2023, according to another study by the National Student Clearinghouse.