More Overseas Students Coming to the US
As we all know only too well, the U.S. dollar has been losing its value. But there is a bit of a silver lining to this painful situation. As the dollar plunges, the cost of college for many foreign students also drops, bringing many overseas students to our shores.
With American universities widely considered the best in the world, our universities have suddenly emerged as a bargain for a growing number of international students. The influx is expected to reverse the declines in foreign student enrollment that followed September 11, 2001.
Nearly 600,000 foreign students attended US colleges last year. This is the highest since 2002, when tighter restrictions on student visas and growing anti-American sentiment abroad caused enrollments to decline.
Many colleges across the country report sharp increases in applications and acceptances from international students for the coming school year, especially from India, China, and European countries. In the Boston area --which is known for its many institutions of higher learning, there has been a surge in demand. The University of Massachusetts at Amherst expects a roughly 20 percent increase in new international students this fall, while Northeastern University will enroll 17 percent more students than last year's class. And the growth in New York and Los Angeles has been even greater.
The effect of having large numbers of foreign students on our shores goes far beyond money. It encourages cooperation and exchange among citizens of different backgrounds and countries --and that is a development with enormous benefits for all.
