- India tops the list of countries from which international students originate. China ranks second in the list. India and China, combined, account for thirty percent of the total population of international students.
- South Korea ranks third in the list.
- Half of the total international student population in this country comes from only five countries. Four of those five countries are in Asia, with only Japan ranking lower, fifth in the list below Canada.
In fact, Asian countries dominate the top 25 places of origin of international students.
With the dramatic increases in the cost of education, will this trend continue? Consider the recent fee hikes that elicited recent student protests in one of our country’s most prestigious universities.[2]
That would bring the basic UC education fees to about $10,300, plus about another $1,000 for campus-based charges, for a total that would be about triple the UC cost a decade ago. Room, board and books can add another $16,000.
Never mind the laptop! Twenty-seven grand and change seems like a steep sum to me. How can the typical American family whose average household income is $50,740[3] afford to bring their sons and daughters to college nowadays? And, how much more of a challenge is it for foreign students coming from the above-mentioned countries?
Using GDP per capita as a benchmark for comparison, while the US figure rests at $46,900, consider that of those five countries. [4]
- India, $2,900
- China, $6,000
- South Korea, $27,600
- Canada, $39,100
- Japan, $34,000
[2] Amina Khan, “UCLA students end a day of protest over fee hikes”, Los Angeles Times, Nov. 19, 2009
[3] U.S. Census Bureau
[4] Central Intelligence Agency
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