Number of Indian students to US on the rise: Survey STUDENTS TO US
It grew 12% to 186,267 in 2016-17 from 165,918 in 2015-16
Fall 2017, starting August, has witnessed the highest growth in the number of Indian students enrolling in US schools, despite a stricter immigration regime under President Donald Trump.
According to the ‘Fall 2017 International Student Enrollment Hot Topics Survey’ released jointly by the Institute of International Education and US-based educational bodies, the number of Indian students going to the US to pursue studies was up 12.3 per cent against 6.8 per cent growth in China.
“For the third year in a row, the largest growth was in the number of students from India, primarily at the graduate level and in optional practical training. China remains the top sending country, with almost twice the number of students in the US than India, but India’s rate of growth outpaced China’s,” the national survey of US higher education institutions stated.
According to the survey, students from the top two countries of origin — China and India — now represent about 50 per cent of the total enrolment of international students in the US.
While the number of students going to the US from China increased to 350,755 in 2016-17 from 328,547 in 201516, or 32.5 per cent of all international students in the US, that from India grew to 186,267 from 165,918, or 17.3 per cent of all international students in the US for the said period.
But, woes such as issues at the time of visa application process, visa delays or denials loom over new enrolment for Fall 2017. Several institutions have specifically commented about experiencing difficulties with visa denials for Indian students. Percentage of institutions citing this issue grew to 68.4 per cent in Fall 2017 from 33.8 per cent in Fall 2016.
“The issue of visa delays or denials as a factor in declining new enrolments significantly impacted the Master’s colleges and universities (82.0 per cent) and community colleges (72.0 per cent). Similarly, a significantly higher proportion of survey respondents note potential problems at the port of entry; from 4.6 per cent in Fall 2016 up to 31.6 per cent in 2017,” the survey said.
Besides China and India, the number of Vietnamese students increased 4.8 per cent.
The institutions are increasingly focusing on | 2015-16 | 2016-17; % change in brackets recruitment from China, India, and Vietnam, even as they are concerned about maintaining or increasing enrolments from West Asia, North Africa and other Asian countries for Fall 2018.
According to the survey, institutions express the most concern about recruiting students from West Asia and North Africa (75.9 per cent) likely due to changes in eligibility requirements of the Saudi Arabian government’s scholarship programme and travel restrictions to the US, besides recruiting international students from Asia (excluding China and India) (72.3 per cent), China (70.9 per cent) and India (67.8 per cent).
With two-thirds of all international students in the US from Asia, apprehensions are likely related to the fact that any shift in students’ interest would significantly impact the overall enrolment.
Institutions also cite continuing to prioritise international student outreach and recruitment in Asia, particularly China (67.1 per cent), Vietnam (50.7 per cent) and India (47.7 per cent).