Applications from outside the United States have increased by 7 percent in 2010 at American graduate schools, a healthy increase due to which many universities will be delighted , according to a new survey released by the Council of Graduate Schools.
But the increases are uneven. Continuing a trend from last year, the three countries that send the largest numbers of foreign graduate students to the United States are showing distinctly different patterns, with the numbers from China have increased, on the contrary India and South Korea are flat. Programs at doctoral institutions are seeing increases, while master's universities are experiencing drops. And the application increases are largest at institutions with the most international students already enrolled, suggesting that among institutions trying to increase their international enrollments, it may be easier to build on success than to create a critical mass.
The 7 percent total gain for 2009-10 is up from the council's final analyses of previous years, which found gains of 4 percent in applications the prior year and 6 percent the year in the previous year. While applications is not necessarily the barometer of enrollment gains, universities that rely on foreign graduate students have been trying hard for application gains, given that competition has increased for the best foreign talent, with countries like Australia, Britain and Canada -- as well as home-country universities -- bidding for some of the best students.
Trends over the past four years in students' country of origin and discipline show some consistencies: Applications continue to soar from China and the Middle East. But other countries and some disciplines are are showing uneven trends.
Change in International Applications by Size of Current International Enrollments, 2009 to 2010
Nathan Bell, director of research and policy analysis for the Council of Graduate Schools, did confirm that the survey doesn't produce definitive information on why some countries are sending more applications than others.
As for the larger increases at institutions that already have many foreign students and these institutions tend to be institutions with large enrollments (of all students), making them more likely to have name recognition abroad.
USA has always been the first choice of Indian students. The economic recession did take a toll on the number of students applying from India but is back to normal and rising.
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