Fewer Indians, more Chinese studying in the US

United States, 15th November: An increased number of Chinese are choosing the US for studying even as the number of Indian students in the US has gone down considerably.

And an interesting fact is that the number of Americans studying in India has increased by around 44 percent.

Less Indians opting to study in the US—According to findings of a recent Open Doors annual survey undertaken by the US IIE(International Institute of Education), the number of Indian students choosing the US for pursuing higher studies has witnessed a decline of around 1 percent.

This takes the total number of Indian students among international students in the US to 14 percent, the survey findings maintain. The US is, no doubt, still the favored destination for studying abroad for majority of Indian students.

More Chinese throng the US for higher studies—The survey also highlights a rise in the number of Chinese heading to the US for pursuing higher education. The US universities and colleges show a growth of 5 percent in the number of foreign students during the year 2010-11.

As per the latest official data, total number of Chinese studying in various US colleges and US universities is around 158,000 showing a growth of around 23 percent.

According to Senior Counselor to the President of IIE, Peggy Bluementhal, more Chinese are enrolling in different courses of higher education in the US.

They are studying in research universities, small liberal arts institutes and various community colleges in the US thus spreading across various corners of the nation, added Bluementhal.

China top, India second source of foreign students in the US--While China happens to be the top source of foreign students studying in the US, India is currently second with nearly 104,000 Indians studying in various educational institutes in the US.

South Korea is next on the list with nearly 72,000 students in the US. Majority of foreign students are enrolled in engineering and graduate-level programs in the US.

Among various US universities having foreign student enrollment, the USC is ranked at the top while the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign is ranked second.

New York University is placed third while the UCLA has a sixth position in terms of foreign student enrollment. Out of the total foreign students studying in the US, a major chunk is comprised of students from Asian region.