According to a recent Stateline article, almost 900,000 foreign students studied at American colleges and universities in the 2013-2014 academic year, which is a record high and nearly double the total from 20 years ago. The article analyzes the causes of this growth and notes that it is driven in part by financial considerations, particularly for public institutions. Unlike out-of-state students, who often receive financial aid, international students often pay an institution’s “sticker price,” providing the institution with additional revenue.
The article also compares all 50 states based on the percentage of students who are from outside the U.S. The percentages range from a low of 1.6% in Maine and Mississippi to a high of 9.9% in Massachusetts. (Connecticut’s percentage is 5.2%.)
