Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The number of international students studying at Minnesota colleges and universities is on the rise.
Nearly 14,500 students from abroad have come to Minnesota to study. That's about 60 percent more than in 2007, Minnesota Public Radio News (http://bit.ly/1Jfv3l0 ) reported.
The Institute of International Education produces an annual report on the number of students from other countries studying in the U.S. Institute president and CEO Allan Goodman said rising income overseas and the perceived value of a U.S. degree are drawing more students here.
Nearly 1 million international students are studying in the U.S, according to the report. Goodman said that's significantly more than last year.
Students are being drawn to schools in the United States because of rising incomes overseas and the perceived value of a U.S. college degree, Goodman said.
Schools have a financial incentive to recruit international students, according to Goodman, who noted that two-thirds of students from abroad pay their own tuition without grants or financial aid.
Sai Wang, a student from China studying marketing and communications at the University of Minnesota, said there's a premium on U.S. diplomas back home.
"My classmates from my previous school still say when they are finding a job they feel like people who have the experience of studying abroad have the advantage," she said.
The University of Minnesota has nearly 7,000 international students, up from fewer than 3,500 a decade earlier. Barbara Kappler, the school's assistant dean of international student and scholar services, said students from abroad "are helping all students understand the world."
University graduate and regent Michael Hsu's father came to the school as an international student in 1948. He said the university "had a reputation in China" at the time.
"From the university's perspective, I think we want to develop those relationships and also try to get the best and the brightest to come here, and hopefully keep them here," Hsu said.
___
Information from: Minnesota Public Radio News, http://www.mprnews.org
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
