India is a poor country. America is a rich country. This age-old story is taking a beating. Today the "poor India" is bailing out busted out America. With over one lakh students contributing $3 billion to the sick American economy is first aided and looked after by the Indian students on the one hand and the fatty corporate India is acquiring the fallen mega MNCs of United States. Along with the growing clout of India students, corporate and more appointments of NRIs in the American governance, better pastures are ahead.
The Times of India writes on 20 November 2009
The number of students from India enrolled in US universities and colleges crossed 100,000 for the first time ever this year even as international enrollments in America registered the largest percentage increase since 1980, defying broad economic trends.
As the number of international students at colleges and universities in the US increased by 8% to an all-time high of 671,616 in the 2008/09 academic year, students from India made up 103,260 of the overall number, according to the Open Doors report, which is published annually by the Institute of International Education (IIE) in collaboration with the US government.
The Indian numbers went up 9.2 per cent from 94,563 in 2007/2008 to cross 100,000 for the first time to retain its position as the top place of origin for international students in the United States. China remained in second place, although there was a sharp 21 per cent spike in students from China, going up from 81,127 last academic year to 98,235 this year. South Korea (69,000 to 75,000) remained in third place.
This is the eighth consecutive year that India has remained in the top spot. In course of a preview of the forthcoming visit to Washington of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh next week, Indian officials said on Monday that Indian student inflow contributed nearly $ 3 billion to the US economy last year. Overall, international students contribute $17.8 billion to the US economy, through their expenditures on tuition and living expenses, according to the US Department of Commerce.
Authors of the report said the findings do not reflect the full impact of the past year's economic downturn, since decisions to come to the United States to study were made before the financial effects were fully felt in the sending countries.
They also reported that the largest growth this year was seen in undergraduate enrollments, which increased by 11%, compared to a 2% increase in graduate enrollments. This growth was driven largely by increases in undergraduate students from China, they said, suggesting that increased affluence is enabling Chinese to send their children to US for undergrad education, where there is typically less scholarship and funding.
According to Open Doors 2009, universities in California hosted the largest number of foreign students with 93,124, up 10%, followed by New York with 74,934, up 7%, and Texas with 58,188, up 12%. The New York City metropolitan area continues to be the leading city for international students, with 59,322 enrolled in area schools, up 8%. The Los Angeles metropolitan area is in second place with 42,897 international students, up 11%.
For the eighth consecutive year, Open Doors reports that the University of Southern California hosted the largest number of international students, this year reporting 7,482. New York University held in second place with 6,761
international students, and Columbia University, also holding steady in third place, hosted 6,685. Rounding out the top five 2008/09 host institutions are University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (6,570 students) and Purdue University (6,136 students). Open Doors reports that 171 US campuses each hosted more than 1,000 students.
The top ten most popular fields of study for international students in the United States in 2008/09 were Business and Management (21% of total), Engineering (18%) and Physical and Life Sciences (9%), Social Sciences (9%), Mathematics and Computer Science (8%), Health Professions (5%), Fine & Applied Arts (5%), Intensive English Language (4%), Humanities (3%), Education (3%), and Agriculture (1%).
There was also a significant 20 per cent uptick in the number of American students studying in India, part of the an overall growth in American students going abroad for academic purpose. The number of Americans studying in India rose from 2627 in 2006/2007 to 3146 in 2007/2008, making India the 17th in the list of countries for US students. The top five spots went to UK, Italy, Spain, France and China, the last of which had more than 13,000 American students.
Showing posts with label abroad studies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label abroad studies. Show all posts
Friday, November 20, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Abroad Craze of Indian Students
Indians are found every corner of the world. Be it students or workers or high profile intellectuals. The student category of abroad goers is endlessly increasing. There is an annual growth of 10-12%. There are about 94,200 Indian students in USA alone in the Fall (August) 2008. This is 17% of the international students currently studying in USA. Chinese students are second to Indians at 13%. The United Kingdom comes second with 20,000 students.
There are several push factors behind the exodus of Indian students to foreign countries. The international value of foreign degree, presumed high quality of the degree, scholarships availability, possibility of good saving after expenditure and high employability after the degree makes Indian students to choose foreign countries for studies. Generally middle class families sent their children abroad for higher studies. This may be for post graduate degree course and above. Upper caste families sent their children abroad for schooling and undergraduate courses.
With the recession affecting the corporate sector and its spill over effect on the other social arenas, the number of abroad going students may come down in the near future. But as in other cases Indian mentality cannot be predicted that easily. It may work on the other way around. The Indian student community may take advantage the crisis and may go in huge numbers to break the historic records. If the tuition fees in colleges and universities are brought down due to the recession
There is also a threat that scholarships will be cut down and number of financial aids will be down to rock bottom. Due to the endowment fund cuts by the corporate sector to universities the latter may have to reduce the number of scholarships. According to The Times of India (14.1.2009 p.15) the Harvard endowment which was worth $36.9billion at the end of June 2008 is said to have come down by at lest 22% since then, and is expected to reduce further for the fiscal ending June. Yale univeristy’s endowment is said to have lost about a quarter of its value during the second half of 2008, from a high of $22.9 billion on June 30. Stanford university’s endowment which stood at $17billion in June –third only to Harvard’s and Yale’s – is also said to have reduced drastically.
Indian students have more reason to go abroad. The banks in India may not have strong reservation to lend loans for the abroad going students. One, there is strong push from the finance ministry to banks to provide education loans easily. Second, banks in the public sector are flooded with huge cash reserves. Three, there is no immediate threat to the employment opportunities for Indian students.
There are several push factors behind the exodus of Indian students to foreign countries. The international value of foreign degree, presumed high quality of the degree, scholarships availability, possibility of good saving after expenditure and high employability after the degree makes Indian students to choose foreign countries for studies. Generally middle class families sent their children abroad for higher studies. This may be for post graduate degree course and above. Upper caste families sent their children abroad for schooling and undergraduate courses.
With the recession affecting the corporate sector and its spill over effect on the other social arenas, the number of abroad going students may come down in the near future. But as in other cases Indian mentality cannot be predicted that easily. It may work on the other way around. The Indian student community may take advantage the crisis and may go in huge numbers to break the historic records. If the tuition fees in colleges and universities are brought down due to the recession
There is also a threat that scholarships will be cut down and number of financial aids will be down to rock bottom. Due to the endowment fund cuts by the corporate sector to universities the latter may have to reduce the number of scholarships. According to The Times of India (14.1.2009 p.15) the Harvard endowment which was worth $36.9billion at the end of June 2008 is said to have come down by at lest 22% since then, and is expected to reduce further for the fiscal ending June. Yale univeristy’s endowment is said to have lost about a quarter of its value during the second half of 2008, from a high of $22.9 billion on June 30. Stanford university’s endowment which stood at $17billion in June –third only to Harvard’s and Yale’s – is also said to have reduced drastically.
Indian students have more reason to go abroad. The banks in India may not have strong reservation to lend loans for the abroad going students. One, there is strong push from the finance ministry to banks to provide education loans easily. Second, banks in the public sector are flooded with huge cash reserves. Three, there is no immediate threat to the employment opportunities for Indian students.
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