Foreign Student Enrollment Hits Record-High In U.S.

The number of foreign students in U.S. colleges and universities climbed 6 percent to a record 764,495 last year, largely due to a surge of students from China and a recent increase from Saudi Arabia.

International student enrollment grew 41,218 more from the previous year marking a sixth consecutive annual gain in 2011-12. While China continues to be the biggest exporter of students to the U.S., Saudi Arabia registered the biggest increase as it sent 34,139 students to American colleges, a 50 percent jump from the previous year. The significant jump is said to be the result of a scholarship program launched by Saudi King Abdullah in 2005.

The increase of Chinese students is so remarkable that they account for 1 of every 4 foreign students on U.S. campuses. This marks a 23 percent increase of Chinese students, revealed a new report by the Institute of International Education.

University of Southern California, Los Angles continues to host the most number of foreign students as it enrolled 9,269 students last year followed by the University of Illinois (8,997), New York University (8,660), Purdue University, Main Campus (8,563) and Columbia University (8,024).

Meanwhile, the number of U.S. students opting to pursue higher education abroad also increased, but at a slower rate. Nearly 273,996 U.S. students studied abroad in 2010-11, which was an increase of just 1.3 percent from the previous year. The study found that nearly 14 percent of U.S. students completing bachelor's degrees this year have studied abroad by the time they graduated.

According to a USA Today report on the study, many international students are disappointed in their relationships with U.S. students. Thirty-eight percent of 454 international students in 10 public universities do not have strong friendships with U.S. students and 27 percent feel unsatisfied with the quality of the friends they had made. United Kingdom was the top destination for U.S. students in 2010-11.