Business
Indians Top Foreign Student Group
The Indian student population in the United States tops 100,000 for the first time.
| For the eighth consecutive year, India sent the largest number of foreign students to the United States, topping 100,000 for the first time for any country, according to the 2009 annual report of the Institute of International Education Open Doors.
Texas (11,987) has the largest Indian student population, followed by California (11,462) and New York (10,716). However, the proportion of Indians in the foreign student body is highest in Connecticut (30%), followed by New Jersey (24%) and Alabama (23%). Indians are the leading foreign student group in 17 states and the second largest group in 14 others. Indeed, they are among the top 5 foreign student groups in all but four states (West Virginia, Washington, Hawaii and Alaska). The institute does not report country breakdowns for individual universities, but the University of Southern California had the largest number of foreign students (7,482), followed by New York University and Columbia University. There is little reciprocal interest in Indian education in the United States. India ranks as the 17th most popular choice among U.S. students studying abroad. Even though India experienced the greatest growth in U.S. student enrollment (20 percent) between 2007 to 2008, just 1.2 percent of the U.S. students in study abroad programs headed to India, a quarter those selecting China. The United Kingdom, Italy and Spain are the most popular destinations for U.S. students, according to Open Doors.
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