USC has the most foreign students

For the sixth year in a row, USC enrolled more foreign students than any other American university, according to a report being released today.

USC had 7,115 international students last year, followed by Columbia University with 5,937, and New York University with 5,827. UCLA was in eighth place with 4,704.

The annual Open Door report, published by the Institute of International Education with support from the U.S. State Department, showed that the number of international students enrolled at U.S. colleges and universities last year reached 582,984. That was a 3% increase from the year before.

Officials said that marked the first significant rise since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which led to a tightening of student visa policies and a perception that the United States was no longer as welcoming to overseas students.

India last year sent the most students to American colleges, followed by China and South Korea, according to the report.

USC has offices in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and Mexico City, according to Michael Jackson, vice president for student affairs. Jackson attributed USC’s large foreign student enrollment, up from 6,881 the year before, to “strong recruiting and the long-standing tradition as an institution that welcomes international students.”

California enrolled the largest number of foreign students, with 77,987, followed by New York with 65,884, and Texas with 49,081, according to the report.

larry.gordon@latimes.com