USC No. 1 Again in Foreign Students

The number of foreign students enrolled in American colleges and universities dropped by 2.4% in 2003-04, the first decrease in more than 30 years, according to a report released today.

The reasons for the falloff included stricter U.S. visa policies since the Sept. 11, 2001, attack, a perception that the United States is no longer as welcoming to overseas students and increased competition from foreign universities, experts said.

Yet USC, UCLA and some other universities appear to be bucking the trend.

For the third straight year, USC was the top U.S. university for foreign students, according to the study by the New York-based Institute of International Education.

In 2003-04, the university enrolled 6,647 foreign students, up 6% from the year before, the study showed. That figure, which included graduate and undergraduate students and those in the English-language program, represented 21% of USC’s student population, university officials said.

Columbia University was second with 5,362 students, followed by Purdue University, New York University and the University of Texas at Austin. The only other California school in the top 25 nationally was UCLA, in ninth place with 4,320 foreign students, up about 10% from the previous year.

Dixon C. Johnson, who heads USC’s Office of International Services, said the university had expected fewer foreign students to enroll in 2004-05, based on a decrease in applications. “But it seems that those who applied this year were even more committed to coming and were willing to put up with all the hassles,” he said, referring to the visa process.

Nationwide, the figure of 572,509 foreign students enrolled in U.S. institutions last year represented the first decline since 1971-72, according to the institute, a nonprofit educational and cultural exchange organization.

India remains the top country of origin for foreign students in the U.S., followed by China, Korea and Japan, the study shows.