US colleges welcomed a rush of students from India

A record number of people from India were loading up on Red Bull for all-nighters receiving a world-class education on American campuses during the last academic year.

The country sent 35% more students stateside than the prior year, boosting the US international student population almost completely back to its pre-pandemic high (~1.1 million), per a report from the Institute of International Education. According to the report...

• About 269,000 Indian nationals studied in the US in 2022–2023, not far off the roughly 290,000 students from China, which is still the top source of foreign scholars.
• Chinese student enrollment was stagnant year over year after having fallen due to pandemic travel restrictions, the country’s economic woes, and growing political tensions with the US.

What’s driving the influx?

India’s economic boom and growing population expanded the contingent of US student visa holders. Most are enrolled as graduate students, with many pursuing STEM or business degrees. Their studies can really pay off: Just look at the resumes of Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Microsoft chief Satya Nadella, both of whom left India for grad school in the US.

Aside from the value of cultural diversity…international students are a major source of revenue for US colleges, which is crucial as domestic enrollment declines.—SK