72% decrease in international student enrolment in US during 2020, but things are looking up

MUMBAI: Fewer international students chose to study at US colleges and universities in recent years, but there may be an uptick during the upcoming academic year, according to a report released by Boundless, a technology driven outfit in the immigration arena.
The report cites SEVP data and states that there were 1.25 million (12.5 lakh) active records for F-1 and M-1 students in 2020, a 17.86% decrease from 2019. However, in 2020 overall US schools saw a 72% decline in new student enrollment as compared to 2019. International students pursuing a degree course are issued an F-1 visa, whereas those undertaking a vocational course of study are issued an M-1 visa.
The report by Boundless adds that a survey of US officials found that the top reasons for the decline were visa delays and denials, competition from colleges in other countries and restrictive immigration policies under the former Trump administration.
However, 43% of US educational institutions have reported a rise in international student applications for the 2021-22 academic year, suggesting renewed interest – now that a new administration is in power and Covid-19 poses less of a threat – at least in some parts of the country.

Relying on publicly available data, the report cites that In 2020, international students came from 226 countries, with the largest contingent being from China and India. The number of active students from these countries stood at 3.82 lakh and 2.07 lakh respectively. Four schools, viz: Northeastern University, New York University, Columbia University and University of Southern California were the most popular - each enrolling more than 15,000 international students. Nearly half of all the international students studied in California, New York, Texas, Massachusetts and Florida.

Most international students come to the US to enroll in higher education, specifically SEVP-certified associate, bachelors’, masters’, or doctoral programs. Degree courses in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) are the most popular. During the 2019-20 academic year, the three most popular fields of study were – Engineering (2.20 lakh international students); Maths and Computer Science (2.05 lakh international students) and Business and Management (1.74 lakh international students).
The report sums up by saying that international students are huge economic drivers and contributed US $38.7 billion to the American economy and supported 4.16 lakh jobs during the 2019-20 academic year.