Study Abroad Information: By Students for Students

CNN has a report on study abroad. They report that the number of American’s studying outside of the US is the same as last year, but where people are going has shifted:

“Britain remained the most popular study destination last year, according to annual figures due for release Monday by the Institute of International Education, followed by Italy, Spain and France.

But the number of U.S. students studying in Britain and Australia declined slightly, even as the number of American students abroad rose 8 percent overall to 205,983 in 2005. The growth came in non-English speaking European countries and in Asia, which still attracts lower numbers overall but is growing rapidly.

China is now the eighth most popular destination for American students, attracting nearly 6,400 last year, up 35 percent from the year before. Though still comparably small at around 2,000 students per year, Argentina and India saw increases of more than 50 percent.”

But the article also noted that fewer international students are coming to the US to study:

“Both groups had been alarmed by slackening interest among international students in studying in the United States — a trend blamed on anti-Americanism, difficulties getting visas after the attacks and growing competition from universities abroad.

International students provide an estimated $13.5 billion boost to the economy. The Department of Commerce calls higher education the country’s fifth-largest export in the service sector.”

I wonder why that is???