The US Colleges with the Highest International Student Populations

May 10th, 2014 by Jennifer Frankel

With studying abroad being such an increasingly popular decision in today’s world, international students may be surprised to learn that there are only a few universities in the United States where international students make up more than 15% of the student population.

Studying abroad used to be just a great way to enrich a course of study, gain some global perspective, and have an interesting life experience while attending university. Now, studying abroad offers a number of academic and economic advantages to students (and the universities that host them). As such, countries the world over are increasingly encouraging their students to study abroad and international student populations are on the rise on campuses across the globe. However, international students may be surprised to learn that there are only a handful of universities in the US with international student populations over 15%

US Colleges with the Highest International Student Populations (Undergraduate)

  1. New School (NY)–29% of 7,010 students
  2. Florida Institute of Technology (FL)–28% of 2,978 undergraduate students
  3. Illinois Institute of Technology (IL)–23% of 2,800 undergraduate students
  4. Lynn University (FL)–22% of 1,657 undergraduate students
  5. University of Tulsa (OK)–22% of 3,160 undergraduate students
  6. Carnegie Mellon University (PA)–18% of 6,279 undergraduate students
  7. Purdue University—West Lafayette (IN)–17% of 30,147 undergraduate students
  8. University at Buffalo (NY)—SUNY–16% of 19,505 undergraduate students
  9. University of San Francisco (CA)–16% of 6,344 undergraduate students
  10. Northeastern University (MA)–15% of 13,107 undergraduate students

Recent findings indicate that each of the above schools has further expanded its international student enrollment. Moreover, as studying abroad transitions from “enriching undergraduate experience” to “extremely prudent academic and career move” the number of international students is likely to continually increase over the next few years.

Universities that already have significant populations of international students, resource and support networks for international students and school cultures that accept and admit the perspectives of international students will continue to stand out and benefit from their diverse student bodies. Moreover, as those students who do decide to study abroad decide on potential institutions, knowing there’s already a thriving international student body may make the transition that much easier.

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4 Comments

  1. nayebare emmanuel says:

    I like studying abroad

  2. ryan honest says:

    i wanna study there

  3. Melisa Daley says:

    I am from jamaica is there any university or college out there that use cxc results to accept you instead of transcript.

    • Bryanna Davis says:

      Hi Melisa,

      Unfortunately we can only assist you with financial aid. However, what we do suggest is that you contact the schools you are interested in and see if they will accept your CXC results in place of documentation that your home country does not utilize. Best of luck!

      Good luck!

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