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Saudi Arabia top places of international student in the U.S.

Bubblegum Crisis

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Quote :

Enrollment of first-time foreign students dips in the U.S., but California is still No. 1

By Teresa Watanabe
November 13, 2017


After years of rapid growth, enrollment of first-time international students in U.S. colleges and universities dipped last year amid concerns about political uncertainty, tuition increases, visa delays and reductions in scholarship money, an annual survey found.

California remained the nation’s most popular destination for foreign students, with 157,000 coming to the state in 2016-17. They made up nearly 16% of more than 1 million international students in the United States that year, according to the survey of more than 2,000 institutions released Monday by the Institute of International Education.

Alyson L. Grunder, a deputy assistant secretary of State, said the U.S. ability to attract the world’s largest number of international students was “testament to the unmatched quality of American higher education.”

But the roughly 3% decline in new foreign students in California and nationally was the first drop the institute has recorded in the 12 years it has collected such data, and the decline appears to be deepening. The institute’s separate tally of data from about 500 colleges and universities found a 7% drop in enrollment of first-time students this fall — mostly at less-selective campuses.

Institute officials were diplomatic, and repeatedly declined to pinpoint President Trump’s hard-edged attitudes toward immigration and foreign visitors from countries he considers sponsors of terrorism.

“It really is much too soon for us yet to tell what is the definitive factor,” said Allan E. Goodman, the institute’s president. He said U.S. institutions need to redouble efforts to recruit more foreign students because they enrich campuses and collectively contributed $39 billion to the U.S. economy this past year.

“It’s a very healthy ... wake-up call,” Goodman said.


Growth in foreign students is slowing

Overall, the number of international students in the United States went up by 3%, signaling a slowdown in what used to be double-digit growth. Institute officials said other countries, notably Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom, are recruiting foreign students more aggressively. Trump’s travel ban and fears of crime also appeared to be factors, they said. But only 20% of institutions surveyed in the smaller sample said international students had expressed a desire to leave the country because of the social and political climate.





California is still No. 1 for foreign students

California remained the most popular destination for foreign students, but new enrollment declined by 2.8% in 2016-17. The state’s share of first-time foreign students could decline further since the 10-campus University of California system limited its international and out-of-state students for the first time and raised tuition by 2.5% this year.





China sends the most students here

More than 200 countries sent students to the United States, a record high. China was the top country of origin in California and nationally — by far. Four-fifths of campuses surveyed in the smaller sample said they were working to integrate them better into campus life with language support and address issues of ”academic integrity.” The number of students coming from Saudi Arabia and Brazil declined the most — which the institute attributed to major cutbacks in their governments’ scholarship programs. The biggest increases came from Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Nigeria.

The most popular majors were in science, technology, engineering and math, followed by business.


Note - Saudi Arabia Population 2017 : 33,000,000





NYU beat out USC

Once again, New York University was the No. 1 host of international students. But four California universities made the top 20 list — USC, UCLA, UC San Diego and UC Berkeley. USC and most of the UC campuses bucked national trends and increased their numbers of first-time international students in 2016-17. The number of undergraduate and graduate international students in the UC system rose to 38,908 in 2016-17 from 35,035 the previous year.






American students favor Europe

The number of American students studying abroad increased by 4% to 325,339 in 2015-16, according to the institute. The top destinations were the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, France and Germany. Cuba saw a 58.6% increase in American students after the Obama administration eased travel restrictions, but officials said they expect the numbers to decline in the Trump era. The number of U.S. students in China dropped by 8.6%, due in part to concerns about pollution and other health and safety issues, said the institute’s Peggy Blumenthal.


Los Angeles Times


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Quote :

Enrollment of first-time foreign students dips in the U.S., but California is still No. 1

By Teresa Watanabe
November 13, 2017


After years of rapid growth, enrollment of first-time international students in U.S. colleges and universities dipped last year amid concerns about political uncertainty, tuition increases, visa delays and reductions in scholarship money, an annual survey found.

California remained the nation’s most popular destination for foreign students, with 157,000 coming to the state in 2016-17. They made up nearly 16% of more than 1 million international students in the United States that year, according to the survey of more than 2,000 institutions released Monday by the Institute of International Education.

Alyson L. Grunder, a deputy assistant secretary of State, said the U.S. ability to attract the world’s largest number of international students was “testament to the unmatched quality of American higher education.”

But the roughly 3% decline in new foreign students in California and nationally was the first drop the institute has recorded in the 12 years it has collected such data, and the decline appears to be deepening. The institute’s separate tally of data from about 500 colleges and universities found a 7% drop in enrollment of first-time students this fall — mostly at less-selective campuses.

Institute officials were diplomatic, and repeatedly declined to pinpoint President Trump’s hard-edged attitudes toward immigration and foreign visitors from countries he considers sponsors of terrorism.

“It really is much too soon for us yet to tell what is the definitive factor,” said Allan E. Goodman, the institute’s president. He said U.S. institutions need to redouble efforts to recruit more foreign students because they enrich campuses and collectively contributed $39 billion to the U.S. economy this past year.

“It’s a very healthy ... wake-up call,” Goodman said.


Growth in foreign students is slowing

Overall, the number of international students in the United States went up by 3%, signaling a slowdown in what used to be double-digit growth. Institute officials said other countries, notably Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom, are recruiting foreign students more aggressively. Trump’s travel ban and fears of crime also appeared to be factors, they said. But only 20% of institutions surveyed in the smaller sample said international students had expressed a desire to leave the country because of the social and political climate.





California is still No. 1 for foreign students

California remained the most popular destination for foreign students, but new enrollment declined by 2.8% in 2016-17. The state’s share of first-time foreign students could decline further since the 10-campus University of California system limited its international and out-of-state students for the first time and raised tuition by 2.5% this year.





China sends the most students here

More than 200 countries sent students to the United States, a record high. China was the top country of origin in California and nationally — by far. Four-fifths of campuses surveyed in the smaller sample said they were working to integrate them better into campus life with language support and address issues of ”academic integrity.” The number of students coming from Saudi Arabia and Brazil declined the most — which the institute attributed to major cutbacks in their governments’ scholarship programs. The biggest increases came from Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Nigeria.

The most popular majors were in science, technology, engineering and math, followed by business.


Note - Saudi Arabia Population 2017 : 33,000,000





NYU beat out USC

Once again, New York University was the No. 1 host of international students. But four California universities made the top 20 list — USC, UCLA, UC San Diego and UC Berkeley. USC and most of the UC campuses bucked national trends and increased their numbers of first-time international students in 2016-17. The number of undergraduate and graduate international students in the UC system rose to 38,908 in 2016-17 from 35,035 the previous year.






American students favor Europe

The number of American students studying abroad increased by 4% to 325,339 in 2015-16, according to the institute. The top destinations were the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, France and Germany. Cuba saw a 58.6% increase in American students after the Obama administration eased travel restrictions, but officials said they expect the numbers to decline in the Trump era. The number of U.S. students in China dropped by 8.6%, due in part to concerns about pollution and other health and safety issues, said the institute’s Peggy Blumenthal.


Los Angeles Times


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So we are ahead of Chinese, Indians and South Koreans for the first time? That's pretty damn impressive compared to our population and that of those heavyweights (in particular China and India population wise) but even South Korea has 20 million more people. However it seems unlikely.

Never mind, just saw the graph. It's once again per capita. Well, we have been ahead of everyone else on that front for years as far as I know. I remember this being the case as well when I studied in California for 2 semesters. Great times.

@Bubblegum Crisis

I have always wondered about something. Of all the almost 50 or so universities in KSA, not a single one is an American University. I mean using the model of AUB in Beirut, AUD in Dubai or AUC in Cairo. Our university ranks are the best in the Muslim and Arab world but it's still a bit strange IMO.
 
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Good people. We wish them good luck and much success.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC53_OdN7GCktzuC93Z8pQ5w

Let us hope that they will help KSA and not stay abroad forever and pray and hope that MbS draining the swamp will attract the vast majority of them back and not like the situation before.

@Bubblegum Crisis

Many are studying in the UK as well but why not focus on Germany as well especially for technical fields? It's free and German universities are in need of foreign students or more precisely they want them. Also much closer to KSA, I mean Europe, than the US and also cheaper for the most part.
 
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@Bubblegum Crisis

Many are studying in the UK as well but why not focus on Germany as well especially for technical fields? It's free and German universities are in need of foreign students or more precisely they want them. Also much closer to KSA, I mean Europe, than the US and also cheaper for the most part.


KASP Scholarship Program









The Impact of Saudi Arabia King Abdullah’s Scholarship Program in the U.S. (September 2014) - Doc PDF -



Quote :

- Feb 2016

“The government has also recently announced new eligibility requirements for students who apply for funding after enrolling in institutions abroad; those students must now be in one of the world’s top 50 academic programmes in their field or one of the world’s top 100 universities.”

Saudi scholarship programme to sharpen focus on top universities

Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) - 2017


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So we are ahead of Chinese, Indians and South Koreans for the first time? That's pretty damn impressive compared to our population and that of those heavyweights (in particular China and India population wise) but even South Korea has 20 million more people. However it seems unlikely.

Never mind, just saw the graph.
It's once again per capita. Well, we have been ahead of everyone else on that front for years as far as I know. I remember this being the case as well when I studied in California for 2 semesters. Great times.

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Student and exchange visitor information system - ICE - July 2016 (Doc PDF )



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KASP Scholarship Program









The Impact of Saudi Arabia King Abdullah’s Scholarship Program in the U.S. (September 2014) - Doc PDF -



Quote :

- Feb 2016

“The government has also recently announced new eligibility requirements for students who apply for funding after enrolling in institutions abroad; those students must now be in one of the world’s top 50 academic programmes in their field or one of the world’s top 100 universities.”

Saudi scholarship programme to sharpen focus on top universities

Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) - 2017


...



Student and exchange visitor information system - ICE - July 2016 (Doc PDF )



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Did not expect to see Australia in the top 5. A bit of a surprise. Must be a newer trend.

Anyway I still believe that Germany would be a great choice for many Saudi Arabian students. The only problem (as I see it) would be the language barrier and not all German universities offering studies taught in English. However when it comes to technical fields, German universities have a great reputation that is very old.

With the ongoing reforms of the educational sector (ongoing work in progress for years and for the future to come naturally), "returnees" will and should play an important role here and gaining experience and knowledge from the best universities out there from across the world, is another added benefit to the student program and a benefit that many people forget.

Those 1000's upon 1000's of mostly highly educated people, once they return, will shape their work places, younger siblings, possibly friends and their previous educational institutions (universities) within KSA.

All in all a great investment and we can already see the fruits of this and it's just the beginning on many fronts.

The way that the development is going in KSA, I also see a much greater initiative for the best performers to return to KSA rather than staying abroad in the US or elsewhere.

If there is one thing that I hope that the government will not compromise on and rather increase their support for, it is education by far.

Speaking about education.......

Girls’ physical education classes raise questions about suitable uniforms in Saudi schools
NADA HAMEED | Published — Wednesday 29 November 2017
1043346-2116008199.png

This 2014 file photo shows a basketball drill at a private club in Jeddah. Physical education classes will soon be offered to girls in public schools. (AP)

JEDDAH: Physical education programs in schools for girls in Saudi Arabia begin next year and many questions have been raised about the mechanism of their implementation, including suitable clothing to be worn during these classes.
School uniforms, which consist of a long-sleeved white blouse with a long colored sleeveless dress, along with trousers under the uniform are adequate for sports, according to the Department of Student Activity in Madinah Al-Munawwara.
Girls will have mainly cardio exercises, as public schools do not include full sports facilities yet. Ghada Mohammed, a high school teacher in Jeddah, told Arab News that the exercise program would officially start in the spring semester of 2018.
Hadeel Al-Shumrani, the first Saudi Zumba trainer and also an actress @Uturn, told Arab News: “This type of uniform will create an obstacle for the student.”
“While performing any kind of exercises or sports training, two-piece clothes are the best choice, which are available everywhere and it is not against Islamic regulations; it is way more comfortable,” Al-Shumrani said.
It is preferable for training suits to be made out of cotton to absorb sweat, and girls also need to pay attention to what kind of sports shoes they wear, such as multi-fitness shoes, depending on the sports class they will take.
Raged Al-Ezzy, a public middle school student told Arab News: “We do morning exercises every day after we finish the national anthem. We sometimes wear training trousers under our school uniforms.”
The program will be gradually implemented in schools by allocating part of the morning schedule and including programs among other student activities.

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1200761/saudi-arabia
 
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Those 1000's upon 1000's of mostly highly educated people, once they return, will shape their work places, younger siblings, possibly friends and their previous educational institutions (universities) within KSA.

All in all a great investment and we can already see the fruits of this and it's just the beginning on many fronts.

...

Yes perfectly ! You have understood everything, brother.

And that is what has no price, which is worth all the gold of the world. This way is ‘transformational’.

Iwakura Mission

Meiji period


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Yes perfectly ! You have understood everything, brother.

And that is what has no price, which is worth all the gold of the world. This way is ‘transformational’.

Iwakura Mission

Meiji period


...

Don't forget the hidden treasure and future economic gold and diamond mine for KSA (compared to the situation today), our beautiful and clever Saudi Arabian women who are even better educated on average (current generation) than men as per all available data.

Imagine what a higher participation of Saudi Arabian women in the workforce will mean for the economy for a second. Or how bad a deal that 20 + year old moronic ban on women driving was and how much money will no longer be wasted on this stupidity.

No surprise that the situation is similar with the Arab diaspora in the West. Arab women (European citizens) are one of the best academically performing groups at Western universities.

The situation is worse with the men but that is a general trend regardless of origin in most (if not all) European countries but it's the men that pull the average down. Arab men here are mainly Maghrebis in Spain, France and Benelux and Palestinians and Iraqis in Scandinavia. The last two groups are usually underprivileged groups (recent war refugees from Lebanon, Iraq and Palestine (to a smaller extend).

Not sure about the situation with the Syrians but I presume that a similar trend will occur at least in the first 1-2 generations. But maybe the German model will work better?

Anyway the key here is not to save money when it comes to education. Becoming more effective can save a lot of money on its own.

Removing the obstacles that the system/society has created itself will be a good start as well and as we both know this is a work in progress.
 
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