Open Doors Report Notes Increase of Colombian Students in U.S. Educational Institutions

November 16, 2009

Open Doors Report Notes Increase of Colombian Students in U.S. Educational Institutions

The number of Colombian students enrolled in U.S. institutions of higher education in 2008/2009 increased from 6,662 to 7,013, a 5.3% increase over the previous academic year, according to Open Doors 2009, a report published by the Institute of International Education with support from the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. This puts Colombia in the top 20 countries sending students to study in the United States. Although Brazil sent more students (8,768), Colombia has the highest per capita number of students among South American countries. 

The Open Doors report shows that the total number of international students at colleges and universities in the United States increased by 8% to an all-time high of 671,616 in the 2008/09 academic year. The total number now exceeds for the second year in a row what had been the prior peak enrollment year (2002/03), and is 14.5% higher that the number of international students in United States’ higher education that year. Open Doors data show an even stronger increase in the number of “new” international students, those enrolled for the first time at a U.S. college or university in the Fall Semester of 2008. New international student enrollments rose by 15%, following on 10% increases in each of the previous two years.

“I am pleased that more and more Colombian students are choosing to study in the United States. The country that I represent remains the preferred destination for students from Colombia studying abroad because they recognize the quality and prestige associated with a degree from the United States,” said Ambassador William Brownfield.

In the 2008/2009 academic year, India was the largest source of international students, with more than 103,000 Indian citizens studying in the United States. The most popular U.S. university for international students is the University of Southern California, which enrolls more than 7,000 students from around the world.

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The Open Doors report is published by the Institute of International Education, the leading not-for-profit educational and cultural exchange organization in the United States. IIE has conducted an annual statistical survey of the international students in the United States since 1919, and with support from the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs since the early 1970s. The census is based on a survey of approximately 3,000 accredited U.S. institutions. Open Doors also reports on surveys on international scholars at U.S. universities; international students enrolled in pre-academic Intensive English Programs; and on U.S.