More Foreign Students Studying in Boston
Many colleges in Massachusetts are reporting sharp increases in applications and acceptances from international students for the coming school year, according to educational experts cited in a recent article published in The Boston Globe. According to the report, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst expects a roughly 20 percent increase in new international students this fall, while Northeastern University expects a 17 percent increase in international enrollment over last year. Foreign students will comprise nearly one-quarter of Babson College’s incoming class, after a 67 percent rise in their ranks.
Educational experts say the substantial increase in foreign students has to do with exchange rates that make an American college education much more affordable than it once was. As the dollar falls against currencies like the Euro, the numbers of foreign students has risen — the nearly 583,000 foreign students who attended US colleges last year were the most since 2002, when tighter restrictions on student visas and growing anti-American sentiment abroad caused enrollments to decline. Last year Boston hosted nearly 24,000 foreign students, and is the country’s third-leading host city, after New York and Los Angeles.
India is the country sending the most foreign students to the U.S., followed by China and Korea. There has also been an uptick in foreigners coming from European countries.
As foreign students come to study, look for more foreign families to invest in Boston real estate while a son or daughter studies at a local university. It is likely that more urban apartment buildings, multi-family houses and small urban condos will sell to foreigners who recognize a good investment when they see one.
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