Fewer Koreans Choose to Study in U.S.

While the number of Koreans studying in the U.S. has just fallen for the second straight year, the number of Chinese students there is skyrocketing, according to an annual report by the Institute of International Education on Monday.

Some 70,627 Korean students were enrolled in U.S. universities for the recently ended academic year, making up 8.6 percent of all foreign students to rank as the third-largest group. Some 83 percent were enrolled in undergraduate and postgraduate programs.

The largest group of foreign students came from China, with 235,597 studying in U.S. universities last year, making up 28.7 percent of all non-American students. One year earlier, the Chinese made up 21.4 percent of the total.

However, more than half were in non-degree programs as the majority had gone to the U.S. as exchange students or to study English.

Indians made up the second-largest group (96,754 students), while Saudi Arabians were fourth (44,566), Canadians fifth (27,357), and Japanese seventh (19,568).

The states of California, New York, Texas, and Massachusetts have the greatest number of students from overseas. In total, foreign students contribute around US$24 billion to the U.S. economy each year.

Meanwhile, the number of Americans studying abroad hit a record high in the 2011-12 academic year as it rose 3 percent on-year to 283,332. The U.K., Italy, Spain, France and China were their preferred destinations.