美國正失去對外國留學生的吸引力

The U.S. remains the top destination in the world for more than 1 million visiting students — hosting more than double the next country, the United Kingdom. But while 1.5 percent more students studied in the U.S. last year, the rate of new enrollments — specifically, undergraduate students — declined by 6.6 percent, a trend first seen the preceding year, according to the Institute for International Education's (IIE) annual Open Doors report.

Tuition costs of around $20,000 a year for public institutions to more than $70,000 for elite private universities, make the U.S. look less attractive to international students, as global competition increases, educators said.

65% of international students rely on “international funding sources” said IIE spokesperson Catherine Morris, “with well over half of all students (59 percent) funded through their own personal and family funding.”

Among undergraduates, 82 percent rely on personal and family funding. Most are not eligible for financial aid at U.S. schools.

China and India send nearly half of all international students, 363,341 and 196,271, respectively, to the U.S. A currency correction in India two years ago wiped out funding sources for many students there hoping to head to the U.S. And Chinese students, who dominate the population of international students, report growing discontent with paying full tuition next to subsidized domestic students.

“The current financial model for higher education isn't sustainable,” offered Lynn Pasquerella, president of the Association of American Colleges and Universities. “We can't raise tuitions and have burgeoning loan debts” for international or domestic students.美國仍然是留學生的首選目的地，目前有超過100萬人，是排在其後的英國擁有的留學生人數的兩倍多。但根據國際教育協會（IIE）年度開放門戶報告的數據，去年來美留學生增加了1.5％，但新生入學率，特別是本科生，下降了6.6％，上一年也是同樣的趨勢。

教育工作者表示，美國公立大學每年的學費約爲2萬美元，精英私立大學的學費超過7萬美元，在全球競爭加劇的情況下，這使得美國對國際學生的吸引力降低

國際教育協會的發言人凱瑟琳·莫里斯表示，65％的國際學生依賴“國際資金來源”，“超過一半的學生（59％）則靠自己的個人和家庭資助。”

在本科生中則有82％依靠個人和家庭資助。大多數外國學生不符合獲得美國學校的經濟援助的標準。

來自中國和印度的留學生佔國際學生的近一半，分別爲363,341人和196,271人。兩年前印度的貨幣政策調整導致許多希望前往美國求學的學生失去了資金來源。而在國際學生中佔主導的中國學生，據報道對身邊的美國學生獲得補貼而自己付全額學費越來越不滿。

美國大學協會主席林恩帕斯克雷拉說，“目前的高等教育財政模式是不可持續的。”他說，“我們不能一直對國際提高學費或增加國內學生的貸款債務。”