Three facts about international students in the U.S.

A new report looks at the impact of America’s international students.

Students from across the globe have been drawn to American colleges and universities for generations, but little has been written about the impact these temporary residents have had on their schools and the country at large.

A new report by the Institute of International Education takes a deeper look at these students, who now number over 20 million. Here are three intriguing things the researchers found:

Nearly one out of three international students is from China: Chinese students are increasingly heading to the U.S. to further their education. Since the year 2000, the number of Chinese nationals enrolled in American universities has quintupled, and they now make up 31 percent of the international student population.

The students’ economic impact has also skyrocketed: Because many international students don’t qualify for financial aid or other scholarships, they often end up paying full tuition. The IIE found that in the last decade and a half, the amount of money these scholars have put into the economy (through tuition, books, travel and housing) has tripled — going from $9 billion in 2000 to $27 billion today.

International students are rarely unique on campus: While foreign students were often very rare on campus decades ago, that is no longer the case. There are currently more than 230 colleges that are each home to more than 1,000 foreign students.

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