Economic Crisis "Holds Back" Vietnamese Students from Going to the U.S.

Here is the translation of the article into English:

Growth Only 1/20 of Previous Year

IIE Vietnam believes the main reason for this modest increase is due to the economic situation in Vietnam at the time students applied for the 2009-2010 academic year. However, Vietnam still holds the 9th position among countries with the highest number of students studying in the United States and has the largest number of students compared to other Southeast Asian countries.

For three consecutive years prior, the number of Vietnamese students going to the U.S. increased impressively by more than 40% per year, helping Vietnam enter the top 10 countries with the most students studying in the U.S.

Lan Anh, a student at the Foreign Trade University in Hanoi, shared that her family is preparing finances for her to pursue an MBA abroad.

“The U.S. and the U.K. are the ‘dream destinations,’ but I may have to choose a more affordable place because my parents' business hasn’t been doing as well as before, and the Vietnamese dong has depreciated significantly,” Lan Anh said.

Vietnam is not the only country where the wave of students going to the U.S. has been heavily affected by the economic crisis. The number of international students coming to the U.S. last academic year only slightly increased, a sharp drop compared to the 15% growth rate the year before.

More than half of the 25 countries with the most students studying in the U.S. experienced negative growth this year. Japan, heavily affected by the economic downturn, topped the list with a 15% decline in students.

In contrast, China, with rapid growth despite the crisis, replaced Japan as the world’s second-largest economy and saw the highest increase in students going to the U.S. last year, with a growth rate of 30%.

Despite the significant slowdown in the influx of international students, the U.S. still leads the world in attracting international students, reaching nearly 700,000 last year. Experts believe this number reflects the attractiveness of the country’s higher education system.

"Non-Traditional Markets" Attract U.S. Students

Meanwhile, the economic crisis also led to a slight decrease in the number of American students studying abroad in 2008-2009, totaling 260,000 students.

However, the number of American students studying in countries that are not traditional destinations for studying abroad increased significantly. Nineteen out of the top 25 destinations for American students were countries where English is not the primary language. In Vietnam alone, nearly 700 American students studied last year, an increase of about 3% from the previous year.

This presents an opportunity for “non-traditional markets” to attract U.S. students, as education is a high-end service that generates significant revenue for developed countries.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, international students contribute nearly $20 billion annually to the U.S. economy through tuition, living expenses, and other related costs. Additionally, there is substantial revenue from tourism as family members visit students and attend graduation ceremonies each year.

During the crisis, U.S. universities are increasingly seeking to attract international students to compete with other markets, such as Australia or Singapore, which have lower costs.

“We want to meet and engage with international students to understand what the university can do to provide meaningful academic experiences,” said Shyanmei Wang, Project Assistant at the Center for Teaching Excellence, Northwestern University, Illinois.

The school is willing to offer free English classes, extra tutoring (also free), and even cultural classes for international students.

(Vietnamnet)