What are the Top Most Populated Schools in the U.S. for International Students?

14 Most Popular Schools in the U.S. for International Students

1. University of Southern California
2. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
3. Purdue University
4. New York University
5. Columbia University
6. University of California, Los Angeles
7. Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts
8. Illinois Institute of Technology
9. University of Massachusetts, Boston
10. Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan
11. Northeastern University
12. University of Michigan
13. Michigan State University
14. Penn State University

- Maryland and Texas are among the top destinations for sub-Saharan African international students, as the colleges with the highest population of these students are Houston Community College, Montgomery College, the University of Houston, Howard University and the University of the District of Columbia.

- The most South African international students can be found at Harvard University, Columbia University, New York University, Northern Virginia Community College and Montgomery College.

- Collectively, the top fields of study for African students are science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields (40 percent) and business (20 percent).

- The number of Chinese international students in the US rose 30 percent over 2009-2010 school year, with the largest concentration in California. The 606403 University of California - Davis, saw a 37 percent increase in Chinese students.

Most popular states for foreign students

California remains the biggest draw for foreigners, with roughly 103,000 students studying there. Here are the 10 most popular states for international students:

1. California (102,789)
2. New York (82,436)
3. Texas (61,511)
4. Massachusetts (41,258)
5. Illinois (35,920)
6. Pennsylvania (33,398)
7. Florida (32,567)
8. Ohio (26,427)
9. Michigan (25,551)
10. Indiana (22,194)

Most popular universities for foreign students

The most popular U.S. universities for foreign students are located on the coasts and in the Midwest. Here are the top 10 destinations for international students, along with their enrollment numbers:

1. University of Southern California (9,269)
2. University of Illinois (8,997)
3. New York University (8,660)
4. Purdue University (8,563)
5. Columbia University (8,024)
6. UCLA (6,703)
7. Northeastern University (6,486)
8. University of Michigan (6,382)
9. Michigan State University (6,209)
10. Ohio State University (6,142)