What makes the US a preferred study destination for International Students?

USA as a country is one of the best study abroad destinations for international students. Every year, over 900,000 students enroll themselves in USA universities because of factors like quality education and unique academic structure. The country aims to offer education in an innovative way through 4000 unique courses and 4000+ universities. Apart from this, USA is home to top universities like Harvard, Stanford and Princeton and as per reports, 7 out of 10 universities in top universities are located in the USA.

The country aims to offer a huge variety of courses and apart from popular STEM courses, students can actively participate in management, fine arts and English courses as well. Pursuing a STEM course in USA, offers 24 months work opportunity for an F-1 visa whereas other courses have an eligibility of 12 months. Therefore, once a student secures a degree from USA university, stepping into a job market with top MNC’s like Amazon, Walmart and Apple is not a dream anymore.

Home to 50+ Top Universities in World

USA is home to some of the top universities like Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Yale, Princeton. And, as per reports of QS Top Universities Rankings 2022, 55 out of top 100 universities are from the USA. Additionally, another report from Times Higher Education suggests that 7 out of top 10 universities are American. Earning a degree from a USA university offers guarantee to students for employability across the globe. Therefore, American universities are known to have the best infrastructure, technology and offer excellent course curriculum.

Some of the top universities according to QS Top University Rankings 2022 are tabulated below,

Apart from this,some of the USA universities are also equipped with the best industry and innovation. As per Impact Rankings 2019 by SDG, the best universities in the US for industry, innovation and infrastructure are tabulated below.

Study in USA: Wide Curriculum of Courses

Students willing to study in USA have the opportunity to choose not only the program but also the structure of the program. Students enrolled at undergraduate level can find their interest by hit and trial method and after second year subject major can be taken. Similarly, graduate students can combine elective courses with degrees to customize their degree.

Apart from this, another feature that makes the US a preferred study abroad destination is transfer admission. Students can easily transfer their credits from one university to another. Processors at university maintain a healthy relationship with students due to which more and more Indian students prefer the USA.

The international student and Indian student enrollment in various fields of study in USA as per Open Doors 2020-2021 are represented below.

STEM Courses

As per the reports of Open Doors 2020-2021, 21% of international students were pursuing engineering courses, followed by 20% of students pursuing Maths & Computer Science. The data further suggests that more international students are choosing STEM courses in USA. Therefore, Indian students are no way back as 68% of Indian students are enrolled in either of two fields.

MBA in USA

Pursuing MBA in USA, is a 2 year program that costs around 170,000 to 220,000 USD. MBA is one of the popular programs and international students actively engage themselves in the program. Top MNC’s like Amazon, Apple, Bain & Company, BCG, Deloitte, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, McKinsey recruit students after they complete their MBA degree in USA.

Study in USA: Cultural Diversity

USA is a diverse country and various cultures from different countries enhance the overall culture of university. American universities invite applications from various countries and accept their culture and tradition whole-heartedly. Hence, studying in USA as an international student opens various overall growth and personal opportunities. Employers in USA prefer students with multi-culture talent so that business across the borders run smoothly.

The overall enrollment for 2020-2021 in USA universities for international students is more than 900,000. Therefore, out of all, China and India are top contributors with 317,299 and 167,582 respectively. Some of the top international countries with student enrollment in USA for the year 2020-2021 are mentioned below.

Study in USA: Training and Work-Study Program

Alot of preference in USA is given to training and Work-study programs. During the tenure of the program, students are allowed to work part-time and enroll in training to gain hands-on experience. Optional Practical Training and Curricular Practical Training are two kinds of training modules under which students gain working experience.

OPT allows F-1 visa students to work up to 12 months during or after study in USA. However, students enrolled in STEM courses can work an additional 12 hours which makes it 24 hours. CPT is quite similar to OPT, the only difference between the two is that CPT is required to be completed before graduation. Hence, both these programs allow students to work in industry and gain overall professional experience.

Lucrative Post-study Opportunities

One of the major reasons why international students like to pursue their degree in USA is the job market. USA as a country opens a variety of job opportunities and students can avail them through online sites and on-campus placement opportunities. As per reports, the job market in the USA from september 2020 to september 2021 has increased from 6.61 million USD to 10.41 million USD.

Amazon, Walmart, JPMorgan & Chase and Apple are some of the top MNC’s in USA offering average salaries of 94,700 USD per year. However, the highest salary offered after studying in USA is 423,000 USD. Some of the top job titles offered with average salary are tabulated below.

Also Check: Post-degree opportunities in USA

Apart from this, USA as a country is geographically huge and every city has its own average placement record. Once completing the degree from USA, students can expect to get job offers from top MNC's and earn somewhat around 94,000 USD. Apart from an excellent job market, USA as a country is also excellent in academic curriculum, culture, diversity and campus life.