Tag Archives: foreign students

Where Have All the Visiting Students Gone?

“For at least 50 years, the U.S. has been the leader in international education, welcoming first a trickle, then a stream, then a broad river of undergraduate and graduate students from all over the world. That river has dried up now.”

—Phyllis Pomerantz; “Another COVID-19 victim: International education.” The Hill, 22June 20

In all my stints as a U.S. consular officer in foreign countries, one mainstay of my work were the student visas. Loads of young people wanted to study in American colleges and universities. This country’s schools were among the world’s best and offered the most varied curriculum for any subject you wanted to study.

Some of the world’s leaders today are graduates of U.S. higher education.

In addition, foreign students, usually paying full tuition, played a major part in financing the education of American young people, who often paid less.

However, the Covid-19 virus has halted much travel, including student travel, to the U.S. As virus cases grow in the U.S., they are going down in other countries.

And, of course, Canada, Britain, Europe, Australia and others also offer first class advanced education. So why not seek an education in these countries, which now seem much safer, as well more welcoming to foreigners?