Vietnamese Students in U.S. Increase 3% in 2013-2014: IIE

The number of Vietnamese students in the U.S. increased by 3% on year to nearly 16,580 in the 2013-2014 school year, said the Institute of International Education (IIE). Vietnam ranks seventh among nations worldwide with the highest number of students in the United States with 25,982 compared with Taiwan (23,503) and Japan (26,187), according to Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). Around 72.1% of Vietnamese students in the U.S. pursued tertiary education, 15.2% attended post-graduate programs, 9.9% studied at other education levels and 2.8% followed vocational training programs. “Together with Asutralia and Japan, the U.S. remains a top international destination for Vietnamese students because of the quality, prestige and available educational opportunities,” said Dr. Mark Ashwill, former official at the IIE. Last year, many universities in the U.S. listed Vietnam as one of the fastest emerging markets in terms of student attraction. According to the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET), Vietnam had nearly 110,000 students overseas by end-2014, up 10% from 2013. Of the total, 10% got scholarships and the rest took self-sufficiency programs. (Thanh Nien – Young People April 20 p8)