<p>There are still plenty of opportunities for United States students. Looking back at my undergraduate education, many of the best features of life at my alma mater involved interacting with the foreign students. A college like Harvard, as nearly as I can tell looking from the outside in, simply wants to end up with the best students it can find, wherever they were born and wherever they went to high school.</p>
<p>sly:</p>
<p>Rational business strategy would suggest that your "looking ahead" hypothesis has something to do with it. But I think there's a lot more. Right now, the top U.S. universities are really unique, and key, world resources. The great European universities are much less secure financially. My impression is that, with the possible exception of Oxbridge, they have not maintained their competitive position internationally, and they are all facing declining populations in their home markets. (Although some have surely improved, such as universities in Spain.) Demand for higher education in Asia must be exploding, and severely taxing available resources, everywhere but in Japan. English is the international lingua franca. With all that, I am somewhat surprised that the top American universities are still as "national" as they are.</p>
<p>A few years ago, a new president of Cornell asked in his investiture speech, "Do we want to look more like America, or should we want to look more like the world?" I thought that was a great question. At an absolute level, the question doesn't have an obvious answer at all. But as a short-term, relative matter, the answer clearly ought to be "both". </p>
<p>Expanding international enrollment is both a practical, hard-headed, long-term business strategy to maintain their pre-eminence in higher education, and a moral imperative. And by "moral imperative" I mean all of the following: having the best students, creating the most synergies, providing the best opportunities to their students and faculties, and doing the most good in the world.</p>
<p>I think this is going to be an accelerating trend. These institutions are still relatively parochial; they probably ought to be more like trans-national business groups. If I were Drew Gilpin Faust, I would be looking to build a real, full-service university somewhere in China.</p>
<p>"In the end, it is extremely doubtful that a surge in foreign applicants will cause the bar to be raised for domestic students and will result in a displacement of domestic students."</p>
<p>How can that be? There is a limited number of spots. I'd agree with you if the colleges are keeping the percentage of international students level, despite the increase in applicants. But if they want to increase the number on campus, they are going to be displacing somebody.</p>
<p>Hi, sly_vt, </p>
<p>At the individual level of one applicant desiring to attend Harvard, it is disadvantageous to increase the number of strong applicants to Harvard by spreading the word abroad that Harvard is affordable. But at the systemic level of the whole country, it is good for every student and for every college to invite the most capable students to apply to the colleges they most desire. Perhaps my son--to make this example really personal--will be edged out when he applies to his dream school (whatever school that is) by some overqualified foreign student from a poor country. But if my son is ready for a top-tier college at all, he can thrive in another college, and if that college too has admitted more strong students from abroad, the academic and social life there will be enhanced. I still think it is an overall win-win for everyone for colleges to be open to, and to be known to be open to, all the best students who desire to attend them.</p>
<br>
<blockquote> <p>Er, a rise of 124 applications over two years? Talk about spinning!<<</p> </blockquote>
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<p>Taken out of the larger context it looks like spinning. Viewed in contrast to the significant decrease in applications at Yale, Harvard's peer school and traditional rival, a small increase in applications is more significant.</p>
<p>When only 1600 students enroll each year, 124 more applications is a meaningful number.</p>
<p>@sly_vt: They're only going to be displacing each other. For the vast majority of colleges the numbers of internationals isn't going to change; and for the ones they do change at, it isn't going to be by a great amount.</p>
<p>coureur...
Princeton was up 7.6% this year and I think all the
Ivies, other than Yale, were up as well.
The way the Crimson handled the numbers got in the way of tokenadult's main point, which is the importance of Harvard's outreach internationally. They have made a policy decision in this regard, which I think is a good one for many reasons.
I haven't seen any similar announcements from Princeton, but I think I remember that 11% of their early admits this year were international.</p>
<p>Here's the Princeton news release: </p>