The Younger International Student

July 8, 2014
By Elizabeth Redden

Picture the “typical” international student at an American high school. You may think of an exchange student from Europe, but even more typical is a student from Asia seeking an American high school diploma.

A new research brief from the Institute of International Education finds that the pool of international students attending American high schools is rapidly expanding, and the majority of those students are pursuing diplomas rather than enrolling in more traditional semester- to yearlong cultural exchange programs. The diploma-seeking students are predominantly from Asia, almost exclusively attend private high schools, and are pursuing secondary credentials with the goal of increasing their chances for admission to U.S. colleges.

“We’ve typically tended to focus on higher education when we’re thinking of inbound student mobility, but we haven’t paid enough attention to the fact that students from overseas are beginning to study abroad at younger and younger ages and that high school does provide a pipeline, or pathway, if you will, into higher education,” said Rajika Bhandari, IIE’s deputy vice president for research and evaluation.

Read more: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/07/08/new-research-provides-insight-growing-pool-international-high-school-students-us#ixzz36tP1raHZ 
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