[ti:China, Mexico and Brazil Lead Gains in US Graduate School Applications] [ar:Christopher Cruise] [al:Education Report] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]This is the VOA Special English Education Report. [00:04.47]Graduate schools in the United States [00:07.93]are reporting a nine percent increase in applications [00:12.29]from international students this year. [00:15.29]The increase is the same as two years ago. [00:19.83]Last year's gain was eleven percent. [00:23.26]China, Mexico and Brazil showed the biggest increases [00:29.70]in applications to enter master's [00:32.64]and doctoral programs this fall. [00:35.83]Engineering is the top area of study [00:39.76]for international students [00:41.32]and had the biggest increase in applications. [00:45.58]Gains in business and physical [00:49.18]and earth sciences were close behind. [00:52.57]Life sciences showed no growth in the latest survey [00:57.83]by the Council of Graduate Schools. [01:00.69]The survey includes the top five countries [01:04.62]that send graduate students to the United States, [01:07.94]plus Mexico and Brazil. [01:10.85]The top five are China, India, [01:14.41]South Korea, Taiwan and Canada. [01:18.78]Applications from China climbed eighteen percent this year. [01:23.97]That was down from last year. [01:26.95]India's number increased just two percent. [01:30.78]Applications from South Korea and Taiwan [01:34.67]decreased by one to two percent. [01:38.53]Applications from Africa were down five percent, [01:42.89]while the Middle East and Europe showed growth. [01:46.60]Council President Debra Stewart says [01:50.19]final results will not be available until the summer. [01:53.96]DEBRA STEWART: "Remember, applications [01:56.02]do not necessarily convert to enrollment. [02:01.97]So about forty-seven percent of [02:04.77]all international applications to U.S. graduate schools [02:09.36]actually come from students from China. [02:13.27]But the share of the applicant pool [02:15.43]that actually ends up enrolling in U.S. graduate programs [02:19.52]is a bit lower though their application numbers [02:21.98]were considerably higher." [02:23.48]Ms. Stewart says last fall, [02:25.78]for example, twenty-nine percent of [02:28.63]all international graduate students were from China. [02:31.83]This year is the seventh year of big increases [02:36.05]in applications from China, where Ms. Stewart points out [02:40.82]that more and more students are finishing college. [02:43.86]DEBRA STEWART: "There are just a huge number of talented students, [02:48.61]the number growing ever year, [02:50.67]because of the tremendous growth [02:52.83]in the undergraduate population in China. [02:54.95]Now, China has felt the recession [02:58.92]like the rest of the world has felt the recession. [03:01.20]So it certainly is possible [03:03.71]that these very exceptionally strong numbers [03:07.77]could be a reflection of recession experiences [03:12.67]in China, as well." [03:15.03]George Ofosu from Ghana [03:17.97]is working toward a doctorate in political science [03:21.43]at the University of California, Los Angeles. [03:25.64]He says he was attracted to UCLA's coursework, [03:30.00]libraries and other resources, including financial aid [03:34.91]he would not have had at home. [03:37.02]GEORGE OSOFU: "It was an ideal opportunity for me [03:39.07]to go through the system and get admission here. [03:42.27]One, get the training and, [03:44.27]two, get some funding to pursue the studies. [03:46.76]So I think, yeah, the experience here is really phenomenal." [03:52.15]And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, [03:56.36]written by Jerilyn Watson. [03:58.80]I'm Christopher Cruise.