Fewer international applicants applying to US graduate schools

International applications to US graduate schools rose 1 per cent in 2013, following a 9 per cent gain in 2012 and an 11 per cent increase in 2011, according to analysis released by the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS).

“The initial snapshot of international graduate applications for fall 2013, released today, marks the smallest growth in applications over the past eight years,” CGS said. The group said the slowdown in international applications was driven primarily by a decline in applications from China, and partly offset by an increase in applications from India.

In particular, the CGS survey data, released on 8 April, reveal that the reduced growth in overall international applications was largely the result of a five per cent drop in applications from China, which has supplied 29 per cent of international graduate students at US institutions. But CGS said the decline in Chinese applicants was counterbalanced by a 20 per cent increase in applications from India, which accounts for 20 per cent of all international graduate students at US institutions.