Was that a conversation in Urdu you overheard at Market Basket? German or plattdeutsch on the T near Kendall Square? Between 2008 and 2012, 53,486 students from around the world came to the Boston area to study, spending $1.7 billion on tuition and more than $900 million on living costs. By contrast, the state exports less than half that number — fewer than 3 percent of its student population — to study overseas each year. Here’s more:
TOP DESTINATION INSTITUTIONS
1. Boston University
2. Harvard
3. MIT
4. Northeastern
5. Suffolk University
2/3
Number of US students abroad who are women
65.3 per 1,000
Number of foreign students among all Boston-area students
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Where US students go ...
Level of degree pursued by foreign students at Boston-area schools from 2008 to 2012:
26.6%
Percentage enrolled in STEM studies
52.6%
Percentage of foreign graduates who stayed to work in the metropolitan area
13,790
Number of Massachusetts post-secondary students who studied abroad in academic year 2009-10 (out of a total 497,290 in the state)
Worldwide, the top 10 countries of origin for students away from their home countries:
Top five US metropolitan areas attracting foreign students:
SOURCES: Brookings Institution, Institute of International Education, NAFSA, UNESCO; Map icons by mapglyphs.com; cities by istockphoto