U.S. study abroad numbers soar

The Associated Press As a freshman, she shared a dorm hall with 20 students. Now as upperclassmen, eight are off to study in France, Italy, Spain, Ecuador and Australia. ''It's a great opportunity. More kids are doing it,'' said Hartman, 21, a junior from New Providence, N.J. She is leaving in February to study in Sydney, Australia, for the semester. Except for airfare and personal spending money, she said it will cost about the same to study in Australia as it would at Emory, a private school in Atlanta. ''Schools are starting to realize that this is not just a trend, and they're making it easier -- like finding you ways to talk to other students who have done it,'' Hartman said. The number of American students studying abroad rose 10.6 percent in 1994-95 over the previous school year, to 84,403. That figure continues a 10-year upward trend, according to a report released Sunday by the New York-based Institute of International Education. Many are venturing beyond Europe to destinations like Africa, Australia and the Middle East. Foreign student enrollment in U.S. schools, meanwhile, rose less than 1 percent the past two years. ''As recently as a decade ago, studying abroad was considered a luxury,'' said Richard Krasno, the institute's president. ''I think it's now considered a more instrumental part of undergraduate education.'' He speculated that American students are warming to the idea of studying abroad because they are being exposed to other cultures on their own campuses. Many also recognize the importance of a second language and international experience in competing for good jobs, he said. Amy Hofsheier, 21, a student at the University of Arizona, is off to Israel next month to study for 5 1/2 months at Ben Gurion University in Beersheva. She's majoring in archaeology and Judaic studies and hopes to see the country and improve her language skills. ''I think for myself. It's really a necessity,'' said Hofsheier, who hopes to find a professional archaeology job in Israel one day. ''The majority of the kids are still going to Spain and France, but I think interest is opening up to other places.'' Kenitra Burton, 20, a junior at Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y., spent a month in Thailand as a freshman to broaden her knowledge of the country. ''I grew up a lot. I really matured. It gave me a whole other perspective on being a minority,'' said Burton, who is black. ''I had braids in my hair at the time. They were all curious and kept asking 'How did you do that?' '' A fast-growing economic market in China led to a 30 percent increase in American students studying there in 1994-95, Krasno said. Costa Rica also reported a 30 percent increase, partly because many students recognize the advantage of knowing Spanish, he said. He added that Australia is aggressively recruiting U.S. students. It reported a 42 percent rise in American enrollees in 1994-95 at 3,346. While these countries reported large percentage increases in American students, Britain still hosted the most -- 19,410 students, or 23 percent of all study-abroad students. France, Spain and Italy ranked second, third and fourth with 7,000 to 7,900 students. Despite a rising wave of Americans signing up for study abroad, the 453,787 foreigners on U.S. campuses this year is only 0.3 percent more than a year ago, continuing a six-year trend of slow growth. The largest number of foreign students arrived from Japan, followed by China, Korea, Taiwan, India and Canada. The report, based on a 96 percent response rate from 2,579 accredited U.S. institutions, was published by the institute, a non-profit educational and cultural exchange organization. The institute has conducted an annual statistical survey of the foreign student population in the United States since 1949. The report is supported by a grant from the U.S. Information Agency's bureau of educational and cultural affairs.