site.btaBulgarian Students in United States Decrease

Bulgarian Students in United States Decrease

Sofia, November 17 (BTA) - The number of college and university students from Bulgaria in the United States in the 2014/2015 academic year was 1,171, decreasing by 6.5 per cent compared with 2013/2014, according to the "Open Doors 2015 Report on International Educational Exchange" compiled by the US Institute of International Education and unveiled in Bulgaria by the Bulgarian-American Fulbright Commission.

At the same time, 117 students from the United States studied under academic programmes at Bulgarian universities in the 2012/2013 academic year, compared with 71 students in 2011/2012.

Overall, international students in the United States in 2014/2015 hit a 35-year high, reaching 974,926.

Thirty-eight per cent of Bulgarian students in the United States in 2014/2015 were pursuing master's or doctoral programmes, 37 per cent bachelor's programmes, 20 per cent post-graduate internship programmes, and 5 per cent specialty programmes, such as English language learning or short-term programmes.

The decrease of Bulgarians studying at US colleges and universities was due mainly to the Bulgarian demographic crisis, the ongoing economic crisis, competition from European universities, the rising costs of study in the United States, and the growing fees for English language level testing.

The report says the negative trends can be reversed, partly by the establishment of Opportunity Funds-Bulgaria, a scholarship programme for 11th grade students who want to apply for admission to US colleges or universities.