Exchange students: the statistics

The CSIET (Council on Standards for International Education Travel) is a non-profit organization that identifies renowned international youth exchange programs. They also help promote the importance and educational value of international youth exchange, as well as provide leadership and support to the communities involved with exchange and education. They publish annual reports on the statistics of incoming exchange students (international students coming to the US) and outgoing (US students going abroad).

Now, we are talking about high school students here. Not university students, that is not governed or controlled by the CSIET. There are currently 60 programs on the CSIET Advisory List that have “full” listing status, meaning they are fully reputable organizations that send American students abroad or receive international students in the US.

Well, here are some statistics for the year 2009-2010.

* The top 5 countries in which American students study abroad are: 1. Germany 2. France 3. Italy 4. Spain 5. Japan

* California was the state that sent the largest number of students abroad: 200.

* Most US students traveling abroad on exchange are from Western states (CA, OR, WA, AZ, CO, UT, NV, MT, ID)

* The total number of US students sent on exchange during a school year or semester: 1,980. This is the lowest number of American high school exchange students in the past seven years. The many summer programs offered to American high school students are not counted in this statistic.

Let’s now compare our total number of students going abroad to the total number of international students who came to the US: 28,142. Again, this is high school. Most international students who come to the United States during their high school career do not count that year; it is a lost year academically for them. And yet they come.

According to the latest statistics, the majority of those 28,142 students are housed in the US Midwest region (MI, WI, IL, MN, OH, IN, IA), primarily Minnesota and Michigan.

These statistics raise questions, at least for me.

Why would more than 28,000 students from around the world come to the US for a year of high school when that year does not give them any academic scores? Why is it that the majority of Americans who do an exchange come from the western states, mainly California? Why are the main countries that Americans trade to are mainly in Europe?

I have no proven answers, but I have my own guesses and theories.

Why would more than 28,000 students from around the world come to the US for a year of high school when that year does not give them any academic scores?

Many of the international exchange students I know are very excited to live in another country. American culture has been conveyed to them through a variety of mediums, from television series to rock bands and pop stars to sandwiches and fast food chains. Come to America all the time. Or do they? They are pretty sure that American life is not like that. And they want to see it for themselves. They want to experience what it means to be an American.

Why is it that the majority of Americans who do an exchange come from the western states, mainly California?

California is one of the most populous states in the country. There were 2,013,687 students enrolled in a CA high school for the 2008-2009 school year. But this raises another question. If there were so many millions of students in a California high school that year, why were only a couple hundred of them exchange students? From my experience living in CA, many of the students I have asked why they want to go abroad, their reasons vary. Some say it is because they know someone who has gone abroad. Others had someone from a CSIET-identified program come to their school and give them a presentation. There may be very little penetration of exchange programs in California high schools. As stated above, the majority of international students stay in the Midwest. High school students in the Midwest are more likely to come into contact with an international student, perhaps prompting them to think about going abroad themselves.

Why are the main countries that Americans trade to are mainly in Europe?

Europe has always been very close to our own culture. European history is widely taught in both high school and university. European languages ​​are taught in secondary schools, mainly French and Spanish. So it would make sense that the countries Americans want to learn the most about are France and Spain. It so happens that Germany, since World War II, has taken incredible steps to open up to other countries. The country’s immigration levels have increased dramatically in the last four decades. It is literally mind-boggling how many study or work abroad opportunities Germans have as high school or college students. In Germany, high school students are encouraged to study abroad, perhaps unlike their American counterparts.