South Korean Students, Hit Hard by Currency Decline, Opt to Stay Home

It is too early to predict enrollment numbers for international students in the United States this fall, but universities in Asia are already seeing big declines among South Koreans studying abroad. The value of South Korea's currency has dropped sharply in recent months, almost doubling the cost of living abroad for South Korean students and throwing their budgets into disarray. It has since started to bounce back but remains volatile. South Korea remains an important market for American universities, having sent nearly 70,000 college students to the United States in the fall of 2007, up 11% from the previous year. The country is an equally important source of students for many universities in Asia. The number of South Korean undergraduates studying in Beijing and Shanghai is down by as much as 50% on some campuses, according to Chinese state media. In Japan, undergraduate enrollments of South Korean students at some private universities has plunged to almost zero, forcing administrators to take emergency measures, including deferring tuition and seeking government assistance. Enrollments are also reportedly down at universities in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Australia, as thousands of South Korean students struggle to deal with their country's currency fluctuations. Anecdotal information from colleges around the United States suggests a mixed picture for the fall. San Jose State University reports that new South Korean applicants for its American-language program are down 56% compared with 2008. The State University of New York at Buffalo, however, says initial applications from South Korean freshmen are up by 37%.