Where Florida’s Foreign College Students Come From, How Much They Spend

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Florida ranks seventh in the country for the number of foreign students enrolled in state colleges and universities.

Saudi Arabia and South Korea are among the top 5 leading places of origin for international college and university students in Florida.

That’s according to the Institute for International Education, which released its Open Doors fact sheet today.

It reports that during the 2011-12 school year, 32,567 students from other countries enrolled for the first time in a Florida college or university — a 9.6 percent increase from the year before.

Florida ranks seventh in the country for the number of foreign college students. California ranks first.

Leading places of origin for foreign college students in the state:

China 16.2%
India 11%
Venezuela 7.3%
Saudi Arabia 7.3%
South Korea 4.1%

It’s estimated those students spend about $935.7 million dollars in Florida on tuition, housing and cost of living expenses, which according to the Open Doors website is calculated in the following way:

The economic impact of international students in each state—produced by NAFSA: Association of International Educators—based on enrollment data from the Institute of International Education’s Open Doors report, tuition figures from Wintergreen Orchard House, living expenses calculated from Wintergreen Orchard Housefigures, and analysis of the data by Jason Baumgartner at Indiana University – Bloomington’s Office of International Services.

Florida schools with the highest number of foreign students:

University of Florida Gainesville – 5,588
Florida International University Miami – 2,938
University of Miami Miami – 2,530
University of South Florida Tampa – 2,386
University of Central Florida Orlando –  2,101

The University of Florida was among the top 20 schools in the country for hosting international students. UF came in at 16th place, just above Harvard University.

During the 2009-10 school year there were 8,195 American Florida students in colleges abroad.