Caracas
In the 2015/16 academic year, 8,267 students from Venezuela were studying in the United States (up 4.8% from the previous year). Venezuela is the 20th leading place of origin worldwide for students coming to the United States and Venezuela holds the first place in the Andean Region. For 2015-16, the breakdown was as follows: Undergraduate 63.8%, Graduate 15.5%, Non-Degree 8.9% and Optional Practical Training 11.8%. Last year, Venezuelan students in U.S. colleges and universities contributed $235 million to the U.S. economy. (Source: U.S. Department of Commerce)
For many years there has been a close relation encompassing cultural, social, academic economic and political aspects of Venezuela and the United States. The last 17 years this relation has suffered some tension and thus affected some of the most successful programs of cultural and academic exchange that had existed previously; nevertheless, the United States continues to be the destination of choice for Venezuelans seeking to study abroad. In the past 6 years there has been over 40% increase in Venezuelan students studying in the U.S. (Source: IIE, Open Doors)
2016 Caracas’s EducationUSA Fair had 2,581 prospective students pre-registering for the event, but over 5,000 actually attending. Representatives from 10 U.S. universities, as well as host institutions of EducationUSA Centers in Caracas, joined U.S. Embassy personnel in engaging the students and parents to talk about American colleges and universities. The high turnout clearly demonstrates the strong attraction that U.S. higher education continues to hold for Venezuelan students at all levels. For four consecutive years the quality of the Venezuelan students have positively impressed the university representatives. In spite of the continuous political and social disruptions, the EducationUSA Venezuela team supported by the REAC and the Department of State are registering higher numbers in demand for educational advising. In this sense, Venezuela promises to continue to be one of the top countries sending students to engage in the “American Education Experience”.