Each year, students travel to LSU from all over the world, and though recent data shows international student enrollment is slightly lower than it was last fall, the campus is still home to a diverse sampling of the world’s population.
The total number of international students for this semester is 1,601, according to the Office of Budget and Planning. That’s a decrease from 1,632 international students during the fall 2010 semester, but an increase from the 1,525 international students on campus during the spring 2011 semester, according to International Services.
The University’s fall 2011 enrollment report, which was released Thursday, shows 466 undergraduate and 1,135 graduate international students are attending the University this semester.
Those students came from 109 different countries. China has the largest number of international students at the University with a grand total of 394, followed by India with 262, Iran with 74, the Republic of Korea with 68 and Nepal with 59.
Other countries, like Libya, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Senegal and Tanzania, only have one international student at the University.
International Cultural Center manager Maureen Hewitt said the number of students from different countries always fascinates her.
“The numbers reflect the economy and the times of a certain country,” Hewitt said.
Chemical engineering sophomore Fallon Salinas knew from a young age that staying in Honduras to attend school wasn’t an option. Salinas said there isn’t the same amount of resources in Honduras as in schools in the United States.
But Salinas didn’t start off at LSU. She’s a transfer student from Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Ga. After realizing Georgia wasn’t for her, Salinas decided to come to LSU.
“It was one of my first choices originally,” Salinas said. “The University came to my school in Honduras to talk about