Georgia State University is doubling down on diversity, both throughout the state and globally as it hosts freshman from 114 nations and scholars from nearly every corner of the world.
Adding 756 to the total this fall, Georgia State’s current 2,300 international students hail from 177 countries, just short of the 193 that are part of the United Nations.
India leads the way, followed by China and South Korea, all three of which are perennial leaders in sending students to the United States. Vietnam, which hasn’t traditionally tracked as highly in national figures, was No. 4 at Georgia State, followed by Mexico at No. 5. Last year, GSU ranked fifth in the state at hosting international students, just behind the University of Georgia.
The international numbers come weeks after the university released a video aiming to show the campus’s hospitality to foreign students:
Nearly as impressive in a state with more counties than any other besides Texas, Georgia State’s freshman class comes from 130 out of Georgia’s 159 counties. This year, overall Hispanic enrollment is up 14 percent and the number of African-American students increased by 3 percent, according to a news release.
Enjoying its newfound status as the state’s largest university (thanks to its absorption of Georgia Perimeter College in 2016), GSU now has 52,152 total enrollees.
Mark Becker, president of Georgia State, said before the consolidation that as many as 20 percent of current GSU students started at Georgia Perimeter College.
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