The Hindustan Times breaks down essentials that international students will need before they leave home. They include official travel documents, health insurance and plans to attend student orientation sessions. Read the full story here. (October 2023)

Alba Sinusia Lozano, a Spaniard studying at Auburn University in the U.S. state of Alabama, writes about adapting to a new culture in this column from The Auburn Plainsman student newspaper. (October 2023)

Kaitlynne Rainne, a student from Belize studying at Savannah College of Art and Design in the U.S. state of Georgia, writes about her experiences for the website Her Campus.

Studying abroad, she writes, has been "life-changing and the best thing I could’ve done for my future." Read her piece here. (October 2023)

US News & World Report says the average rate of acceptance for international students at U.S. schools is around 42%.

Here, the magazine looks at schools with the highest admission rates, with at least one with a 98% admission rate. (October 2023)

Julia Rabelo, a Brazilian studying in the U.S. state of Texas, has spent a month on campus, and she says she's learned a lot.

Here, she offers her top tips for students looking to study in the U.S. They include getting involved in campus organizations, keeping in touch with loved ones at home and remembering to have fun. (October 2023)

The Common Application, the largest application system in the U.S., automatically admitted the students based on their reported grades. The goal is to ease stress for students and fill seats. Nick Anderson has more in The Washington Post. (November 2023)

The ACT is one of two commonly used college admissions tests in the U.S. Scores have fallen year over year and are now at their lowest level in 30 years. The pandemic made students less ready for college, but the trend predates it. Joseph Pisani of The Wall Street Journal has more. (October 2023)

The rankings are the most popular in the U.S., but the rankings have changed their methodology amid recent criticism. Two professors, Ryan Allen and Tomoko Takahashi, argue that this new system is unfair to international students. It fails to capture their earnings after graduation and excludes them from its list of first-generation students. Weigh their arguments for yourself in Inside Higher Ed, (October 2023)

The proposed Disclose GIFTS Act would introduce tougher disclosure rules for universities receiving gifts or contracts from foreign countries. Academic infiltration and espionage from China is a serious concern, but critics say the bill, if signed into law, will harm Chinese international students. Sophie Hogan outlines the situation for The PIE News. (October 2023)

A new study from three professors, published in The Conversation, found that it can be hard to get foreign degrees accepted, or secure financing, particularly for students from Afghanistan. Read the report from Kerri Evans, Ishara Casellas Connors, and Lisa Unangst. (November 2023)

Jim Jump spent over three decades as a college counselor at a high school in the eastern U.S. state of Virginia. He prided himself on writing impassioned and personalized recommendation letters for his students. Now retired, he looks back over the hard work, and uncertainty, of recommending a young person. Read his op-ed for Inside Higher Ed. (November 2023)

There are plenty of online tools to rank the academic prestige of colleges. But this new tool, created by The Hechinger Report, measures colleges based on other variables, like graduation rates, climate of free speech and resources for LGBTQ+ students. Check out the guide for yourself in this piece by Fazil Khan. (October 2023)

OPT provides temporary work authorization for international students in the U.S., and a government rule allows science and engineering students to stay an extra 24 months. This rule was challenged by an association of American IT workers, but the Supreme Court has declined to hear their case. Read more from Roy Maurer for the Society of Human Resource Management. (October 2023)

The Biden administration has ordered agencies to loosen visa rules for immigrants with artificial intelligence (AI) expertise, since foreigners have founded about two-thirds of AI startups in the U.S. and make up 70% of AI graduate students there.

Stuart Anderson breaks down the new visa regulations in Forbes. (November 2023)