Michigan State University is one popular place. The East Lansing school has received a record number of student applications topping the 30,000 mark for the first time in its more than 150 year history.
“I do think there is a very positive buzz about MSU,” says
MSU Admissions Director James Cotter, “not only across the United States, but globally.”
MSU has received about 30,200 applications for admission for the fall 2012 semester, and while the deadline for international applications has passed, Cotter expects to get a few hundred more from domestic students.
Cotter explains that much of the increase in applications is coming from students outside the United States. In fact, the number of applications from international students rose by 60 percent this year. As it turns out, MSU’s commitment to study abroad programs isn’t only sparking the interest of American students who might want to participate in them, but also the residents of the countries visited by those MSU students.
“One of the things the university has learned is that it’s outstanding to give our students an opportunity to exist and grow in communities they have never visited before through study abroad,” says Cotter. “The other part of that equation is to bring those communities to our campus.”
Of all those applications, about 20,000 students will be offered admission to MSU. Last year, MSU received 26,907 applications; in 2009, 25,349 applications.
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