Why do our most prestigious and wealthiest Unis accept so many international students ?

[Berlinerschnauzer]

So said my son’s dad on learning DS2 failed to be offered a place at Cambridge…
I don’t know enough to confirm whether it’s sour grapes or he actually has a point.
Was looking at figures for Oxbridge and was surprised to find that something like 60 odd percent of students (under and post grads) are international. For undergraduates it’s nearly a quarter.
Likewise Edinburgh has 30% international students and is one of the wealthiest unis.
Unlike lower tier unis which don’t have the same deep financial pockets and have to attract foreign students to survive, surely these unis don’t. They could be attracting home grown, talented students who in years to come will contribute massively to the economy rather than returning to their home countries and taking their skills with them. My question is does ex DP have a point or is he spouting bollocks
as per usual ?

But that's just assets - those things don't fund any of the courses or pay the staff.

Because international students pay up to 3 times more tuition fees. It's all about the money, basically.

My old (prestigious and historically wealthy) Oxbridge college is constantly fundraising. Many of them need the money from international students just as much as any other university.

Don't worry too much. The government have already announced that they are going to reduce international student visa numbers so the unis will have to increase fees dramatically, but more UK students will be able to get a place.

1. Even elite universities like Edinburgh are not “rich”. Every university makes a loss on every home student they educate, so they all need to attract international students to keep afloat.
2. Oxbridge spends a huge amount of money subsidising home students because the tutorial system costs vastly more than £9k per year. Also where did you get the figure 21 billion from because that is not what I just found on their public websites. And most of the endowment is tied up in individual colleges and their estates, and the upkeep of historic buildings.
3. Elite universities also want the most able candidates. There are a lot of brilliant young people out there in the wider world, many of whom are keen to study at Oxbridge and London universities in particular. Why would those universities not select them if they outperform UK students on their admissions tests or interviews?

Extra money. 🤷‍♀️

The University will receive home students fees upfront too, from the Student Loans Company.

It's because the international students pay HUGE fees compared with 'home' students

It's all about the money money money I'd say

Universities am sure need the overseas cohorts to maintain that significant part of their income

My dc will be international students as we are living outside the UK, we will pay a great deal more for our dc's university education.

The standards certainly for top universities are still very high for foreign students, so while they maybe have a better chance of getting a place they still have to meet the same requirements for the course.

I wonder if international students are more likely to get a place with the same qualifications as UK students as a result of bringing more cash with them?

@biscuitsandbooks it's a bit like the people with 2 million pound fully paid for houses who declare they are skint.

So essentially asset heavy but no ready cash ?

I was going to make the same comparison - Asset rich but cash poor.

I think they pay around £30k per year as opposed to £9k for home students.

So attracting the best foreign talent who’ll hopefully stay and create wealth/growth then ?

International fees at Durham, where I went, are just under 3 times the £9ish thousand that home students pay.

Except they can’t sell the 2 million pound house and downsize to a suburban semi

They can't just sell their assets or estates though - it just doesn't work like that.

Financial and it perpetuates an internationally recognised status.

House of cards which is unsustainable.

£££££££

This is not hard to understand.

In theory but the government has over the years made it harder for foreign students to stay on after graduation, essentially forcing many to leave rather than stay and create wealth even if they want to.

Yes and Brexit has created a huge disconnect with reality.

There is a Yes Minister episode from the 90s about this so it's a long standing set up.

Why?

The students keep coming.

Or maybe it's because they're truly world class universities who can attract the brightest students from around the world?

The standards certainly for top universities are still very high for foreign students, so while they maybe have a better chance of getting a place they still have to meet the same requirements for the course.

I once looked at the stats for undergrads ... the proportion of offers:applicants for other nationalities varied by country but was generally very low. They did not have a better chance of getting a place.