As U.S. colleges and universities enrolled a record-breaking number of international students, UF saw its own numbers increase as well.
This school year, 886,052 international students enrolled in colleges and universities throughout the country.
According to the 2014 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange, students from all over the globe now make up about 4 percent of all university students in the U.S., which hosts more international students than any other country.
The number of international students in the U.S. has grown 72 percent since 2000.
This semester, more than 6,100 international students from 139 different countries are attending UF, according to the UF International Center.
These numbers have increased over the years. In Fall 2013, about 4,642 international students were enrolled at UF.
Franjo Ivankovic, a 20-year-old UF biology and anthropology sophomore from Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina, has been dreaming of coming to the U.S. since he was a child.
“When I was 6, I walked into my aunt’s living room as she was putting up a picture of the New York skyline, and I can remember her telling me about the tallest building in the world and that the city never sleeps,” Ivankovic said. “That day I made a promise to myself that I would make it to that country, and now I’m here.”
UF’s Navigators program has helped students from all over the world, like Ivankovic, settle into UF.
Samantha Amos, treasurer of UF Navigators said there are about 250 international students in the club this semester, and since she started there has been a dramatic increase.
[A version of this story ran on page 3 on 11/25/2014]
