Why do we pay for foreigners education?

[wacki]

TA's, RA's, research assistants, graduate assistantships, all of those are paid for with federal tax money. Why then, do Americans pay for so many foreigners education? If you see a foreigner in a graduate program, odds are we are paying for their education. It doesn't make sense to me at all.

[Matty]

foreigners are the only thing that's going to keep our country's economy solvent over the next century due to shrinking birth rates. Japan and then Europe to a lesser extent are going to be in a real financial bind since they don't allow as much immigration. There was a Discovery channel special on it not too long ago I think.

[wacki]

A lot of these people go home when they are done.

[Matty]

Do you have statistics on how many do and how many don't? I'm sure it's +EV for us. We're the only first-world country whose population isn't expected to shrink and get very top-heavy age-wise over the next century, and high wager earners are invaluable.

[lehighguy]

A lot stay. Moreover, math and science departments at every major college wouldn't exist without foriegners. Without immigrants our lazy ignorant asses would be done for.

If you don't want them around convince Americans to learn math or study hard. Good luck.

[Matty]

[ QUOTE ]
A lot stay. Moreover, math and science departments at every major college wouldn't exist without foriegners. Without immigrants our lazy ignorant asses would be done for.

If you don't want them around convince Americans to learn math or study hard. Good luck.

[/ QUOTE ]I mentor some foreign students, and it never fails to amaze me how much harder they work and how much more dedicated they are to their education than any native students I've met- which is humbling and makes me work a little harder. I recommend everyone travel to other countries or intimately acquant themselves with some foreigners to help realize how amazingly lucky we all are to have won the birth lottery and been born in the greatest country.

[lehighguy]

The sad thing is we are a lot more creative and industrious. We wouldn't even have to work hard to beat them in the marketplace. Just do a minimum level of basic work that people seem incapable of doing.

[ACPlayer]

in science and engineering disciplines without foreign RAs', TA's etc the departments would have few Ph D candidates and would slowly whither away, specially for the second tier schools.

a dated but relevant statistic link

[daveymck]

[ QUOTE ]
TA's, RA's, research assistants, graduate assistantships, all of those are paid for with federal tax money. Why then, do Americans pay for so many foreigners education? If you see a foreigner in a graduate program, odds are we are paying for their education. It doesn't make sense to me at all.

[/ QUOTE ]

I currently work at Oxford uni and was chatting to the second in charge oft he whole place, he stated that their policy was to beocme a world university like the US Ivy league unis pulling in students from abroad, in particular the asian market, the reason being they could charge higher fees than the UK students, and I guess to a point to cherry pick the worlds best people to get more/better research done as well (research grants are a huge part of the uni income as well).

It seems to me these top universities are not there just to teach the brains of our own country but as profit making enterprises too, which to apoint saddened me as I thought they would be aiming to teach the best in britain.

[lehighguy]

They are aimed at teaching the best. I don't think they care what race the best is.