GoBruins wrote:
Maybe that's also part of the problem, people who are well educated and extremely smart being turned down at masters and Phd's so because the schools are filled with international students. I think 1 problem is that although a US degree opens doors for internationals, International degree mean virtually nothing in the US (with very few exceptions). So american students are pretty much locked into studying within the US, while students in China and India have most of asia, north american, europe, and australia to choose from.
I am a long time lurker, but I had to post to dispell this misconception.
My background is in engineering, and I have received undergraduate and graduate engineering degrees from top US universities. My experience says that entering graduate school for science and engineering, is actually easier for American citizens than internationals. The reason why there are so many international students in graduate schools is not because these international students are keeping American students out, but because American students just do not want to go to graduate school.
This is especially true in engineering. American graduate students are really treasured by professors because these are the students that can be put on projects that require security clearance. And American students are also eligible for a plethora of funding opportunities (if you're a woman doing engineering in graduate school, they'll literally pour money on you), so professors can use funds for other things like another student, or more equipment. A NSF funded American graduate student is the most highly sought after asset in graduate school.
Here's an anecdote, most of my American friends in my undergraduate seriously considered graduate school, but once they found a job, they found it hard to say no to $40/50+K a year in salary and yes to a measly graduate stipend. Almost all of them gave up graduate schools the moment they got a decent job offer.
Even those who really wanted to go to graduate school after working a few years, never do because they get used to a certain lifestyle and can't imagine abandoning their well-paying job. Which is why graduate school applications shoot up during tough times, because these people with interest in graduate school suddenly find themselves without a job, so they find no reason not to pursue this path anymore.
When I was still in school, I read somewhere that a majority of graduating students (I think the numbers is 80+%) say they want to come back for graduate school after working a few years, but less than 10% of those who say that, actually do it.
In summary, there aren't many American students in graduate school (particularly engineering and science) not because international students are crowding them out, but because American students in general rather work and get paid than go to graduate school.