International Student Recruiting and Retention in Post-graduate STEM Education

International students bring a different set of characteristics and challenges to college recruiting. Graduate Programs receive several applications from international students despite reduced international recruiting efforts. In order to evaluate retention of international students, it is relevant to analyze the process international students used from application to matriculation. An analysis of the recruiting funnel and program features provides a better understanding of the application and admission process for international students and their persistence in graduate education in the U.S. This paper examines the flow of students through the recruiting funnel by performing a regression analysis, which assists with evaluating the relationships among different variables in the recruiting process. It is hypothesized that the analysis will reveal possible areas of improvements through the recruiting funnel that may lead to an increase in the retention of the student from application to matriculation. Once these relationships are established and evaluated, a set of recommendations will be given to increase international recruitment, improve the allocation of resources and boost features of the program that are appealing to prospective students.