The number of students from Samoa attending institutions of higher learning in the United States increased by 55 per cent over the last decade, an analysis carried out by a Kosovo-based education online platform shows.

The new online education search platform called Erudera.com told the Samoa Observer their analysis was conducted based on statistics compiled by the U.S. Department of Education.

“The number of Samoans studying in the United States increased by 55 percent over the last decade, jumping from 49 students in 2010-2011 to 76 students in the 2019-2020 academic year, official data has revealed,” Erudera said in a statement.

However, the number of Samoan students in the U.S. dropped by 26 percent in 2019-2020 compared to the previous year.

Between 2014 and 2015 and the 2019-2020 academic years, the number of Samoan students enrolled at U.S. higher education institutions drastically increased by 261 percent, from 21 to 76 students over the respective period.

Official statistics have also shown that the number of Samoans moving to the U.S. to pursue higher education prior to 2019-2020 was as follows: 60 students in 2015-2016; 56 students in 2016-2017; 93 students in 2017-2018 and 103 students in the 2018-2019 academic year.

But the numbers also show that neighbouring Tonga had a higher increase in student enrolment than Samoa.

“On the other hand, over the last 10 years, the U.S. experienced a similar increase in the number of students coming from Tonga, Samoa’s neighbouring country, up from 103 students in 2010-2011 to 161 students in 2019-2020, marking a 56 per cent increase,” Erudera states.

“Despite the increase in the number of Samoan students, the U.S. universities have seen more students coming from Tonga compared to Samoa over the years.”

Australia was ranked the first in Oceania for sending the most students to the U.S. during the 2019-2020 academic year, with a total of 4,982 students, followed by New Zealand sending a total of 1,856 students to the country. 

“Overall, the number of students from Oceania pursuing higher education in the United States during the last academic year stood at 7,473,” Erudera said.

The United States remains the most desirable study destination for international students. 

In the 2019-2020 academic year, the country managed to welcome more than one million international students for the fifth successive year, who contributed $38.7 billion to the U.S. economy, according to Erudera.

Erudera, which is registered with Kosovo's Ministry of Trade and Industry, is the world’s first education search platform backed by Artificial Intelligence.

“We are a team of 20 people working on growing the platform. Our journalists write about higher education on a daily basis and do extensive research on topics related to higher education," said Donjeta Pllana with Erudera.com.

"This includes reaching out to official agencies to request student statistics, analyze those data, and comment on trends.

“As for the platform, we have over 35,000 study programs on our database that is growing on a weekly basis that you can browse. Unlike other platforms, we provide direct links to our users and don't ask for any payment to access our database.”

Erudera’s mission is to completely change the way students research their university and study program options using technology, make it easier for them to make decisions based on data and detailed information, and help more students make their dream of studying abroad a reality.