Since 2000 according to the Institute of International Education, study abroad participation among U.S. college students has nearly tripled in the 2011-12 academic year, the latest available figures until November, to a new high: 283,332. The four largest groups: Whites (76.4); Asians (7.7); Hispanics (7.6); and Blacks (5.3). During the same period: 58.0, 5.8 and 14.4 percent of enrolled U.S. college students were represented by those same groups, respectively. Latinos and African Americans were virtually tied.
More than 310,000 students were enrolled at 105 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), yet only 48 were known to have gone abroad based on data from the leading source of funding for Pell Grant students, The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program. Where African-American graduates are over-represented is in working minimum wage jobs when employed. As recruiters look for more candidates with global experiences, they cannot compete.
