U.S. college students are studying abroad in record numbers, including a 53% increase in those going to India and 35% more going to China, the federally funded Institute of International Education said in an annual report.
More than 200,000 U.S. students studied abroad in the 2004-2005 school year, the most ever, the report said.
The findings reflect a greater sense among U.S. students of the value of expertise "in the countries that are the hot economies in the world," a spokeswoman said.
