The number of Bangladeshi students obtaining higher education in the United States doubled in five years, showed EducationUSA data.

EducationUSA officials, quoting Open Doors Report 2018, said 3,828 Bangladeshi students were enrolled at US higher educational institutions in 2013 and 7,496 such students were studying in the US in 2018.

“Bangladesh has become one of the top 25 countries sending students to the United States,” US Ambassador in Dhaka Earl R. Miller said yesterday.

Currently, there are about 7,500 Bangladeshi students studying in the US at undergraduate and graduate levels; a five percent increase over the previous academic year, Earl R. Miller said while inaugurating EducationUSA South Asia Fall Tour 2019 in a Dhaka hotel.

“It’s great to see the level of interest from Bangladeshi students in today’s fair. We anticipate a record number of students will attend to learn about studying in the United States,” he added.

He also termed the Bangladeshi students in American college and university campuses absolute superstars as they succeed academically and socially.

Representatives from 26 colleges and universities across the US attended the daylong fair offering information on graduate and undergraduate programmes, visa facilities, funding opportunities and others to the visiting candidates.

Three panel discussions on F1 Student Visa process, Presentation on Higher Studies in the United States and discussion by US university alumni also took place there.

This was the first EducationUSA Fair in Bangladesh in four years. Dhaka is the first stop in the EducationUSA South Asia Fall Tour 2019, which includes Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan later this month.

There are over 4,700 accredited colleges and universities offering higher education in the US.

Bangladeshi students have a strong record of success at US institutions, said Earl R. Miller, adding that increasing the number of Bangladeshi students studying in the US is a top priority of the embassy in Dhaka.