Not All International Students Are the Same: Understanding Segments, Mapping Behavior. Research Report 2

International students aiming to study abroad form a highly heterogeneous group. Differences in academic preparedness and financial resources translate into differences in what information students look for and where they look for it during their college search. By gaining a deeper understanding of how students differ in profile and behavior, higher education institutions can become more effective in their resource allocation and recruitment efforts. With that in mind, we have sought to segment prospective U.S.-bound international students by mapping their profiles according to differences in their information-seeking behavior. The key findings highlighted below are based on the survey response of nearly 1,600 prospective international students from 115 countries, collected October 2011 through March 2012. According to the results of our survey, we grouped U.S.-bound international students into four broad segments based on their academic preparedness and financial resources: (1) "Strivers": High academic preparedness; low financial resources (30% of all respondents). (2) "Strugglers": Low academic preparedness; low financial resources (21%). (3) "Explorers": Low academic preparedness; high financial resources (25%). (4) "Highfliers": High academic preparedness; high financial resources (24%). The key take-away from this report is that not all international students are the same. Understanding differences in international student profiles can help higher education institutions prioritize their outreach strategies. For example, our study suggests that the use of recruitment agents might not be as widespread as previous research has indicated: only about one-sixth of all respondents reported to have used an agent. Debates about the use of agents and social media should be grounded in an understanding of which segments use those channels and whether the institution is interested in recruiting those segments.