News of Norway, issue 7, 1997
The numbers for last year (1996-97 school year) show that of the total Norwegians studying around the world 17.65 percent walked campuses around the United States. This is second only to Great Britain which hosted 3,356 students compared to the 2,011 students coming to the United States.
It is important to keep in mind though that out of the total number of students in the U.S. who received financial aid from the Norwegian Educational Loan Fund last year, 2,006 pursued studies at institutions for higher education.
Comparable numbers from the 1995-96 school year show an increase of 666 students. The statistics from the school year that just got started around the country will not be ready for another year.
The most popular studies among Norwegian students in the U.S. last year were still the technical and business related studies, though there seems to be an increase in students pursuing journalism, communications and arts. What is also interesting to note is that almost half of the students that cross the Atlantic come from Oslo or the neighboring Akershus county, and 53.6 percent of the students are women.
The State Educational Loan Fund in Norway was established by an Act of Parliament in 1947. It is operated by the Norwegian government for the benefit of students attending courses of secondary and higher education both in Norway and abroad.
In the 1994-95 academic year, the total amount of loans and grants was NOK 9,493 million ($1,300 million).