According to the Institute of International Education (IIE) and UNESCO, international students seeking full undergraduate degrees in the US increased 67% between 2004/05 to 2014/15. Of the 4,000+ higher education institutions in the US, over 1,550 reported that they host at least one international full degree-seeking undergraduate student in 2014/15. Of those institutions, 811 US institutions reported that they award need based and/or non-need based financial aid to enrolled international undergraduate students in 2014/15 - totalling nearly $1.2 billion. The chart below shows the rise in financial aid awarded to international students as an incentive to student in the US:
| Academic year | Number of US institutions awarding financial aid | Total financial aid awarded to international students in millions |
| 2007/08 | 646 | $573 |
| 2008/09 | 613 | $579 |
| 2009/10 | 680 | $724 |
| 2010/11 | 730 | $823 |
| 2011/12 | 792 | $920 |
| 2012/13 | 808 | $938 |
| 2013/14 | 800 | $1,033 |
| 2014/15 | 811 | $1,188 |