<p>I work at an obscure California community college and we usually have about 300 International students every semester. They are generally happy to be here and appreciate the opportunity, because 1) frankly, there are not enough spaces in HPYSM for everyone, international or American citizen 2) there are not enough spaces at colleges/universities in their home countries, especially for less-than-stellar-in-high- school students (China, Korea, etc), and 3) they can transfer to all kinds of wonderful institutions. And believe me, they are usually thrilled to get into places like UCLA, UC Irvine, Cal Poly Pomona, and USC and become teachers, doctors, dentists, researchers, film makers, etc. Although they are not HPYSM, they are very fine institutions that grant accredited degrees that are recognized internationally. The doctor who graduates from UC Irvine is still a doctor, the engineer from Cal Poly is an engineer. Maybe it’s a case of having lowered expectations. I never expected my D to get into HPYMS, as the odds were against her, and I am perfectly willing to pay for her UC education knowing that she will do fine with it.
BTW, I graduated from the Australian National University (long story)- never heard of it, eh mate? I had my best uni educational experience there by a long shot, compared to the unis I went to in the U.S. No name recognition, except the USC theoretical physics professor in my neighborhood who is an alumnus remembers it. And it was free.</p>