About two years ago, Yasar Tekin was living in Turkey, hoping to continue his college education in America.

Not far into his search, Tekin, a graduate student from Istanbul, found Western. He expects to graduate with a Master of Business Administration this summer and doesn’t plan on leaving the U.S. any time soon.

Tekin isn’t alone. National data shows that the number of foreign students attending American universities hit an all-time high last year.

The Institute of International Education released a report last week showing that the number of international students at colleges and universities in the U.S. increased by 8 percent to 671,616 in the 2008-09 school year.

The report listed India and China as the top countries sending students to American schools, a statistic that was mirrored at Western.

India, China and Saudi Arabia are Western’s top three providers of international students, according to the fall 2009 enrollment report.

Of the 575 international students enrolled at Western this fall, 340 — nearly 60 percent — are from those three countries, according to the report.

President Gary Ransdell said it’s common to have a lot of students come from high-population countries such as China and India, mostly because the schools there can’t accommodate all the students who want to go to college.

Ransdell said students in these countries might have extremely high test scores but don’t make the cut for colleges at home.

“They’re still great students, and we want them here,” he said.

Tekin said he’s one of about four Turkish students at Western.

Though Turkish students are few and far between at Western, Tekin says he’s made quite a few friends and has gotten close with his professors.

Raza Tiwana, assistant director of International Admissions, said that in the past year, he’s traveled to China, Vietnam, Spain and Egypt to recruit graduate and undergraduate students.

In addition to on-site recruitment, Western works with overseas agents and uses social media such as Facebook and Twitter to get in touch with international students, he said.

The decision to study overseas is not an easy one, Tiwana said.

Students and family members must deal with financial concerns, as well as the admissions process and getting a visa, he said.

Tekin said the whole admissions process took about two months, much quicker than he expected.

He said he’s not sure if he’ll stay in Bowling Green when he graduates, but he knows he wants to continue living in America.

“I hope to set up a life here,” he said.