(Published as part of a special business section.)

Like hundreds of international students in Western Pennsylvania, Kuldeep Mehta, of Himachal, India, has crossed continents to try to get a better education.

The 25-year-old shares an apartment in Moon with another Indian student while he works towards his master's degree in engineering management at Robert Morris University.

While the region's foreign population is small compared with other parts of the nation, college campuses foster diversity and internationalization.

This fall, colleges in Allegheny County will welcome more international students than ever. At the University of Pittsburgh, the incoming freshman class will number 49 new international students -- more than double the number of freshmen last fall. Including graduate schools, where the bulk of foreign students can be found, Pitt had 1,657 international students last year, up from 1,618 in 2005.

In 2006, Carnegie Mellon University's 2,524 international students made up about 26 percent of its population. Even smaller schools such as Robert Morris University and Chatham University have managed to attract students from faraway places -- India, China, Pakistan and Korea.

Why do colleges place so much importance on attracting such students?

For one, few schools offer scholarships to international students, so the full tuition they pay generates extra revenue for the colleges. But more importantly, international students enrich the academic community, said David Clubb, director of the Office of International Services at Pitt.

"You cannot graduate a globally competent U.S. student who has not rubbed shoulders with, been challenged by or come in contact with people from around the world," he said. "They stimulate discussion in the classroom and bring different perspectives."

Mr. Clubb also said that these students are a national security asset. "We want these people to come here and leave with a greater understanding of America," he said. "It's a very underestimated aspect in the war against terrorism."

In recruiting these students, different schools take different approaches. But all have begun actively touting their schools in the foreign arena amid rising competition both domestically and from foreign universities that have sprung up rapidly in the past few years.

In preparation for next year, many college officials are traveling the world to meet, greet and recruit students.

Carnegie Mellon University travels once a year to Japan and China. Since 2004, Robert Morris has sent delegations to India biannually. This June, the delegation took a detour through Dubai on the way home from India; next year, Robert Morris plans to send a team to China for the first time.

Efforts at Pitt are more decentralized, said Mr. Clubb, with each graduate school heading its own recruitment. He attributed the increase in international undergraduate enrollment to "tweaks in the application process."

"We streamlined the online application process, allowing a little more tender loving care of applications as they work their way through the system," he said.

While many schools recruit most heavily in India and China, La Roche College deviates slightly from the norm, offering a program called Pacem In Terris Scholars that brings students to campus from less developed areas, including Africa, Turkey and Jordan.

Even though some colleges have bent over backwards to attract international students and help them through the immigration process, acquiring a visa is still an obstacle for many.

"Even though the visa interview is only about two minutes long, the process is very intimidating for students," said Carly Shane, international enrollment manager at Robert Morris. "They ask a lot of basic questions, but the biggest thing is to make sure they have an intent to come back."

Mr. Mehta ended up at Robert Morris as a result of the lengthy visa application process, which took over two months.

"Robert Morris was first to give me [the necessary forms], so that's why I came here," he said.

International students are also deterred by the cost of a college education. As non-U.S. citizens, they are not eligible to receive federal financial aid. While Chatham and La Roche offer international scholarships, many colleges do not. In fact, most schools require potential students to send bank statements showing that they can afford tuition for all four years.

Despite these obstacles, students are immigrating to the United States in droves -- international student enrollment increased by 8.3 percent from 2005 to 2006 to a total of 142,923. To help students acclimate to life in the United States, colleges have orientation programs; many also run programs throughout the year.

At Robert Morris, where, according to Ms. Shane, "we know all the international students by name," recruiters emphasize that Pittsburgh has a temple and a mosque, as well as multiple Indian food stores.

Mr. Mehta, who lives in Moon, has been happy with his experience in Pittsburgh. "It has been up to my expectations," he said. "I have some American friends and international friends from other countries."

Once the international students are here, schools make an effort to help them fit in.

Chatham pairs each new freshman with an international upperclassman, while La Roche provides intensive English language classes.

In addition to integrating students socially, Pitt also holds workshops to explain such issues as academic integrity and classroom participation that may be unfamiliar to foreigners.

After graduation, undergraduates students who do not apply for graduate school generally return to their home countries. At La Roche, in order to receive the Pacem In Terris scholarship, students must agree to return to benefit their countries with the knowledge and skills they have learned in America.

Mr. Mehta plans on making good use of his master's degree. "When I complete my master's here and go back to India, I will have a much better chance of getting a job."

And although he has enjoyed the nine months that he has spent in Pittsburgh, he still looks forward to going back to India.

"My family is still over there," he said. "I want to go home soon."