Although the United States remains the world's preferred destination for students looking to earn degrees abroad, it is ceding ground to its rivals in Western Europe. Britain has long been the United States' main competitor for international students, but Continental countries like the Netherlands, France, and Germany are increasingly popular destinations. A confluence of events has brought about this interest. A growing number of Continental universities are using English in the classroom; European governments and institutions are more aggressively marketing their education overseas; universities are setting up more partnerships with foreign institutions to create pipelines for prospective students; and virtually all European nations are synchronizing their degree programs so that what was once a hodgepodge of degrees is now more accessible to foreign students. Some countries, such as Britain and the Netherlands, have also extended the amount of time foreign graduates can stay in the country and work. Europe's heightened focus on international students is driven by the pursuit of both dollars and diversity. As European nations struggle to finance their largely public higher-education systems, some countries are turning to fee-paying foreign students as one way to augment their coffers. Educators insist that money is not the main goal, saying that their motivation is similar to that of Americans--they want talent and cultural vibrancy on their campuses. (Contains 1 table.)