International graduate applications to US institutes rose for the fifth consecutive year in 2010, says the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) in Washington DC. Its 6 April report, based on 437,000 applications, showed a 7% rise. Those from China rose by 19%, in a fifth year of double-digit increases. Applications fell by 2% from India and were unchanged for South Korea, after plunging by 12% and 9% last year. Applications in life sciences — including medical and nursing school — climbed by 3% after no change in 2009. “Last year may have been a bit of a blip,” says Nathan Bell, CGS director of research and policy analysis. Those in physical and Earth sciences soared by 10%.