By Karin Fischer

Applications by international students to American graduate schools are up 7 percent over last year, reversing a three-year trend of slowing growth in overseas applicants, according to a reportreleased on Tuesday by the Council of Graduate Schools.

The admissions data in the report are welcome news after first-time enrollments of foreign students were flat last fall, raising questions about the reliance of American universities on international talent at the graduate level.

But while the report's author calls the figures "an encouraging sign," he cautioned that admissions data often are not a strong indicator of enrollment trends. Last year applications were up 4 percent, but enrollments remained unchanged, said Nathan E. Bell, director of research and policy analysis at the Council of Graduate Schools.

"In this survey, we're counting applications, pieces of paper," Mr. Bell said, "not actual students who enroll."

A variety of factors could influence enrollments, Mr. Bell said, including continuing worldwide