> She happens to be non-American (because the majority of graduates are non-Americans)

Is this not by itself a problem?

Americans don’t go to graduate school.

With a bachelors in an engineering field as an American you can be making close to 6 figures the day after you graduate.

With a huge student debt and the clock ticking, do you get a job or do you join a PhD program to get a stipend of 25k/year for at least 5 years?

Grad school becomes attractive to Americans only during recessions.