When I went to college my University reserved a large percentage of slots in the College of Engineering for foreign students.
This was in the early 80s and while in-state students were paying about $50 per credit hour the foreign student were paying well over $700 per credit hour.
The College upped the reserved seating two years in a row and the competition for the rest was immense. You were not even looked at unless your GPA was over 3.2. The foreign students were accepted into engineering school with the University average, which was 2.2 at the time.
It was all about the money.