International student enrolment drops after Trump’s visa overhaul
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The US still remains the top destination globally for international students.
PHOTO: AFP
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New international student enrolment in the US declined in autumn, according to Open Doors data from the Institute of International Education.
The number of foreign students starting college for the first time decreased 17 per cent this semester, after US President Donald Trump’s administration began its crackdown on foreign student visas.
That followed a 7 per cent decline in the 2024-25 school year, as fewer Chinese students came to the US, due in part to geopolitical tensions.
Mr Trump’s attacks on both higher education and immigration in 2025 have caused chaos for universities across the country, leaving many students from abroad either unable or unwilling to attend college in the US.
During the summer, the administration ordered a month-long pause in visa interviews, followed by increased vetting and fewer appointments.
That has also added more pressure to institutions’ bottom lines, since most foreign students pay full tuition.
Colleges are still working to attract international applicants, the report found.
More than half of schools surveyed are allowing foreign students to defer their enrolment for next autumn, and the majority said they will continue to focus on recruiting these students.
More than 80 per cent of institutions surveyed cited the value of having international students’ perspectives on campus, while 60 per cent cited their financial contributions as important.
Open Doors is a data project sponsored by the US Department of State with funding from the US government and support from the Institute of International Education, a non-profit that has researched international students since 1919.
Continued decline
New foreign enrolment was declining even before the start of Mr Trump’s second term, according to data for the 2024-25 school year released in the report.
The shift varied by academic level, with the new undergraduate population increasing by 5 per cent, while the number of new graduate students fell by 15 per cent.
India sent the most international students to the US, continuing the trend from the year prior. More than 363,000 students in the US in the 2024-25 academic year were from India, a 10 per cent increase from the prior year.
China followed with about 266,000 students, reflecting a 4 per cent drop.
The US still remains the top destination globally for international students. The total number of foreign students in the US rose 5 per cent to roughly 1.2 million for the 2024-25 year, the report found. International students contributed nearly US$55 billion (S$71.5 billion) to the country’s economy in 2024. BLOOMBERG
