In just a few days, millions of students will be finalizing one of the most significant decisions of their lives: which college they will attend.
For international students hoping to study in the United States, this choice could prove even more daunting, as the Trump administration revokes hundreds of student visas and admonishes colleges that do not adhere to its policy demands, threatening to withdraw billions of dollars in funding and, in at least one case, the ability to host foreign students.
According to a report from the non-profit Institute of International Education, more than 1.1 million international students enrolled at American higher education institutions in the previous academic year – a record high.
And foreign students, who are more likely to pay full tuition compared to their American counterparts, provide significant funding to colleges.
If they choose to take their dollars elsewhere, it could spell financial trouble for the US colleges that rely on them.
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Steven Yale-Loehr, a retired Cornell University immigration law professor, told a news outlet, “Many universities are already under financial strain for various reasons, including the recent efforts by the Trump administration to claw back federal aid from certain elite institutions. So, a decline in international students will further harm these institutions.”
Advertisement Feedback While it’s too early to know whether international student enrollment will decrease in the upcoming year – a clearer picture will emerge after May 1, college decision day – Yale-Loehr noted, “It seems that many students are more hesitant about coming to the United States.”
Even before college decision day, one company that handles applications reports a slight dip in international applications, and China, which supplies 25% of foreign students, has issued a warning to its citizens about studying in the US.
Foreign students are a significant source of revenue for American universities.
Since Trump took office in January, more than 1,000 international students or recent graduates have had their visas revoked or statuses terminated. Some high-profile cases accuse students of supporting terror organizations, while others involve relatively minor offenses such as years-old misdemeanors.
A visa revocation terminates a student’s legal status in the US, forcing them to discontinue their studies – even if they have already paid thousands in tuition.
International students are more likely to pay full tuition at US colleges, partly because most are not eligible for federal financial aid.
Yale-Loehr explained that many universities also limit their financial aid to domestic students, and “because of that, international students bring in more dollars per student than the tuition that domestic students pay.”
William Brustein, a higher education global strategist who has served as the chief international officer at several public universities and in top leadership positions for groups supporting international students, stated that some universities believe their commitments should lie with in-state and American students since their families pay taxes.
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“For international students, colleges felt they didn’t have the same commitment. And to be honest, they felt this could serve as almost a cash cow for many of these universities. If their families were willing to pay two and sometimes three times as much, they were welcome.” he told a news outlet.
The Institute of International Education found that more than three-quarters of international students primarily fund their education themselves, through their family or current employment. Less than one-fifth receive primary funding from their US college or university.
A research paper published in the American Economic Journal indicates that an increase in foreign students at public research universities led to pronounced tuition revenue gains, which helped offset falling state funding appropriations.
American universities are already experiencing other financial pressures: This week, the federal government froze more than $2 billion in multiyear grants and $60 million in multiyear contracts at Harvard after the Ivy League university refused to change its hiring and other practices.
And on Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security threatened to strip Harvard of its ability to enroll foreigners if it does not turn over records on “illegal and violent activities” of its current international students. International students comprise more than a quarter of Harvard’s enrollment.
While Harvard and other elite schools could suffer financially from a decline in foreign students, others – like public research universities with less substantial endowments – could feel it even more keenly, Brustein said.
David Fichter of Cambridge, Massachusetts, a 1973 graduate of Harvard University, leaves a protest against the Trump administration and student visa revocations, at Harvard University in Cambridge on Thursday. Ken McGagh/Reuters A Top Driver of International Students to the US Cautions Its Citizens
One-quarter of international students in the US hail from China, second only to India, whose nationals account for 29% of international students.
Amid a significant trade war and what it calls the deterioration of “China-U.S. economic and trade relations and the security situation within the United States,” China issued a stark warning to its students hoping to study abroad in the US.
This month, China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism and its Ministry of Education released statements advising Chinese citizens visiting and studying in the United States to travel with caution.
Jayson Ma, a 24-year-old Chinese national who has been in the United States since 2016 on a valid student visa, learned his student visa was revoked by the federal government earlier this month.
Ma said he learned about the revocation when his school called with the news. Details about the reason for the revocation were not available; his attorney said he had not received any official documentation ordering him to leave the United States. Ma has no criminal record or convictions; he has a previous DUI charge that was dismissed in court and expunged from his record after completing a court-ordered course, his attorney said.
In response to questions about Ma’s situation, a State Department spokesperson told a news outlet, “We don’t go into the rationale for what happens with individual visas.”
Brustein explained, “The geopolitical environment over the last 10 to 15 years, particularly with respect to the US-China relationship, has really dampened the prospects for choosing the US,” with Covid-19 and its aftermath exacerbating the political climate.
In 2020, the US revoked visas for more than 1,000 Chinese students and researchers deemed security risks. When President Joe Biden took office, many of those Trump-era policies were kept in place, making it difficult for Chinese graduate students and researchers to secure a visa.
According to the Institute of International Education, American schools saw a 4% drop in Chinese international students enrolled last academic year.
President Donald Trump holds a chart next to US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick as Trump delivers remarks on tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, DC, on April 2. Carlos Barria/Reuters/File Will the US See a Drop in International Students?
Wali Khan, a Michigan State University journalism student from Hong Kong and Singapore, came to the United States about four years ago in search of a freer press. He said he fled Singapore after being interrogated for hours without access to a lawyer following his reporting on accusations of a top university mishandling sexual abuse cases.
The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown has not changed the 24-year-old’s plans – he wants to stay in the US after finishing school. And while it has not stopped him from reporting, he said he has received worried calls from friends, has considered privatizing his social media accounts, and tries to spend more time in public and less in secluded places.
“I’ve built a life here,” he told a news outlet. “I’ve been uprooted once, and that was difficult enough. So, it also feels like this crushing weight.”
Common App, a college admission platform serving hundreds of colleges and processing millions of applications, reported that the number of first-year international applicants for the approaching school year was down 1% as of March 1 compared to the same date last year. This contrasts with a 5% rise in first-year domestic applicants – marking the first time since 2019 that growth in domestic applications exceeded international growth, the company said.
Brustein suggested that the recent treatment of foreign students could act as “accelerants” for an eventual decline in international enrollment, stemming from concerns he has been hearing from international families for years: the rising cost of American college education combined with the increasing reputations of universities outside the US.
“The US isn’t the shining beacon on the hill here anymore,” he told a news outlet. “If you want to get a top-notch education that positions you well for your career, there are other choices now.”
Some signs indicate that even US citizens are increasingly looking to Canada for their education: Reuters reported that at least three Canadian universities had seen an uptick in interest and applications from American students. One official from the University of British Columbia’s Vancouver campus attributed the spike to the Trump administration’s visa revocations and increased scrutiny of their social media activity.
“This could become more than just a trickle,” Brustein warned. “It could become, if we continue down the road we are today, more of a flood.”
