Dive Brief:
- Nearly 6 out of 10 colleges reported a drop in international graduate students in fall 2026, compared to the previous year, with an average decline of 13%, according to a new survey of 203 U.S. higher education institutions. Some 45% also said they had fewer foreign undergraduates enroll.
- The data, released Wednesday, found that 90% of respondents cited restrictive federal policies as being a significant obstacle to international enrollment. Just under half, 47%, also said tuition and living costs for students posed a significant barrier.
- Surveyed colleges also expressed dismal expectations for next year, with 44% predicting international enrollment would stay at the same depressed levels and 37% expecting enrollment to decline further.
Dive Insight:
Wednesday’s survey, released by NAFSA: Association of International Educators in partnership with the Oxford University Press and the student recruitment platform Studyportals, reinforces concerns that the Trump administration's attacks on foreign students and the long-standing U.S. programs that support their study here would corrode the international enrollment pipeline.
Survey respondents cited the administration’s crackdown on student visas and the astronomical new fees sought for the H-1B visa and Optional Practical Training programs. While some of those policies are being challenged in the courts, they can signal to international students that they are unwelcome in the U.S., and the uncertainty and instability can ward off prospective applicants.
Major public research universities, traditionally popular among foreign students, have begun reporting international enrollment declines this fall. And some, like Pennsylvania State University, have drawn a direct line between that loss of students and budgetary challenges.
“These survey results affirm what we’ve observed before: national policies matter to international students making major decisions about where to study, conduct research, or start a career,” Fanta Aw, NAFSA’s executive director and CEO, said in a statement Wednesday.
Some colleges also reported decreased interest in countries that have historically sent the most higher education students overseas, such as China and India.
“Our agents in India in particular are telling us that they are seeing a drastic decline in inquiries for US graduate study and that many prospective students are either considering other destinations or postponing study plans,” one university respondent said.
Of those surveyed, 37% of U.S. colleges said they planned to diversify the locations where they recruit from and tap into new markets over the next 12 months.
One institution said it would pivot to the Philippines, Canada and Colombia as a means of offsetting losses from India, Bangladesh and Nepal, the three countries from which the college traditionally got the most foreign students.
Another 32% said they would expand their online offerings, and 30% said they would turn to budget cuts.
However, cuts could further exacerbate challenges for colleges’ international admissions offices. One respondent admitted that staffing issues have “resulted in a lack of attention to incoming students.”
Pollsters surveyed colleges’ senior administrators and international student recruitment professionals online between Oct. 5 and 26.
