Overview
- IIE’s Fall 2025 Snapshot shows overall international enrollment down 1% for 2025–26, with graduate numbers falling 12% while undergraduate counts edged up slightly.
- NAFSA estimates this fall’s decline translates into roughly $1.1 billion in lost economic activity and nearly 23,000 jobs at risk.
- An Implan analysis finds the enrollment drop amounts to nearly $1 billion in lost U.S. GDP when factoring direct and ripple effects from reduced student spending.
- Campuses and communities report immediate strain, with Edmonds College projecting a $1 million shortfall after a 25% drop in new international students and DePaul University announcing layoffs and budget cuts tied in part to enrollment declines.
- Institutions are expanding deferrals and student supports as research-intensive programs and local employers warn of tighter graduate STEM pipelines and lab staffing challenges.