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2h ago

U.S. Colleges Report 17% Drop in New International Students for Fall 2025

Colleges largely cite visa delays and travel restrictions as the cause, with graduate programs hardest hit.

People walk on the campus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on April 15, 2025.
Students at the University of Pennsylvania.
Image
TOPSHOT - People hold up signs during the Harvard Students for Freedom rally in support of international students at the Harvard University campus in Boston, Massachusetts, on May 27, 2025. Harvard students protested Tuesday after the US government said it intends to cancel all remaining financial contracts with the university, President Donald Trump's latest attempt to force the prestigious institution to submit to unprecedented oversight. (Photo by Rick Friedman / AFP) (Photo by RICK FRIEDMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Overview

  • - The IIE fall snapshot, drawing on 825 institutions, indicates overall international enrollment is roughly steady, down about 1% at close to 1.2 million students.
  • - Institutions reported visa hurdles as the dominant factor in the downturn, with 96% citing application concerns and 68% pointing to travel restrictions following interview pauses and heightened vetting.
  • - Graduate international enrollment fell 12% as undergraduate numbers rose about 2%, shifting the composition of students on U.S. campuses.
  • - Most colleges saw sharp declines in new students from India, now the top source country, driving much of the national drop.
  • - NAFSA estimates the fall’s contraction translates to roughly $1.1 billion in lost revenue and nearly 23,000 fewer jobs, and many campuses are offering deferrals into spring and fall 2026.