US colleges have recorded a sharp decline in applications this year, Bloomberg reported. Early data suggests that the White House’s push to limit foreign enrollment, a trend since President Donald Trump took office in January, may finally be showing its impact. According to the report, the drop in applications was driven mostly by India, which is the largest source of international students in the US.
India fuels a decline in US college applications, first since 2020
According to a new report from Common App, the popular college application system in the US, international applications received by November 1 fell by 9% compared to last year. The Common App is used by more than 1,100 universities across the country.
According to Bloomberg, the biggest drop comes from India. Applications from India dropped by 14%, marking the first decline from the country since 2020. Meanwhile, the applications from Africa dropped by 18%, while those from Asia (overall) fell by 9%.
China, the second biggest source of foreign students for the US, saw a 1% drop. This also slows down the strong growth seen from China last year. Among the top ten countries that usually send the most students to the US, applications sharply fell in all except the last two on the list, Vietnam and Uzbekistan.
What does the last year’s data show?
Last year, international applications were up during this same period. But by March, they recorded an overall decline. That drop came during months of increased federal pressure on student visa holders and growing demands for universities to depend less on foreign students, who usually pay full tuition.
A lot has changed this year after Donald TrumpDonald Trump’s return to the Oval Office. Trump has not only imposed a hefty $100,000 fee on H-1B visa employers but also proposed a cap on international students, limiting them to 15% per campus. Apart from this, his immigration crackdown has revoked thousands of visas, arrested students involved in pro-Palestinian activities, restricted visa interviews, and added stricter application rules.
The White House also launched federal investigations into universities with large numbers of international students.
Cornell and Columbia among the worst hit
Recently, the government sealed a deal with Cornell University to restore around $250 million in federal funding. In return, Cornell will invest $30 million over three years in agricultural research and pay another $30 million directly to the US.
Before that, in July, Columbia University agreed to reduce its financial reliance on international enrollment. It also promised to help immigration authorities take action against foreign students who violate visa rules, Bloomberg reported.
Common App says these numbers only show the early part of the application season. The full cycle continues until next March, so we can expect more changes in the coming time