Foreign enrollment at US colleges holds steady, for now, despite Trump’s visa crackdown
November 16, 2025
A new report finds that foreign students enrolled at U.S. colleges in strong numbers this fall despite fears that a Trump administration crackdown would trigger a nosedive. Still, there are signs of turbulence as fewer new, first-time students arrive from other countries. The Institute of International Education found that new students entering the United States for the first time fell by 17%, the sharpest decrease since the COVID-19 pandemic. The falloff is less severe than some had forecast, but it has hit some universities harder than others, with some seeing rapid backslides that punched big holes in tuition revenue.