US Colleges Face 10% Drop in Foreign Student Applications

International student applications to US colleges have fallen by approximately 10% this year, marking the most significant decline in at least a decade. This drop is primarily attributed to the Trump administration’s enhanced efforts to restrict overseas students, including changes to visa rules.

This trend indicates that American universities are likely to experience substantial international enrollment decreases in the upcoming fall semester. Such a downturn will intensify the financial challenges many US colleges already face, grappling with a shrinking pool of domestic students and rising skepticism about higher education value.

This decline represents nearly 16,000 fewer foreign students vying for spots compared to 2025. The Common App report, which surveyed 1,146 schools, detailed these shifts.

Specifically, the report revealed double-digit declines in applications from Asia and Africa. European student applications also decreased by 4%, a notable reversal of years of consistent increases.

The impact was not uniform, with highly selective institutions, defined as those accepting less than a quarter of applicants, experiencing only a 1% drop. In contrast, universities accepting over half their applicants recorded a roughly 20% decrease.

Domestic Applications and Global Competition

While international applications fell, domestic college applicants increased by 4%, driven significantly by a 9% surge from the Southwest US. This divergence highlights a shift in the overall applicant landscape for American higher education.

Countries like France and Germany are intensifying efforts to attract students who are becoming disillusioned with the prospect of a US education. This strategic shift contributes to the reversal of European application trends to American campuses.

The Resurgence of Standardized Testing

For the first time since 2019, more students chose to report standardized test scores on their applications than to omit them. This development follows a period of test-optional policies at many institutions.

For instance, the number of applicants submitting SAT or ACT scores increased by 11% over the previous year. Conversely, the number not reporting scores fell by 5%.

This change follows announcements from high-profile universities like Yale, Columbia, and Princeton, which are reinstating testing requirements after nearly 5 years of test-optional policies. Currently, only 5% of colleges require SAT or ACT scores, an increase from 4% last year but significantly down from 55% in 2019.

This pivot has reignited a nationwide debate over the benefits of standardized test scores, even impacting institutions like the University of California, where test score consideration has been banned since 2019. The policy changes reflect broader discussions on college admissions criteria.

Both the decline in international students and the renewed emphasis on standardized testing are seen as policy victories for President Donald Trump. His administration views test-optional policies as potential proxies for illegal affirmative action at top colleges.