The number of new foreign undergraduate students at US colleges dropped by an average of 20% this spring from a year earlier, according to a study by a coalition of education groups, the latest sign that President Donald Trump’s standoff with higher education is hammering a key source of talent and funding.
The findings, published in a report Monday by organizations including the US international education group NAFSA, are based on a survey of 149 American schools. Some 62% of those schools reported lower foreign enrollment in both undergraduate and graduate programs compared to spring 2025.