# Indian US college applicants drop 15 per cent to 14,424 2026-08-27T04:21:58+00:00 | World & Diplomacy | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet The number of Indian students applying for first-year undergraduate admission to US colleges through the Common Application fell 15 per cent during the 2025-26 cycle, ending nearly a decade of growth. India recorded 14,424 applicants, down from about 16,900 the previous year, according to the Common App's report released on August 20. The decline was sharper than China's two per cent fall, and China now leads India by 4,011 applicants on the platform. International applicants overall dropped 10 per cent, driven largely by the Asian decline which fell 11 per cent. Common App did not give a reason. By contrast, US-based applicants identifying as Indian rose six per cent to 40,949, more than double the 2016-17 figure. India remains the largest source of international students in the US overall, with Open Doors data counting 363,019 students for 2024-25. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The 10 per cent drop in overall international applicants through Common App, which covers roughly 1,146 US colleges but not all US institutions, partly reflects tightening US visa policy and rising visa denials for Indian students. The US State Department's data for 2024 showed denial rates for F-1 student visas at 22 per cent for India-based applicants, compared with 7 per cent for China-based ones. Indian students seeking early-career work through the OPT programme also face longer processing times. The decline is uneven: Indian-origin students already living in the US still applied in higher numbers, suggesting the squeeze affects the logistics and cost of making the move rather than interest itself. Open Doors data, which covers all US institutions via a government survey, will be the real measure when it updates for the 2025-26 academic year next November. ## Coverage - greatandhra.com Led with the factual figure and decline trend, then contextualised with China comparison and prior data without editorialising on reasons. No government attribution or criticism. This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: China, Common Application, India, Open Doors report, United States Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/indian-us-college-applicants-drop-15-per-cent-to-14424/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/indian-us-college-applicants-drop-15-per-cent-to-14424/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/