Now Reading: Indian US college applicants drop 15 per cent to 14,424
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Indian US college applicants drop 15 per cent to 14,424
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…
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.
Source: greatandhra.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
