Now Reading: US college applications from foreign students fall 10% on visa curbs
-
01
US college applications from foreign students fall 10% on visa curbs
US college applications from foreign students fall 10% on visa curbs
International student applications to US colleges for the upcoming fall term have fallen by about 10%, the steepest decline since Common App began collecting digital data in 2013. Nearly 16,000 fewer foreign…
International student applications to US colleges for the upcoming fall term have fallen by about 10%, the steepest decline since Common App began collecting digital data in 2013. Nearly 16,000 fewer foreign students applied compared to 2025, with applications from Asia and Africa falling by double digits and European applications down 4%.
The decline coincides with the Trump administration tightening student visa rules, including restrictions on changing majors, transferring universities and staying in the US after graduation. The drop is not uniform: elite universities accepting fewer than a quarter of applicants saw only a 1% decline, while less selective schools saw a 20% drop. Meanwhile, US domestic applicants rose 4%.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Both outlets report the same Common App data and use Bloomberg as their sourcing, making the coverage essentially identical wire-style reporting. Livemint.com leads with the 10% headline and devotes significant space to the standardised-testing resurgence and university selectivity, framing the story as a data-driven market shift. Timesnownews.com leads with a more dramatic headline but its body is equally factual, with only the added line about schools bracing for decline hinting at alarm. The measured middle-ground takeaway is that the 10% drop is real and policy-driven, but elite universities are insulated. Watch whether the upcoming fall enrollment data confirms the trend, as next year's numbers will test if this is a floor or a further slide.
Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral
Sources (2): livemint.com (neutral report), timesnownews.com (neutral report)
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
