New Delhi: From Ghana to India to China, college campuses in the United States are a melting pot of students from every corner of the world. They bring in diversity—and money.
But the Donald Trump administration’s decision to suspend new visa interviews for international students is poised to adversely impact American universities and graduate school programmes, many of which derive a significant portion of their revenue from foreign nationals. Now, students are looking at other countries for their education.
“There is this culture of fear that has been created, because of which students are now turning elsewhere for their education,” said Akhil Daswani, co-founder of Oncourse Vantage Private Limited, a Mumbai-based admissions consulting firm. “The longer term impact on both their economy and universities is much bigger than the US administration has thought.”
According to a report by The New York Times, 1.1 million international students contributed about $43 billion to the US economy in 2023-2024. Now, some of that spend may be redirected elsewhere.
“Take the University of Pennsylvania, with its 2,500 strong class intake every year. Around 10 per cent of the class is international students,” said Viral Doshi, a Mumbai-based admissions consultant, calling international students the backbone of any college. “If each of those students is paying $100,000 per year for an education, the university loses out on $25 million of revenue. Their financial model will collapse if students stop coming.”
At the University of California, Berkeley, in-state residents – students who reside in California – pay $10,500 a semester, according to the university’s fee schedule for the 2024-25 cohort. Non-residents, including foreign nationals, pay $27,650, which is almost three times more.
While Berkeley doesn’t differentiate between foreign nationals and out-of-state citizens, some universities have separate fee structures for all three categories: residents, non-residents, and foreign students.
Arizona State University, for one, charges residents $6,500 per semester, significantly lower than the $19,178-charge it levies on foreign students. Non-residents pay $17,584. For the 2023-2024 academic year, 4.5 per cent of the student body was made up of international students.
“At an undergraduate level, you typically have 10-15 per cent of students who are international,” said Daswani, adding that the longer course duration results in fewer families being able to afford it. “At the postgraduate level, 25-30 per cent of the student body is international.”
He went on to explain that a vast availability of courses – from management to data science – and scholarship and financial aid options prompt a large volume of international students to enroll in postgraduate courses in the US. Doshi highlighted that, while courses in science and technology receive funding from the US government, professional degree courses such as law, architecture and business management rely heavily on the revenue foreign students bring.
Postgraduate schools recognise this opportunity, and it reflects in their marketing budgets, according to Daswani. Many top universities may even ignore marketing their courses at the undergraduate level but make the effort to visit foreign countries to meet graduate level candidates.
“At some point, the United States administration will realise that this isn’t a smart move for their economy,” said a Chicago-based student admissions liaison officer, who did not wish to be named. “Foreign students aren’t just spending on tuition, but housing, food and entertainment. Universities are already pushing back.”
‘Will send my kid to the UK’
At Daswani’s consulting firm, students are increasingly adding more countries to their college application list. From the 1,000 students that Oncourse guides every year, 50-60 per cent would normally apply exclusively to US colleges.
‘This year, only 20 per cent have applied to just US colleges. Everyone is still applying to the US, but are now also adding more countries to their list,” he said, clarifying that this trend isn’t recent or solely prompted by interview suspensions. The high education cost, long distance from India, and last year’s protests have also played a huge role. Parents are just too afraid to take a risk.
“Now even people who can afford a US education are saying ‘I will just send my kid to the UK and sleep better at night’.”
According to Doshi, those who already have interviews scheduled will not be affected by the US’ worldwide student visa pause. However, the Trump administration will face a lot of pressure as this move affects universities across the country, and not just elite institutions like Harvard and Columbia.
“We must also remember that students are going to America as guests. They have rules and regulations, so one must follow them,” he added.
Daswani is being pragmatic with his clients. He has been advising his students to keep all their doors open. But to him, the US remains the top destination for education.
“Most of what has happened is reversible. I still think the US has the best education possible,” he said. “If you look at the top 100 universities, 80 are sitting in the US. No matter what you say, you can’t just build a university overnight.”
(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)
I see Indians everywhere.. is India so bad that countries globally are flooded by them?