U.S. Colleges Fear Drop in Overseas Student Applications

Overseas students bring in a huge amount of funding to U.S. colleges. Without them, many colleges would struggle to balance the books. Because of this, any indication that overseas student numbers could fall sharply is a cause for concern, but this is exactly what’s happening.

Now is the time when many top U.S. colleges make their pitches to overseas students. They give presentations and answer any questions prospective students have about applying to college in the U.S. The problem is that many students who showed interest in coming to the U.S. have changed their mind in the wake of Trump’s election. China and India are the main sources of international students. Applications from both of these companies are down on previous years since the election results came in. Instead, some students are looking at online MSW programs, such as those offered by Rutgers online, or making applications to Canadian universities instead.

An Unexpected Win

Nobody expected Donald J. Trump to win the U.S. presidential election. From the moment he announced his candidacy, he was seen as the ‘joke’ candidate. However, despite the polls predicting a Clinton Victory right up to the last minute, Trump cruised to power on a wave of anti-establishment sentiment from a generation of disaffected voters in Middle America.

A New Era

Now that we have our president elect, America is poised to enter a new era, one governed by a very different kind of president. Trump’s policies will have far-reaching effects on all areas of American life, but with top U.S. colleges now seeing a drop in the number of applications from overseas students, so why is this happening?

Trump said many things during his election campaign, but one point that came up repeatedly was the issue of foreign immigrants. Trump made a point of saying that Muslims and other foreigners might be deported, which would affect foreign students studying in the U.S., or so they believe.

The New York Times interviewed several groups of foreign students who had previously contemplated applying to American universities. Several of them expressed concern about their safety if they do decide to study in the U.S. They were spooked, they said, and as history tells us, social forces always have an effect on international study.

The Trump Effect

A research poll carried out in May predicted the Trump effect. Two companies specializing in international student recruitment discovered that 60% of students said they were less likely to apply for a U.S. college if Trump was elected President. It’s early days, but this early prediction is already proving to be true.

Despite the jitters, experts are saying that students’ fears are unfounded and Mr. Trump is not going to throw out fee-paying foreign students, as they are a major source of economic wealth to the U.S. However, for those students who still fear Trump’s anti-immigrant policies, there are always colleges in the UK or Canada, or even online colleges offering MSW online programs.