Global prestigious universities in the U.S. are increasingly viewed as burdens rather than assets under President Trump's administration.
HARDBALLING AMERICA'S ELITE EDUCATION
WASHINGTON (AP) — Three decades past, foreign students at Harvard University represented merely 11% of the student body. Today, they claim a whopping 26%.
Much like other esteemed U.S. universities, Harvard has been capitalizing on their global prestige for years to recruit the world's best students. Yet, the booming international enrollment has made colleges susceptible to a new line of attack from President Donald Trump. The president has allegedly been using his control over the nation's borders as leverage in his fight to reshape American higher education.
Trump's latest broadside against Harvard aims to bar foreign students from entering the country to attend the campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His proclamation, however, only applies to Harvard, and a federal judge late Thursday temporarily blocked it. Nevertheless, Trump's order serves as a warning to other universities his administration has targeted as liberal strongholds in need of reform.
His order has rattled campuses under federal scrutiny, including Columbia University, where foreign students make up 40% of the campus. As the Trump administration stepped up reviews of new student visas last week, a group of Columbia faculty and alumni voiced concerns over Trump's border-control powers.
"Columbia's vulnerability to this whimsical presidential power play is uniquely high," the Stand Columbia Society wrote in a newsletter.
Ivy League institutions lure international talent
Foreign students represented just about 6% of all college students in the U.S. in 2023, but they accounted for 27% of the eight schools in the Ivy League, according to an Associated Press analysis of Education Department data. Columbia's 40% was the largest concentration, followed by Harvard and Cornell at roughly 25%. Brown University had the smallest share at 20%.
Other selective private universities have seen similar trends, including Northeastern University and New York University, which each saw foreign enrollment double between 2013 and 2023. Growth at public universities has been more modest. Even at the 50 most selective public schools, foreign students account for about 11% of the student body.
As the middle class has grown in other countries, more families have been able to afford test prep and admissions guidance to compete for spots in the Ivy League, said Rajika Bhandari, who leads a firm of higher education consultants.
"The Ivy League brand is very powerful overseas, especially in countries like India and China, where families are extremely aware of top institutions in the U.S. and other competing countries," Bhandari said in an email.
Over the past two decades, she said, U.S. universities have increasingly recognized the benefits of international exchange, viewing it as a crucial revenue source that subsidizes U.S. students and keeps enrollments up in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering, and math.
America's universities have been opening their doors wider to foreign students for decades, but the numbers shot upward starting around 2008, as Chinese students came to U.S. universities in increasing numbers.
It was part of a "gold rush" in higher education, said William Brustein, who orchestrated the international expansion of several universities.
"Whether you were private or public, you had to be at the forefront in terms of being able to claim you were the most global university," said Brustein, who led efforts at Ohio State University and West Virginia University.
The race was driven in part by economics, he said. Foreign students typically aren't eligible for financial aid, and at some schools, they pay much higher tuition than Americans. Colleges also had their eyes on global rankings that gave schools a boost if they recruited larger numbers of foreign students and scholars, he said.
Some wealthier universities—including Harvard—offer financial aid to foreign students. However, students who qualify for admission into these top-tier U.S. universities usually have the means to pay higher tuition rates, Brustein said. That provides further incentive to enroll more foreign students, he said, saving more scholarship money for American students.
International enrollment did not expand evenly across all types of colleges, though. Public universities often face pressure from state lawmakers to limit foreign enrollment and keep more seats open for state residents. Private universities don't face that pressure and have aggressively recruited foreign students as the enrollment of American students remained flat. The college-going rate among American students has stayed much the same for decades, and some have been disenchanted with college due to rising costs and student debt loads.
Supporters argue foreign students benefit colleges and the wider U.S. economy
Proponents of international exchange maintain that foreign students inject billions of dollars into the U.S. economy, and many go on to support the nation's tech industry and other fields in need of skilled workers. Most international students study STEM fields.
In the Ivy League, growth has primarily been at the graduate level, while undergraduate numbers have seen more modest increases. Foreign graduate students make up more than half the students at Harvard's government and design schools, and five of Columbia's schools.
Harvard's undergraduate foreign population increased by about 100 students from 2013 to 2023, while graduate numbers increased by nearly 2,000. Part of that growth can be attributed to increased global competition at the graduate level, said William Kirby, a Harvard historian who has written about the evolution of higher education.
"If you don't recruit the best international students in your most important graduate programs, especially in science and engineering, then you will not be competitive," Kirby said.
The Ivy League has been able to outperform other schools largely because of its reputation, Brustein said. He recalls trips to China and India, where families could recite where each Ivy League school ranked in world rankings.
"That was the golden calf for these families. They truly believed that if they could get into these schools, the rest of their lives would be a breeze," he said.
Last week, Trump suggested Harvard restrict its foreign students to around 15%.
Sponsored
"We have people who want to go to Harvard and other schools, but they can't get in because we have foreign students there," Trump said at a news conference.
The university called Trump's latest action barring entry into the country to attend Harvard "yet another illegitimate retaliatory step taken by the Administration in violation of Harvard's First Amendment rights."
In a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's previous attempt to block international students at Harvard, the university said its foreign student population was the result of "a painstaking, decades-long project" to attract the most qualified international students. Losing access to student visas would immediately harm the school's mission and reputation, it said.
"In our interconnected global economy," the school said, "a university that cannot welcome students from all corners of the world is at a competitive disadvantage."
___
The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters, and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
Enrichment Data:
President Donald Trump's tactics have significantly impacted international student enrollment at U.S. universities, including Ivy League schools. The consequences are multifaceted and far-reaching:
Policy Changes and Their Impact
- Visa Restrictions and Scrutiny: The Trump administration has increased visa scrutiny, including thorough social media vetting and enhanced ideological screening, which has led to increased delays and difficulties for international students seeking to enter the U.S.[2]. This heightened scrutiny has discouraged many students from applying, as it introduces uncertainty and fear of being rejected or deported[3].
- Revocation of Study Permissions: The administration has moved to revoke study permissions for thousands of international students, although it has reversed some of these decisions[1]. Such actions have created significant uncertainty and fear among international students currently studying in the U.S.[1].
- Targeting Specific Institutions: Efforts have been made to restrict the ability of prestigious institutions like Harvard to enroll international students, further complicating the enrollment process for these students[2].
Economic and Academic Consequences
- Economic Impact: International students contribute significantly to the U.S. economy, with a record-breaking economic contribution of $43.8 billion[5]. Reducing international enrollment could lessen U.S. economic competitiveness in the medium to long term[5].
- Academic Impact: The policies have created a chilling effect on international student applications and enrollment, undermining financial planning for colleges and affecting interdisciplinary research centers[3][5]. This can lead to a loss of talent and intellectual diversity, as students opt for other countries like the UK due to uncertainty and restrictions[5].
Ivy League Schools
Though specific data on Ivy League schools is not extensively detailed in the available reports, these institutions are likely to be affected similarly due to their global reputation and reliance on international students. The overall decline in international student enrollment will impact these schools' diversity and research capabilities, potentially affecting their standing in global rankings.
In essence, President Trump's policies have created a challenging environment for international students, leading to a decline in enrollment and affecting both the economic and academic landscapes of U.S. universities, including Ivy League schools.
- The president's latest order could bar foreign students from attending Harvard, a warning to other universities considered liberal strongholds that are under federal scrutiny.
2.Foreign students make up 40% of the campus at Columbia University, which has raised concerns among faculty and alumni as the Trump administration steps up reviews of new student visas.
- America's economy could potentially be less competitive if universities that cannot welcome students from all corners of the world due to visa restrictions.
- The Ivy League brand is highly sought after by families in countries like India and China, with Columbia's foreign student population being the largest concentration, followed by Harvard and Cornell.
- International enrollment in U.S. universities, including Ivy League schools, has decreased due to increased visa scrutiny and restrictions from the Trump administration. This has far-reaching consequences on the academic and economic landscapes.
