(José Niño, Headline USA) New data reveals a steep drop in international student enrollment at American universities, a trend that that could see universities lose billions in tuition revenue.
Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) data from August 2024 shows a 5% drop in international student enrollment, driven largely by 90,000 fewer Indian Master’s students, who accounted for 95% of the decline.
This figure represented a potential $5 billion annual loss in tuition revenue for American institutions of higher learning.
More recent analysis shows an even steeper decline. SEVIS data from March 2025 indicates that international student enrollment has plummeted by 11% compared to March 2024, representing approximately 130,000 fewer international students in the US.
Reports from Financial Express confirm this trend of declining Indian enrollment in American universities, which fell by 13% from 2023 to 2024. Student visa issuances for Indian students fell by a third, with only 59,000 F-1 visas being awarded to Indian nationals during May to August 2024, compared to roughly 89,000 during the same period in 2023.
This decline represents a sharp reversal from previous trends. The 2023/2024 academic year had actually seen India surpass China as the top country of origin for international students in the United States, with a record-high 331,602 Indian students.
By a similar token, Chinese student enrollment has experienced a long-term decline, falling by 47% from Fall 2020 to Fall 2024 at George Washington University. The State Department issued about 20,000 fewer visas to Chinese students in 2024 than in 2019, with the refusal rate rising from 25% to 36%.
International students contributed over $50 billion to the U.S. economy in 2023 and accounted for approximately 6% of the total U.S. higher education population, per figures from the Chamber of Commerce.
The current decline has concerned higher education policymakers given the projected “enrollment cliff” — a 15% decline in U.S. college students projected to take place between 2025 and 2029 owing to decreasing U.S. birth rates. Many universities had been turning to international enrollment to help offset this demographic challenge.
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
