What you need to know
In recent months, media attention has focused on international students attending U.S. universities. Questions include the number of international students, their country of origin, and the degree to which they are displacing U.S. students.
- How many international students attend U.S. universities?
- What are the main countries of origin for international students?
- Are there cases where international students may be displacing U.S. students from high-demand undergraduate and graduate programs?
Who are the international students?
Currently, over 1.2 million international students are enrolled in undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the United States. (Total U.S. enrollment is about 20 million.) In 2025, 228 foreign countries and territories have students studying at U.S. colleges and universities. The figure below shows trends over time.
International enrollment has increased by about 20% over the last decade, and recently has risen back to pre-pandemic levels. While enrollment of Chinese students is often the focus of public conversation, students from India now comprise the largest group, with students from China accounting for about one-fifth of total international enrollments. 50% of international students are from countries other than China and India.
Additional data on Chinese students in the chart below shows that undergraduate enrollments dropped during the pandemic and have dropped further since then. Chinese graduate enrollments, in contrast, have increased slightly.
Benefits of International Students in U.S. Colleges and Universities
One major benefit to colleges and universities of enrolling international students is financial. International students typically pay full tuition, while many American students often do not. At public schools, for example, in-state tuition can be substantially lower than the rate paid by non-residents, including international students. Various grants and scholarships are also available only to domestic students.
While much attention has been paid to the trade gap between the U.S. and most of the world, one area in which the U.S. still excels in exporting is education. Many of the world’s future business and political leaders study in the U.S., but then return home. This cross-cultural exchange creates closer international political-business relationships and means that U.S. educational values are broadly distributed across the globe. However, it also means that the U.S. is exporting skills and knowledge, as well as training people who will contribute to the economies of other countries.
Costs of International Students in U.S. Colleges and Universities
One of the main costs of having international students attend U.S. colleges and universities is the opportunity costs for domestic students competing for scarce seats in high-demand school programs. The figure below shows that at Harvard University, international students now comprise over 27% of the total student body, which is fifty percent higher than it was two decades ago.
Harvard is not an exception - at Stanford, international students currently comprise 21.7% of total enrollment. International students also comprise a significant proportion of students (approximately 10%) at flagship state universities.
The Takeaway
International student enrollments in U.S. universities have steadily increased over the last two decades.
Pre-pandemic, students from China were the largest group of international students. Now, India is the most common source.
International students are increasingly crowding out American students in some top universities.
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Further reading
Ross, M., H. Doshay, and Y. Yang. (N.d.). Three Decades of Chinese Students in America, 1991-2021. U.C. San Diego US-China Educational Trust. Available at https://tinyurl.com/4jbp9vsd.
Yang, S., and G. Xue. (2025). Why Chinese Students Still Want to Attend U.S. Universities. Los Angeles Times February 21, 2025. Available at https://tinyurl.com/443s5hst.
Sources
Association of American Universities. (2024). New Analysis Shows International Students Contributed $44 Billion to U.S. Economy Last Academic Year. Available at https://tinyurl.com/5e574swf, accessed 8/10/2025.
Depillis, L., and J.Y. Young. (2025). As Trump Pushes International Students Away, Asian Schools Scoop Them Up. New York Times, August 14, 2025. Available at https://tinyurl.com/4jbp9vsd, accessed 8/14/2025.
Harvard University. (2025). International Student Enrollment Data. Available at https://tinyurl.com/y6f3ndam, accessed 8/13/2025.
Department of Homeland Security. N.d. SEVIS Data Mapping Tool Data. Available at https://tinyurl.com/3cpp296d, accessed 8/10//25.
Contributors
Robert Holahan (Content Lead) is Associate Professor of Political Science at Binghamton University (SUNY). He holds a PhD in Political Science from Indiana University where his advisor was Nobel Laureate Elinor Ostrom. His research focuses on natural resource policy, particularly in domestic oil and gas production, but also extends into international environmental policy. He was PI on a National Science Foundation grant that utilized a 3000-person mail-based survey, several internet-based surveys, and a series of laboratory economics experiments to better understand Americans’ perspectives on energy production issues like oil drilling and wind farm development.
William Bianco is Professor of Political Science at Indiana University and Founding Director of the Indiana Political Analytics Workshop. He received his PhD from the University of Rochester. His teaching focuses on first-year students and the Introduction to American Government class, emphasizing quantitative literacy. He is the co-author of American Politics Today, an introductory textbook published by W. W. Norton now in its 8th edition, and authored a second textbook, American Politics: Strategy and Choice. His research program is on American politics, including Trust: Representatives and Constituents and numerous articles. He was also the PI or Co-PI for seven National Science Foundation grants and a current grant from the Russell Sage Foundation on the sources of inequalities in federal COVID assistance programs. His op-eds have been published in the Washington Post, the Indianapolis Star, Newsday, and other venues.
