In fall 2025, the number of new international students in the United States was 17% lower than the previous year.
Posted by Bulwark Takes, Checked
- Sources
- 3 support3 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 90%
Bulwark TakesAug 29, 2026
The IIE/State Department Fall 2025 Snapshot reports a 17% decline in new international student enrollments in fall 2025 compared with the prior year, and CNBC, U.S. News and Higher Ed Dive repeat that figure. The claim's wording matches the post, and the post's 'before they'd even been in office' framing is a timing aside the sources do not contest.
What was said
… And, by the way, it's working, right? So I just looked up the numbers. You know, before Trump, there were roughly 1.2 million international students and postdocs in the United States. It's all fields, STEM and non-STEM. Just in fall 2025, so before they'd even been in office for a year, the number of new international students was 17% down year-on-year, and just recently, the best data we don't know enrollment numbers yet for the fall, we will soon but just based on Common Apps, the number of applicants has fallen by 10%, which is the steepest decline ever. …
Bulwark Takes · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. The Fall 2025 Snapshot PDF from IIE (via ERIC) states that new international enrollments decreased by 17% for students studying at a U.S. college for the first time in fall 2025.[3]
Supports. CNBC, citing the Fall 2025 Snapshot from the State Department and IIE, reports that new international students in fall 2025 fell 17% compared with the previous year.[5]
Supports. U.S. News reports that new international enrollment declined 17% between fall 2024 and fall 2025, citing the IIE Fall 2025 Snapshot, and that overall enrollment fell 1%.[6]
Context. The 17% figure is from a survey of about 825 institutions, a snapshot rather than final enrollment data, and IIE's full 2025/26 picture is due in Open Doors 2026. Reuters and FactCheck.org give earlier projections (up to a 15% or 30–40% decline) that do not contradict the reported outcome.[1][2][4]
Sources
6 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 2 primary, 2 not rated
- 1Fewer foreign students, fewer dollars: US colleges feel the ...reuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 2Trump, Project 2025 and Immigration - FactCheck.orgfactcheck.org · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 3[PDF] Fall 2025 Snapshot - ERICfiles.eric.ed.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 4Fall 2025 Snapshot on International Student Enrollment - ERICeric.ed.gov · primary source · cited for: context
- 5International student enrollment falls amid tighter U.S. visa policies, reports showcnbc.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 6U.S. International Student Enrollment Is Down: What to Knowusnews.com · not rated · cited for: supports
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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