No longer ‘tolerant’ place to study: Trump’s politics continue to hit first-time Indian students

“Visa delays and denials,” America’s “social and political climate” and student decisions “to enrol in another country” have been cited as three main reasons behind declining interest of first-time international students in US universities, a survey has found.

According to “Fall 2018 International Student Enrollment Hot Topics Survey,” new enrolments at American universities for Fall 2018 fell by 1.6 percent. The new international student enrolment had fallen by 3.3 per cent in 2016, further falling to 6.6 per cent the next year. The last time the new internal student numbers in US reported growth was back in 2015, after which it has been declining till 2018.

The survey didn’t paint a cheery picture for US universities, as far as the number of first time Indian students are concerned either. Among a total of 540 educational institutions surveyed, 42 per cent reported falling number of Indian students. Forty-eight per cent of the surveyed American institutions cited falling number of Chinese students as a major concern.

Asian students account for 70 per cent of all international students in the US, with China and India alone sending half-a-million students to the US during the academic year 2017-18, as per findings of the Open Doors 2018 Report. Open Doors is backed by the US’ State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

According to the Open Doors report, the rate of first-time enrolled students from India declined due to a notable 8.8 percent drop in graduate students.

The report further predicted that the trends may continue, “41.5 percent of institutions cite declining new enrolment from India in Fall 2018.”

The report laments that the conventional perception about the US being a welcoming country for international students had been shifting gradually over the last few years due to a variety of reasons, including “global and national dialogue on travel bans, immigration, personal safety due to gun violence, and race relations.”

“While institutions often note that students on campus find themselves welcomed and supported, they remain particularly concerned that prospective international students may no longer perceive the United States as a welcoming and tolerant place to study,” said the report.

Almost 92 per cent of the American institutions reported that US’ current social and political climate impacted their campus “either positively or negatively.”

Echoing the concerns of Indian students, Arun Jagannathan, founder of CrackVerbal, a test preparation and an admission consultancy firm, noted that a “strong nationalist sentiment” had taken root in the US over the last three years.

He added, “The market for US education in India has been affected since Trump came to power. I understand prospective students for international universities are not as keen on the US as they used to be, and they are looking for alternate destinations like Canada.”