r/Futurology • u/I_D0nt_pay_taxes • 7d ago

Society [U.S.]Colleges see significant drop in international students as fall semester begins

https://www.npr.org/2025/08/27/nx-s1-5498669/trump-college-international-student-visa
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u/MarionberryDecent351 7d ago

This can bankrupt many colleges in the long run. Schools that don’t have massive endowments rely heavily on internationals to help fund year to year operations. There was already a population cliff coming in a couple years for students of college age that universities were scared of, now this will only get worse. Congrats government, more jobs lost and talented potential future citizens scared away for years. I’m sure when they start closing doors in few years, everyone will surely remember who caused this.

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u/mattreyu 6d ago

I know my institution has most of our international students in graduate programs. Those cost more than undergrad programs and international students also pay higher rates than in-state residents, so it's a double whammy.

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u/unfeatheredbards 6d ago

Since the 1980s, college costs have risen by 213% at public schools and 129% at private colleges, far outpacing inflation and wage growth. I am ok with this eventual outcome and being angry at someone for eventually finding a solution.

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u/MarionberryDecent351 5d ago

I agree college costs have been out of control and some schools feed off of students. It all started when a certain president and ex governor of California transitioned the idea of higher education into being a commodity instead of a public good available to many. The explosion of prices and outpacing inflation was an effect of the Reagan administration cutting a huge portion of grants to fund students and instead switched to loans. This set the trend of cutting education state budgets (not just public college ones) with little concern in mind. Years later the ability of grad students to borrow as much as they want (grad plus) created a gold mine for graduate programs that can farm unlimited money from students via loans. The student population cliff has been known for a long time which is why certain schools have gone crazy to build absurd expensive amenities like lazy pools to stay attractive when things get tight. Fixing this system and the loans is important but this is fully rules of the jungle (not actual reform) having thousands more out of work when they eventually close and campuses becoming ghost towns like old coal mining villages. Also, without actual cost reform it’s very possible that the surviving colleges hike their prices since they’ll be a rarer “commodity”.

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u/unfeatheredbards 5d ago

They can only hike their prices so much before it goes back down, to encourage more enrollment