The number of new foreign students enrolling at American colleges fell sharply this year as universities dealt with the fallout from the Trump administration’s efforts to curb international education and its broader crackdown on immigration, according to a new survey released on Monday.

The survey conducted by the Institute of International Education found that enrollment for foreign students studying in the United States for the first time dropped 17% this fall. That figure continues a trend that saw international enrollment drop by 7% in 2024.

More than half of the 828 U.S. colleges and universities that completed the survey said they have fewer foreign students this year, with more than a quarter reporting a “substantial decrease.”

New policies put in place by the Trump administration were the main reason, the survey said. Nearly all of the colleges where international enrollment decreased said that visa issues were a significant obstacle for foreign students. Only 64% of schools said the same during the first year of Joe Biden’s presidency.

The Trump administration has specifically targeted international students as part of its wide-ranging campaigns to reshape American higher education and the U.S. immigration system. Over the first few months of this year, it revoked the visas of at least 1,800 foreign students, only to abruptly reverse that decision in April. The next month the administration paused all new student visa interviews as it considered implementing strict new social media screening for all international college applicants. It also attempted to revoke Harvard University’s right to host international students, a move that was blocked by a court order.

The decline may not just be about the practical hurdles created by the president’s policy changes. Colleges also reported that an American education just isn’t as appealing as it used to be for students from other countries.

Two-thirds of schools that saw declines in foreign enrollment said that students feeling “unwelcome” in the U.S. played a significant role, up from just 25% four years ago. A similar number cited America’s “social and political environment” as a big factor driving reduced interest from abroad.

Overall international enrollment, counting both new and continuing students, was down by only 1%. But even that represents a significant drop from the past few years, which had seen the number of foreign students steadily increase in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

International students represent a relatively small share of the total U.S. higher education population, but they have an outsize importance because of the higher fees they tend to pay relative to local students and the economic boost they provide for communities surrounding college campuses. Roughly 80% of foreign students cover the cost of their tuition on their own, which allows colleges to funnel more scholarship money to their American students.

During the 2024-25 school year, foreign students contributed an estimated $42.9 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 355,000 American jobs, according to the international education group NAFSA. The decline in foreign enrollment this year will cost the economy $1.1 billion and 23,000 jobs, NAFSA estimated.

The impact won’t be felt evenly. More than half of international students in the United States are enrolled in graduate programs. They also tend to flock to prestigious colleges on the coasts, particularly in the Northeast and California.

Where things might go from here is unclear. President Trump has recently taken a softer tone when it comes to international students. Last week he defended his administration’s plan to offer 600,000 visas to Chinese students.

“It's not that I want them, but I view it as a business,” he said during an interview with Fox News, adding that reducing international enrollment too much would “destroy our entire university and college system.”