As he graduated from university in China, computer science student Ma Tianyu established his sights. graduate school In the US. No country offers better programs for the career he wants to be a game developer, he said.
He applied only to US schools and was accepted by some schools. However, after the initial excitement, he began to see the reason for doubt.
First, there was President Donald Trump. Trade wars With China. China’s Ministry of Education then issued a warning about studying in the United States. When he saw the waves Legal status end For US international students, he realized that he needed to consider how American politics would affect him.
Recent developments have encouraged some of his classmates studying in the US, but he is due to come anyway. He said he is ready to “adjust to what could change happen.”
American universitiesThe home of many programs at the top of their field, hopes students around the world to pursue research and gain a foothold in the US job market for a long time. Its demand durability faces testing under the Trump administration and acts that have left international students Vulnerable feelings Consider alternative places to study.
“All Trump administration activities send a message that international students are not welcome in the US,” said Clay Harmon, executive director of AIRC, the university’s professional association of international registration managers.
Competitors are looking at openings to carve into US domination
Last year, around 1.1 million international students were in the United States. A significant reduction in their rank could potentially crippling the budgets of schools that are not eligible for federal student aid and rely on tuition fees from foreign students who often pay in full to pay in full.
It is too early to quantify the impact of government crackdowns. Student visa And the efforts to deport foreign students Involvement in pro-Palestinian activities. But many people fear the worst.
“Students and their families expect and need certainty,” said Fanta AW, executive director and CEO of NAFSA, the International Association of Educators. “And they don’t work well in the volatile environment we currently have.”
The US is recovering from decline International registration It has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. The US seemed ready to bring in far more students as top competitors, including Canada, Australia and the UK, repeatedly recruited and kept immigration policies unwelcome.
Now, months after the Trump administration, industry experts say it’s unlikely that the US will be able to capitalize.
“The United States was fully set up to be a distant, clear first-choice destination for international students,” said Mike Henniger, CEO of Illume Student Advisory Services. His company is recruiting international students in collaboration with universities in the US, Canada and Europe. “Then it just came out the door.”
In Canada, where universities have increased registrations in the first Trump administration, they want another bounce. In a recent post-election letter, the University of Canada member organization urged the new Liberal government to address immigration policies that influenced the recruitment of foreign students.
“This is a real moment of opportunity for the nation to attract international talent,” said Gabriel Miller, president of the University of Canada.
America’s charm as a place to start a career remains resilient
The US has a strong appeal to students who prioritize career achievements. This allows foreign students to remain on their student visas and work for up to three years for the “optional practical training” program, said Lindsay Lopez, an application platform for students seeking to study abroad.
The alumni who gained experience in working at this university was one of the foreigners whose legal status or visa ended this spring.
Still, the diversity and size of the US job market could help American schools stay ahead of the competition, Lopez said.
“The United States is the world’s largest economy,” she said. “It’s the vastness and economic diversity we have in the US, with a variety of industries, both public and private, for students to choose from.”
William Patterson University, a public institution of 10,000 students in New Jersey, typically has around 250 international students. According to George Kasenga, Vice President of Registration Management, there is a hope for an increase in international students in the fall. The school focuses on designing programs around STEM Majors, and is appealing to international students as it opens access to the OPT program.
Students have expressed concern about securing visas, but most of the international students at the school report that they are from India and have been appointed, he said.
In Shanghai, many students in Austinward’s 12th grade class are either committed or considering attending US universities. Ward teaches literature in a high school program that provides Chinese students with a common American core curriculum.
Ward said he avoids discussing politics with students, but some have asked about the end of the legal status of students in the US government and expressed concerns about going to the US
Students who had planned to attend American universities due to their knowledge of the ward have not changed their minds. Frustrated by the stress the situation caused, Ward said he wrote to a US representative about the need to protect international students.
His students are coming to America to “expand their horizons,” he said, not threatening the country.
“If students have to worry about it and students are losing their visas, America won’t have the strength to become an academic center,” he said.
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