The Institute of International Education has issued its Fall 2025 figures for international student enrollment.  Compared to the 2024-2025 academic year, which saw 1.2 million international students enrolled, in the Fall of 2025 total enrollment declined by 1%, which masks a 17% decline in new students while current undergraduates rose by 2%. This suggests that the new student flow has sharply cut back while those already enrolled are more determined to complete their degree.

Why the decline in new students? The IIE says colleges blame it on visa problems.

OPT – Optional Training Program – remains as a strong magnet for students.  (Go here and here for my prior posts.) Almost all colleges believe that students would go elsewhere without it. Roughly 330,000 today, approaching 30% of all international students.  As I’ve noted before, OPT is a channel into H1-B which is a channel into a green card. On purely personal perspective I expect this is a major attraction for many students but not valued by others. (Go here and here.)

Some colleges fare better than others in keeping their new international student roster high. One factor is the prestige of the college. One with high prestige will have a longer wait list to draw from if initially admitted students fail to get a visa. (Go here).

This plays out in Massachusetts. Fitchburg State University, with a student body of 6,100, attracted 271 international students in 2023 and only 148 for the 2025-2026 year. (Go here.) U.Mass Boston, which aggressively ramped up its international student numbers since about 2010, reports a 17% decline in first year international student enrollment this fall.

The phenomenon of Northeastern University

I can’t find figures for 2025-2026 international student enrollment at Northeastern  University.  Compared to all other large universities in Boston (Harvard, MIT, Boston University) Northeastern has adopted a long term strategy of being a magnet for large numbers of international students. I doubt whether it is experiencing a set-back in international enrollment.

It is in the very upper ranks of American universities with 20,000 or more international students (along with New York University and Columbia). Northeastern launched a strategy some years ago for a global reach, of which some of the key elements were the following.  Create campuses in English speaking countries where visa problems are unlikely to arise (Toronto, Vancouver, London). Build up the quality of scientific and engineering research to become a major attraction for students (undergraduate and graduate) who want to attend an American university. Maximize opportunities for students to work in the U.S. such as via OPT and H-1B. Use an expanded network globally as a feeder system for talented students.