Quote of the Day: The Cause of Declining International Students in US Colleges

“They’re asking questions about safety and security. They see the headlines about gun violence in America and wonder if every American has a gun and if guns are carried quite openly. They’ve beginning to ask if the school I’m planning to go to is in a red state or a blue state.” – Institute of International Education president Allan Goodman in Fewer International Students Applying To U.S. Colleges [via wfae.org]


  1. avatar Remmi300blk says:

    Because every light skinned person in America is just a big ol racist who wants to oppress you(or kill you) for being different. And if you disagree with this that makes you as horrible a person as Hitler. We’re only tolerant of you if you agree with us! /sarcasm over

    1. avatar Timothy says:

      Not every light skinned person. Specifically males, especially Christian males, and all Conservatives. That’s the quadfecta; white, male, Christian, conservative. If you are those 4 things, then pretty well guaranteed you’re a racist, homophobic, sexist, fascist, nazi who is mere millimeters away from murder.

      And no matter how hard you try to hide it by never committing murder or violence and even if you’re generally nice to everyone… “woke” people will still know just what a horrible person you are.

      1. avatar Cadence63 says:

        Timothy – Agreed. Icing on that cake would be “Southern.” Partly – but only partly, you may disagree here – because we cannot ever pass on a opportunity to try and justify that “Civil War.”

        1. avatar Billy-bob says:

          War of Northern Aggression.


        2. avatar Pyratemime says:

          Oh you mean the “War of Southern Treason”

      2. avatar Remmi300blk says:

        They would say that because we’re complaining about this, that were racists. Also we’re ignorant for complaining about this because slavery. Talk about marginalizing someone based on their race/history. And the term “woke”. You agree with our ideology. You’re enlightened! But if you don’t, you’re narrow minded and ignorant and a bigot(regardless of whether or not anything that would be construed as bigotry by definition has been said, just throw it in for good measure). Talk about exclusion and intolerance…

        1. avatar CBI says:

          I would rather be awake and aware than to be woke.
          People who are woke are robot zombies, mindlessly being led.

      3. avatar Red in CO says:

        And heterosexual and cisgendered. If one fits into all those categories you mentioned, but there either gay or think they’re actually a woman, then they’re fine, according to the left

      4. avatar neiowa says:

        racist, homophobic, sexist, find some REAL words that are relevant/have an actual meaning.

    2. avatar Stinkeye says:

      Actually, on many college campuses, this is pretty close to the truth. The thing is, the intolerance and hate and thuggery is coming from the people who call themselves “progressive”. But they will gladly use violence to suppress any ideas they disagree with. See Evergreen State College for a prime example.

    3. avatar Henry Bowman says:

      Good, fewer foreign in our colleges mean lower prices for American kids.

      1. avatar eremeya says:

        Not exactly. The collages are trying to get more foreigners to attend because the states have been cutting funding for collages. If there are more foreigners attending then they are paying higher tuition rates which means more money for the school so the school does not need to raise the prices as often.

        (I think tuition rates are already to high and many of the administration positions and some teaching positions deserve pay cuts).

      2. avatar F bomb says:

        Are you crazy ? Foreign students bring in about 36 billion dollars a year into our economy. They basically subsidize U.S. Colleges and universities to the tune of 9 BILLION dollars a year. American students will pay MORE if all that money is lost.

  2. avatar Charles5 says:

    Give me a break. Many of these international students come from countries where car bombs are a national pastime.

    1. avatar DDay says:

      Or public executions or prosecutions for speech the govt deems mean.

      1. avatar Paul R says:

        …or where Sharia is the law of the land. Try exercising your rights as a women in these “civilized” countries where no one carry’s a gun unless they intend to kill you with it that is.

    2. avatar Chadwick says:

      Not to mention throwing gays of buildings, honor killings, etc. Yes our right to protect ourselves is so uncivilized and scary.

  3. avatar Pwrserge says:

    Good. Foreign students being educated at US taxpayer expense is retarded.

    1. avatar Robert w says:

      Debt bondage to work in the US for a government agency or contracted corporation until school is payed up?

      1. avatar dph says:

        Sorry, but I don’t think we want most of these people working in or for our government. Our government is already screwed up bad enough and from what I’ve seen having third world goat herders will not help.

        1. avatar BGryphon says:

          Based on what I see here in CA, third world goat herders might be a step up.

        2. avatar Pyratemime says:

          Can we just hire the goats?

    2. avatar Curtis in IL says:

      According to the article, they aren’t eligible for Federal student aid and pay the out-of-state tuition rates. Foreign students are probably the only ones being educated at their own expense.

      I’m fine with foreign students. I’m not fine with foreign graduate students who become teaching assistants who can’t speak English. I suffered my share of them in college.

      1. avatar jt says:

        I had the same problem in college with the non-English speakers, but I had the same problem with professors.

        Anyway, you’re right about the OOS tuition– and the other posters are clueless. They pay full fare, and the colleges LOVE that. They send emissaries around the world courting that market.

        Why is it declining? I’d suspect is has more to do with visas and treatment at the border than anything else. None of my European friends want to come over here any more, since they are treated so shabbily upon arrival. That’s “the war on terror”, not Trump. Not a new thing; I go visit them instead.

        1. avatar Chad says:

          I have a friend who escaped an eastern European communist country in the late 80s and got to the US. He says flying back into the US now is a similar level of harassment as in communist countries… 🙁 Sad…

        2. avatar LarryinTX says:

          Much easier to go the other way, then all you have to worry about is the terrorism they are not attempting to stop.

      2. avatar Rusty Chains says:

        Graduate students who become a TA who then teaches undergraduate classes the professor was suppose to teach are a problem. My daughter had one of those last year and I paid out of pocket for her to have a tutor actually teach her the material. That cost significant cash but there was only one professor that teaches the required class. She never bothered to attend, and complaints to said professor and the dean fell on deaf ears. This problem is much worse at the so called research universities, so foreign attendance being down is a good thing, maybe this will help fix one of the problems we have with these places.

        1. avatar LarryinTX says:

          If they don’t speak the language, it seems fair to wonder how they “graduated”.

        2. avatar Pyratemime says:

          Because there is a difference between “speaking” and “understanding” the language. Many of the TAs can read and understand English fine. Where they struggle is in speaking it smoothly and with an understandable accent. I have worked with plenty of Indians who have a perfect understanding of English but you need a chainsaw to cut through their accent to be understandable.

      3. avatar Pwrserge says:

        Which would be fine if tuition fees were the primary source of funding for most universities. They are not. Most public university funding comes from the tax payer, one way or another.

        1. avatar Mark N. says:

          And for many private universities, the money comes from endowments. Harvard is one university in particular that has no need to charge tuition because if its massive endowment and the income it generates.

    3. avatar H says:

      Actually they pay full price.
      The economic effect on them not coming will be huge. Their absence from the work force here will be felt. There are many industries that depend on highly skilled and educated labor. Many come hear for the education and the job.
      Remember, if Americans were actually picking the vegetables or actually filling the classrooms and becoming hi tech employees there wouldn’t be opportunities for foreigners. It’s a shame that rational thought goes out the window when we want to blame others or things or find simple solutions to complex problems.
      If you aren’t in school or don’t have the grades to get that job then look in the mirror.
      If you have kids and they aren’t actually landscaping this summer but are playing Xbox then look in the mirror.
      Actually the travel ban has a greater effect. They aren’t stupid. They’ve watched our TV for decades and can tell fact from fiction. They aren’t afraid of our crime. Why should they be? No women get raped in college they just get drunk and were asking for it. So no crime.
      Some levity here. There are no simple solutions to complex problems. Someone sells you one they are lying. The Dems do it all the time through policy. The Repubs do it all the time through media.

      No immigration and everything will be fine in America. We forget the American bosses hire these immigrants. This program will help the poor. Rips off other people and actually perpetuates the poor’s situation. No one calls their criminals on there stuff. No one tells the babies in college to grow up. One group wants the Gov out of our business. The same group wants the Gov in people’s business.

      We say everyone needs to go to College. We close trade schools. Whose side are we on?

      1. avatar neiowa says:

        BS there would be NO chicom economic “miracle” without US colleges selling our technology to them (with our funding). Good damn riddance. If only.

  4. avatar Hellbilly says:

    All prospective students from other nations thinking about coming to the United States: All Americans tote evil guns that go off randomly as they [the guns] please. You should play it safe by keeping yourselves and your liberal/socialist ideologies in your home countries. For the children!

  5. avatar Serpent Vision says:

    “They see the headlines about gun violence. . . .” – Clearly the problem is the headlines, not the guns. Perhaps commonsense headline control is needed….

  6. avatar CLarson says:

    This is a great sign. As a public school supported by American taxpayers, UNC Charlotte should be focused on improving service to Americans instead of chasing foreign profits. Trump should put a cap on foreign enrollment as a requirement for schools to receive federal funds.

    1. avatar Swilson says:

      Go Niners

      1. avatar Remmi300blk says:

        Nope. Go Broncos. See you in the preseason!!

  7. avatar Norincojay says:

    You can thank the MSM fake news coverage on gun violence. If you don’t live in a bad inner city neighborhood or a poor black southern community you’re fine.

    What’s not mentioned enrollment is also down because of many colleges oppress ideas that don’t fit into the progressive orthodoxy.

  8. avatar Mark in NM says:

    I’m sure the perception overseas has nothing to do with a media that overblows every damn thing. Nah, that can’t be the problem, what with the media being the caretakers of democracy.

    I worked a project in Wichita over past two years that involved several consultants from India. Nice guys but easily shocked. In a meeting with 8 or 9 local folks, the topic of guns came up and the Indians eyes got wider and wider. One of the boys reassured himself out loud that while many people owned guns in America, certainly that wasn’t true in Wichita. So I asked for a show of hands how many people in the room owned guns. Every person in the room – except the Indians, of course – raised their hands. I’ve never seen eyes wider and much laughter from the Americans ensued.

    The Indians weren’t so much against guns specifically, but they had no frame of reference for how to handle being in a room where everyone was a gun owner. Both of the Indians were eventually invited to a shooting range, several times, but never accepted the offer. Which is a shame, because I’ve been shooting with several foreigners from gun-unfriendly places and you’ll never see anyone having more fun at a range than them.

    Correction, the only time I saw wider eyes than that was when those same Indians encountered a tornado siren for the first time. Now that was fun.

    1. avatar Andrew Lias says:

      So much truth to this. I took a PM from India shooting once at my last company. It took him a minute to fire his first shot, but in the end the dude thought he was Scarface or something and was trying to figure out how to smuggle something back in his luggage! I was telling him “uh, no it doesn’t work that way.”

      1. avatar CLarson says:

        Lol. Same thing happened to me taking some Polish friends visiting to the range. “Can you buy a gun and send it to me?” Yeah, sorry, I am not an Democratic Congressman from California. Maybe in another life.

    2. avatar LKB says:

      Yup. I routinely take Japanese clients / associates to go “gun shooting” as they put it. Most of them have never even seen a gun up close (except seeing a holstered weapon on a policeman on the street or the armed security at an airport), much less handled or shot one.

      And they *always* take their used B29 targets home . . . .

  9. avatar Warren says:


    If this was a genuine reason why there are fewer foreign students attending American schools, and I highly doubt it is… but just to engage the hypothetical – If they’re smart, they’ll go to a red state because the blue states statistically experience higher rates of gun violence.

    1. avatar Omer Baker says:

      If they were smart they’d go to a school other than this one. “They’ve beginning to…” this “educator” can’t even speak in the proper tense.

      1. avatar Curtis in IL says:

        That’s a typo that I would chalk up to the “journalist,” not the source.

    2. avatar Curtis in IL says:

      “blue states statistically experience higher rates of gun violence.”

      Sorry, not true. And analyzing statewide data will make your head spin and only serve to prove that factors other than the majority party are more significant contributors.

      The states with the highest rates of violent crime tend to fall into these categories: 1) They have at least one major metropolitan area with Democratic leadership, 2) border states with their inherent problems with illegal immigration.

      When you look at the county-by-county maps, it’s obvious we have a Democrat problem and the violence is concentrated in the big cities. Statewide data muddies the waters quite a bit.

  10. avatar Slab Rankle says:

    This article is from NPR, and it’s about President Trump.

    The gun issue is just a zinger thrown in because “why not”.

  11. avatar Ranger Rick says:

    Two things are clear from this article, the educational institutions sees this strictly as a financial gain vs. a financial loss, international students pay full price for the most expensive programs offered. The “international students” are concerned about whether they can still “game” the US immigration system as they could before.

    At no point is the state university systems concerned about improving their local student qualifications and enrollment

    The firearms ownership and crime comment is a red herring.

    1. avatar CLarson says:

      Yup, the gun comment is all about social signaling to other leftists.

  12. avatar Wiregrass says:

    This is a good thing in that it will finally force universities to compete in the very areas where more domestic education is needed.

    I just heard a story about this the other day where at one of the California schools the engineering department basically educates nothing but foreign students. Meanwhile, the Federal Student Loan- University fleecing machine continues to offer US students unlimited loans for crap degrees so they can continue to raise tuition at a ridiculous rate. The students then graduate with a worthless education and a mountain of debt that limits their purchasing power in the economy.
    If these schools can no longer rely on foreign students to subsidize colleges that US students won’t attend, they are going to have to compete for the domestic students that want to study for real degrees, and quit building massive programs and buildings for gender studies.

  13. avatar Ranger Rick says:

    “the Federal Student Loan- University fleecing machine continues to offer US students unlimited loans for crap degrees”

    You Sir just succinctly described the problem.

  14. avatar Alexander says:

    Still being willfully oblivious to reality. The enrollment is declining due to much worse education than in many other countries. Why would anyone want to pay $50K per year for gender studies or remedial math?

    1. avatar Jonathan - Houston says:

      You can get a fine education at just about any college you attend here. Yes, even the full blown wacky liberal ones. For example, gender studies is a major you choose. Remedial math is a path chosen for you based on your meager college preparation. Neither is the college’s fault. Choose a stronger major; show up better prepared.

      That brings up the issues of crappy high schools and even crappier parents, but I digress. It’s up to you, though, and what you make of the college opportunity. The standards you’re held to do differ between schools, but the standards you hold yourself are constant.

      Raise your own standards and you’ll find plenty of challenge and plenty of education. Show up in slack mode, with an entitlement mentality, thinking that the party never has to come to an end or come with a bill, and you’ll be sorry.

      1. avatar Red in CO says:

        Of course, the fact that anyone can get a degree has cheapened the entire thing. From what I’ve heard (I’m only 22, so this would have been the case long before my one), a couple generations ago, simply having a college degree meant something, as they by and large actually had some degree of standards. Now istandards have gone so far out the window that a degree by itself is worthless, and doesn’t convey anything meaningful about the student

      2. avatar Alexander says:

        From the point of view of a foreign student, or his parent, a college is a tool for future success. For most, it is a very expensive tool. They look at the overall value of the tool. They see outliers such as Berkeley and Evergreen, they see middle of the road like Missouri and they see cream of the crop like Harvard and Yale that indoctrinate in socialism and entitlements. All of that comes with a bill of $50K yearly for the school, plus living, plus airfare, plus visa issues. As a purely economic decision, in many cases it is just not cost effective. As American colleges’ ratings drop, other countries offer better value. For example, until recently, most students at MS and PhD classes in technical fields have been from China and India (some had zero Americans). That is now declining, not because there are more Americans interested in physics, but because Chinese universities are now better than the US schools. So are schools in Singapore and Israel.

  15. avatar Joe R. says:

    waaaah, boo hoo.

    SLAP, fic’d it.

  16. avatar Dave says:

    If there are fewer international students, why ruin a good thing??? All they do is go back to their home countries after graduating, and steal jobs from decent, hardworking Americans.

    1. avatar Jonathan - Houston says:

      For those who do not speak Jingoism, allow me to translate.

      By “steal jobs from decent, hardworking Americans”, he means “compete in the market and earn customers’ business by outperforming lazy, entitled, less educated Americans.”

      1. avatar Andrew Lias says:

        Allow me to retranslate for you, “live in a country where they have a tenth of the living costs, no environmental, safety or labor standards.”

        1. avatar Jonathan - Houston says:

          Ahh….the old “they play by easier, outdated, 3rd world rules” canard. Tell me, how does that explain the following reshuffling of global industry leaders?

          A decade ago, the top five banks were all U.S. and UK. Now, ICBC (Canada) and Banco Santander (Spain) are in the top five.

          A decade ago, the top five capital goods companies were U.S., Swedish, and French. Now the top five include ABB (Swiss) and Hyundai Heavy Industries (South Korea).

          A decade ago, the top five consumer durables companies were U.S., German, and Japanese. Now that group includes Hyundai Motors (South Korea).

          A decade ago, the top five media companies were all U.S. Now, Vivendi (France) has snuck in, displacing Clear Channel (U.S.).

          A decade ago, the top five technology hardware & equipment industry companies were U.S., Finnish, and Japanese. Now Hon Hai Precision (Taiwan, and you’ve never even heard of them) has assumed a world leadership role. Sorry, IBM…..

          On to telecommunications, shall we? A decade ago, it was dominated by U.S., Japanese, French, and German companies in the top five. Now, Telefonica (Spain) is the second largest in the world and closing in fast on leader AT&T.

          NONE of the upstart leaders I’ve mentioned is from a third world country, as you suggest. Yet, they’re hotly chasing if not outright displacing former U.S. heavyweights.

          By the way, many of the low rung competitor countries like Mexico, China, Vietnam, et. al. actually have similar laws to the U.S., but they lack funds for enforcement. With rising prosperity, that and corruption will fade as impediments.
          Then you’ll have to find new excuses as to why our lazy, illiterate, and entitled Americans still can’t compete.

      2. avatar CLarson says:

        I prefer Americans to lawless, ignorant foreigners who physically hurt customers and enrich entitled billionaires at the expense of the middle class. 🙂

        1. avatar Jonathan - Houston says:

          Enrichment of billionaires, like has been wasted on so-called green companies? Solyndra, anyone? What about bailouts of the banks, insurance, and auto industries. Can you spell A-I-G? You can? I KNEW you could. What about Goldman Sachs? No? Ok, we’ll save that one for later.

          Now, on to physically hurting people. Just from 2016:

          GM settled for $900 million and a deferred prosecution agreement after being sued for deaths and injuries resulting from its allegedly faulty ignition switch and airbags on Saturn vehicles.

          Johnson & Johnson has suffered two adverse jury verdicts ($55 million and $72 million) because they knew fir decades that their talcum powder caused ovarian cancer, but did nothing. Ooops…

          DePuy Othopedics (never heard of them? They’re a subsidiary of…..Johnson & Johnson!) lost a $498 million jury verdict because their hip replacement prosthetic device causes bone erosion and metallosis. Yikes!

          The NFL is on the hook for an uncapped settlement easily in excess of $1 BILLION for CTE brain damage liability.

          So much for the “no unjust enrichment of U.S. billionaires” and “no physically hurting of Americans” myths.

          I could go on….and on and on…..but I’ve made my point. Plus it’s lunch time. See ya!

        2. avatar CLarson says:

          Hey, I was just shilling out some counter propaganda. Lazy Americans indeed. 😉 Don’t many of the companies you named employ foreign workers? How much of their stock is internationally owned? Is the pain they caused still MADE IN THE USA? Not seeing the label. 🙂 Anyway we will always have to deal with crimes committed by citizens, but we don’t have to import more fun and novel problems like unassimilated ghettos, welfare poverty cases, drug cartels, and terrorism. The billionaires comment was targeting guys like Zuckerburg and Bezos who are always lobbying the Government for more H1-B visas to screw over American college graduates. Anyway hope you had a good lunch.

      3. avatar Dave says:

        Spoken like a true, retarded democrat who never worked in industry and saw his coworkers get laid off to hire some slope or greaser on the cheap.

        1. avatar Jonathan - Houston says:

          Pssst……libertarian-leaning Republican here, with four university degrees and a quarter century of experience in manufacturing and oil & gas, working to improve efficiencies so we can expand U.S. hiring and dominate foreign competitors. Not to mention small business owner, on the side, competing directly against an illegal alien workforce.

          Wow…..you sure called THAT one in “Dewey defeats Truman”-like fashion! Good grief, what a moron. Next time, genius, try a little less emoting and a lot more thinking.

      4. avatar Dave says:

        I see. I missed your undisprovable credentials you just mentioned. Like Carl Sagan’s dragon in the garage, I can’t disprove your stated credentials.

        Anyway, I’d better get my lazy entitled American ass back to work. No time to argue with trolls who think all Americans are lazy.

        1. avatar Alexander says:

          Unfortunately, instead of absorbing information and analyzing it in a logical manner, you’ve put on your horse blinders. I can only suggest to you to study economics, but not the socialist/protectionist version of public schools and colleges. Perhaps the benefits of competition will become apparent and you will understand that protectionist policies (such as “buy American “) in reality destroy American economy. The goal should be to create an efficient, effective American product that all consumers will want to buy (foreign and domestic), not put up tariffs and barriers against better foreign products so that American manufactures can continue to produce inferior or overpriced products.

  17. avatar No one of consequence says:

    I deeply and strongly believe that the ability to learn, to grow, to understand the world around us, is one of the birthrights of every human. (Just like bearing arms, in fact, to defend one’s self and others.) That being said, I don’t feel a particular obligation to pay for other people’s children’s higher education, especially for “soft” degrees. I worked for mine, so can anyone if they want it badly enough.

    As pointed out above, most foreign students at the undergrad level pay full price, or so I understand; the graduate level is different, since in most of the “useful” degree programs (hard science, engineering, etc.) leading to a Ph.D., and many leading to a Master’s, the tuition is paid for as part of being a teaching or research associate.

    I suspect the decline in applications is simple politics, in particular a “statement” on our current political leadership. I see the same thing happening with international conferences being held in the US – fewer foreign attendees – and saw the same sort of thing when Bush II was president. (It’s disappointing behavior to see from scientists, but not especially surprising … scientists are people too. Mostly.)

  18. avatar Ollie says:

    Are all progressives, liberals, and democrats liars & fabricators, or does it just seem that way ?

    1. avatar Chadwick says:

      Well to be a good dem you must be a prog. To be a good prog you must be a liar… Maybe its the other way around. I forget.

  19. avatar Neil Burke says:

    When I was applying to universities, I had the SAT scores for MIT. Just, but still good enough to be considered. Problem was, I’m not a US citizen and there were 100 spots for internationals (or so I was told.) I didn’t bother after that. Buddy of mine who was better academically did and still didn’t get in.

  20. avatar EJQ says:

    “Meha says friends from back home are confused….”

    Gee, color me surprised. As a parent of two college students, (U.S.) I get that, a lot. My response to them is to get off their butts and contact either Administration or Registration. Don’t ask your friends, don’t consult the computer, and don’t talk to the guy standing on the street corner about your confusion.

    The college of your choice, or within your budget may say “No.” But this article (and I wouldn’t trust it) seems to say “Yes”.

  21. avatar Brian says:

    Hmmmm, if I were a jihadi terrorist, I’d go to school in a blue state… more soft targets!

  22. avatar FedUp says:

    I thought the BATF was going after foreign college students because they like to buy guns…


  23. avatar million says:

    You can have our liberty, capitalism, and the right to defend yourself, or you can stay home and have the oppressive sandal of Sharia Law on the back of your burqa-covered neck.

    Take your pick.

  24. avatar Gov. William J. Le Petomane says:

    Well that and the cratering reputation of American universities as institutes of ‘higher learning’.

  25. avatar Chris Mallory says:

    The number of international students in the US needs to be zero. All immigration has been bad for traditional Americans and our freedoms. A shame the borders were not slammed shut in 1800.

    1. avatar Curtis in IL says:

      Your myopic view of world history is breathtaking.

    2. avatar Jonathan - Houston says:

      No doubt millions of Native Americans would agree with you, as the U.S. was essentially bounded on the west by the Mississippi and Ohio rivers in 1800.

      Last thing the natives would have wanted was more pale faces busting through westward.

    3. avatar CLarson says:

      Immigration was fine until The Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965. It was the Obamacare of its time. “This bill we sign today is not a revolutionary bill. It does not affect the lives of millions. It will not restructure the shape of our daily lives.” LOL! LBJ, you big kidder you.

      1. Yep. I hate when the left says “but we’re a nation of immigrants”. Like Tuco says: “There are two kinds of people in this world”. There are those that made this country great, and there are those that want to take advantage of that greatness.
        Just like in my neck of the woods. Every so often, some developer greases the palm of a council member if he/she will call for a rezoning hearing in order to build high density housing. Every time the current residents voice opposition to the change, some smug council member says “They just want to come here for the same reason you moved here”. Uh…no. We came for open country, uncrowded schools, low traffic and low crime. If you turn this community into the same thing we all moved away from, the new residents absolutely are not coming for the same reason.

  26. avatar Shire-man says:

    I love how the root number one concern of the left is always “what do other people think of me?”
    They must have all been kids who when asked “If all your friends jumped off a bridge would you?” answered with a resounding “Of course!”

  27. If that were true, wouldn’t the refugees and immigrants be afraid to come here as well?

    1. avatar Curtis in IL says:

      We’re talking about people whose families are wealthy enough to pay full-boat rates at our most expensive universities. They can afford to live in the safer areas of their own countries. The refugees and immigrants aren’t so lucky.

  28. avatar Ralph says:

    Maybe — and I’m just spitballing here — maybe foreign students want an actual education rather than four years of indoctrination by Marxist professors and social justice warriors.

    1. avatar CLarson says:

      My money is on the low oil prices causing some belt tightening over in the Middle East. Folks can only afford a gold-plated Maserati or vanity degree from a U.S. school not both.

  29. avatar former water walker says:

    And why do I(or we)give a rat’s azz whether foreigners go to our colleges and universities?!? Many come from places far worse than any American city. Except for the occasional murder of a Chinese woman in Illinois(or an Indian partier) it’s far safer for foreigners here.

  30. avatar Jonathan - Houston says:

    So 38% of responding schools report a drop, while 35% report an increase and 27 report no change. How is this different from any other year when some schools are up and some are down? The fact is that there are innumerable reasons why applications and enrollment fluctuate.

    True, the largest declines have been in Middle East applicants. Well. Some of that is surely due to misunderstanding of Trump’s travel ban, which ALLOWS students because they have a bona fide relationship with a U.S. institution, i.e., a university. If those students can’t read a newspaper and understand that, then they’re too stupid for college, anyway.

    Beyond that, Iran is the 11th largest source of international students. There have been heightened tensions with Iran over their nuke program for years, back to Obama and beyond. You can’t blame campus carry for that, when the real fear is potential war.

    Moreover, Saudi students, the 3rd leading country of origin, were already showing declines in applications well before the election. That’s because the Saudi government made major changes in its foreign scholarship program. In India, the 2nd leading source of students, that country’s demonitization policy and weakness of the value of the rupee against the dollar is making U.S. education relatively more expensive for them.

    The schools seem to be attempting to score political points rather than raise any serious issues.

  31. avatar J says:

    Less globalist parasites and potential terrorists comming to US universities? Whatever shall we do???

  32. avatar Old Region Fan says:

    ” Cause my Burqa just can’t cover up my red neck”

  33. avatar kap says:

    why should we as a free people kiss the worlds ass, if they don’t like our culture stay away!
    we as a free people should not appease these people who are trying too change America law, history etc.
    just so they can feel safe, most of the students are super rich and are arrogant as hell, and lord it over those who are poorer, our Democratic pot-lickers have no co hones, and sell out our country to any entity that puts the most money in their back pockets,

  34. avatar Dyspeptic Gunsmith says:

    We should restrict international students from attending US schools not for any reasons previously thought of on this thread, but because every international student exposed to US academics is being force-fed a litany of anti-American propaganda in the classroom by left-wing academics.

    This then complicates our foreign policy issues greatly when these students return home.

    American academia is becoming a menace to the future of the United States, American foreign & domestic policy and national stability.

  35. avatar Eli2016 says:

    My state is red. I carry all day everyday. My friends also carry. Don’t come here. Thank you.

  36. avatar Oliver says:

    I agree with the commentors about being treated badly at the borders. Seriously, people coming into the US are treated like sub human scum by our border agents. I have plenty of foreign friends who have to put up with this. In contrast, I have been mostly treated with respect when entering other nations. Its really an unspoken shame that the first impression travelers get when arriving here is that they are entering a police state where you are at the mercy of authorities, who openly despise you, rather than the rule of law. Sad really.

    1. avatar Eli2016 says:

      Prove it.

      1. avatar Serpent_Vision says:

        Yes, provide documentation of each of your friends who complained…..

      2. avatar Charles5 says:

        Allow me to share my own anecdotes. In 2011, I left deployment early on reassignment orders. Because I was not coming back with my ship, I was flown to shore, and took a commercial connecting flight from Bahrain, to Kuwait, then non-stop to Dulles. The gentlemen that checked my U.S. Military ID and orders (I also had my passport for good measure) at both the Bahrain airport and the Kuwait airport were far more cordial to me than the Customs and TSA a$$holes I dealt with at Dulles. The TSA d*ck was so bad that I summoned his supervisor and dressed them both down in front of a lot of people. America is exceptional in many ways, but some are not very becoming.

        1. avatar Wiregrass says:

          You must carry some pretty good military clout. The average American doing that would have just signed himself up for a fun day of cavity searches.

        2. avatar Sprocket says:

          I’ve traveled in Europe a bit over the years. Other than some agents that were clearly bitter old commies in Slovenia, in every nation I’ve traveled to the border security personnel make the TSA look like a collection of people selected at random from the aisles of Walmart. It’s embarrassing.

      3. avatar Oliver says:

        You damn well know that it cant be proven as cell phones and cameras are prohibited for use for “security reasons” at checkpoints. Once in a while soneone captures the nonsense on a phone camera though, but its usually a us citizen who has more rights. Besides, I know my friends well, they are mostly scientists and engineers whom I have worked with and can attest to their good character.

    2. avatar RockOnHellChild says:

      When those other countries have their taxes funding illegals and programs illegal can use, and allowing illegals’ “anchor baby” to able to dig their hooks into their country, then they can come talk to me about civility at boarder.

  37. avatar UnPC Aussie says:

    I think that part of the reason is cost. We have Americans coming over here to study medicine in increasingly large numbers because they can do a 4 year degree and pay for all their living costs and enjoy regular trips home and decent holidays all over the country for the price of tuition back home.

    Why wouldn’t you go somewhere else when you can get added value like that?

    1. avatar LarryinTX says:

      With the added benefit of being in freaking AUSTRALIA! WTF is not to like?

  38. avatar RockOnHellChild says:

    And why should I care that foreigners don’t want to come here, pack our schools, driving up demand, and raising higher education costs for Americans….?

    1. avatar UnPC Aussie says:

      I have a sneaking suspicion that US universities are like Australian ones in that they treat international students as cash cows to subsidise domestic students. Over here we get universities doing direct marketing overseas as international student fees are not regulated and they can change what they want.

      1. avatar RockOnHellChild says:

        Schools get plenty of $$$ here.

        Between endowments, public funding, grants, and gov backed loans, it only benefits them to keep the cow coming down the shoots.

        If anything, less people going to college would be better for everyone. My wife has her masters, several certs, alphabet soup behind her name, and I still make substantially more money than her as a Field Eng, and without my email signature being filled up with acronyms.

  39. avatar LarryinTX says:

    Lovely post. Not that often are we so blessed by “win-win-win”. Don’t let the door hit ya in the ass in your way home, guys!

  40. avatar Flighterdoc says:

    I dare say they need the US far, far more than the US needs them. So, their loss, and good riddance.

  41. avatar HandyDan says:

    As someone who went to college with quite a few Canadians, I can say that it is not a bug, it’s a feature.

  42. avatar BierceAmbrose says:

    So, not because they’ve figured out that the education they’ll get is mostly crap?

    I thought better of our world-wide aspirational class.

  43. avatar Anonymous says:

    The Cause of Declining International Students in US Colleges

    That’s fine. They can stay in their home country or export themselves to some other country. Most colleges here are indoctrination centers and then these foreign students get their H1B visas and start working here and usually vote democratic (because they were indoctrinated by the college). They are leveraging a complaint when I see it as a positive outcome.

    When we take our schools back, immigrants can start coming again.

  44. avatar Chris T in KY says:

    This is wonderful news. Exercising our Bill of Rights is causing foreigners to leave. This is a teachable moment.

    Colleges prefer foreigners because they pay in cash up front. The schools don’t like american citizens.

  45. avatar TheOriginal JohnO says:

    When I started grad school in the early 90s (in an agricultural field) we had an influx of Russians and Turks. (Both predominately female and both very hot). Russia was in its short flirtation with entering the civilized-nation-look-alike-contest, and then-secular Turkey was beginning an effort to start 50 universities from scratch and needed trained faculty members. I doubt many of either nationality are coming today. So, I suspect problems in their home countries account for some of the drop off.

  46. avatar Kaban says:

    Not only it is doubtful that gun owners are major factor (some of those students come from countries where state-perpetrated and criminal violence are unspoken norms, and violence so often comes in AK-waving flavour), but the article outlines perfectly good reason (extending Obama’s populism via implementing pre-Trump-born ban) for less students to try it.

    But of course weapons are rewt of evulz. Fail to point it out in an article, and punishment is as swift and sure as RDX-based suppository.

  47. avatar TyrannyOfEvilMen says:

    Yeah… I’m sure all of those students are deciding to go to Europe instead… (it’s where Americans now fear to tread!) … where it so much safer. Especially for the girls.
    Nice try though.

  48. avatar Hank says:

    Fuck em.

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