Fewer Indian Graduate Students Heading to U.S.

Applications and enrollments by international graduate students, including Indian students, at American colleges and universities declined in 2016-17, according to a study by the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) — a non-profit higher education organization based in Washington D.C. Indian graduate students’ applications and first-time enrollment rates declined by 15 per cent and 13 per cent respectively, from 2016 to 2017. In 2015-16, Indian enrollments had reduced by 7 per cent, according to the CGS report.

India, Iran, and Saudi Arabia make up for most international graduate students and all of them have reported a decline. The trend, however, was observed at its most stark from India.

However, Indian students represent the second largest group of international graduate applications (26 per cent), first-time international graduate enrollment (26 per cent), and total international graduate enrollment (25 per cent), second only to China.

While there was no travel ban against Indian students, there have been “high profile incidents of hate crimes targeting persons of Indian origin living in the United States,” the CGS study said. “These cases may have caused reputational harm to the United States as a destination of choice for Indian students,” it added.

Graduate applications from Iran and Saudi Arabia dropped by 18 per cent and 21 per cent, respectively. Enrollment from Saudi students declined by only 2 per cent but there was a 16 per cent drop in enrollment from Iranian students. Iran was among the 11 countries facing a travel ban, which was recently lifted, by the United States. However, Iranian students will continue to face stricter checks.

“While the declines we see this year are concerning, the good news is that the application acceptance rates and admission yield rates are comparable to last year,” CGS President Suzanne Ortega said. “This suggests that prospective international graduate students remain highly likely to accept offers of admission to U.S. graduate schools. This may be due to increased efforts on the part of graduate schools and universities to assure international students that they will be welcomed and supported.”