WEST LAFAYETTE, IN — Purdue University enrolled its lowest number of international freshmen since 2008 this fall, according to U.S. Department of Education data, driven in part by a long-term selectivity trend and coinciding with increasing government skepticism of students from abroad.
This year’s 525 international freshmen, per Purdue’s public data portal, make up just 5% of the incoming class — a low point since 2004, when students from abroad made up shy of 4% of newbies at the school.
Purdue’s dip follows a nationwide trend. Inside Higher Ed, a trade publication, reported Thursday that the number of students on an F-1 or M-1 educational visa has declined 1% from October 2024 to this year.
School-level analysis paints a starker picture: Among a group of nine universities that have shared their student demographics this fall, including Purdue and other Big Ten schools, international student enrollment has fallen an average of 20% year-over-year.
That figure is more in line with the predictions of groups like the National Association for International Educators, which estimated up to a 40% decrease in international representation among fall enrollment and 15% overall, based on constricting opportunities for visa procurement at U.S. consulates around the world over the summer.
Added to bottlenecks in visa supply were demand concerns. Some students suggested that highly visible detainments and visa revocations, as well as concerns from the White House about potential espionage, would scare off would-be international students.
“You look at the news, and you feel like it could be you next,” Aadit Kumar, a senior from India in mechanical engineering, told the Journal & Courier in August.
But more foreign students applied to Purdue in 2025 than in any year in the last decade, according to the school’s data portal. Purdue noted record-high selectivity this year in a report on its incoming class, and that some international students chose to delay their starting dates while waiting for their visas.
Spokesperson Trevor Peters declined to comment on international enrollment, referring the Journal & Courier to Purdue’s data portal and news releases.
International students, it seems, have a higher bar to clear for admission than their domestic counterparts. Purdue’s acceptance rate for foreign students is now less than half that for U.S. applicants, at 23%, with both sitting at 10-year lows, according to Purdue’s data portal. International students may also be more reluctant to enroll: The proportion of accepted students who enrolled at Purdue reached a decade-low 14.4% this fall.
The economic effect could be stark. According to NAFSA, international students contributed $1 billion to Indiana’s economy in the 2023-24 school year. Their tuition payments are a boon: Foreign students pay a flat rate of $32,000 per year at Purdue, compared to $29,000 for out-of-state students and $10,000 for Indiana residents.
Contact Israel Schuman at ischuman@gannett.com or on X @ischumanwrites.
