Trump's New Visa Policies May Impact Your Child's College Chances in Surprising Ways

Parents Hoping for Easier College Admissions May Find Administration's Visa Restrictions Create Unexpected Consequences

BROOKLINE, Mass., July 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Spark Admissions has released groundbreaking research addressing the question on many parents' minds: "Will fewer international applicants mean my child has a better chance at admission?" The findings, based on 2024-2025 academic year data, provide surprising insights for families navigating the increasingly complex college admissions landscape.

Dr. Rachel Rubin, founder of Spark Admissions and a college admissions expert with over two decades of experience, conducted an extensive analysis of Common Data Set information from top U.S. universities to determine how recent international visa restrictions will impact admissions opportunities for domestic students.

"Parents are understandably curious if fewer international competitors might create an advantage for their children," notes Dr. Rubin. "Our research provides a data-driven answer that challenges some common assumptions."

Dr. Rubin's analysis of enrollment data reveals international students comprise varying percentages of student bodies: 17.7% at Brown University, 13.7% at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 9.0% at Purdue University, and just 1.1% at Florida State University—underscoring how impacts will vary significantly by institution.

Key Findings:

• The advantage for domestic applicants at public colleges is marginal at best—even with significant drops in international enrollment, admission rates might increase by only 3-4 percentage points at universities with high international populations
• International students face substantial barriers to enrollment at public schools, with shockingly low yield rates compared to domestic students:
  ○ Penn State: 9.47% international yield vs. 40.65% in-state yield
  ○ University of Washington: 17.65% international yield vs. 65.44% in-state yield
  ○ Purdue University: 24.31% international yield vs. 52.37% in-state yield
• Elite private universities show a different pattern, with international students yielding at rates comparable to domestic students:
  ○ Brown University: 64.00% international yield vs. 88.14% in-state yield
  ○ Princeton University: 77.51% international yield vs. 82.05% in-state yield
  ○ Cornell University: 67.35% international yield vs. 70.95% in-state yield
• Several prestigious private institutions have notably high percentages of international students:
  ○ Brown University: 17.68% of total enrollment
  ○ Johns Hopkins University: 16.99% of total enrollment
  ○ Tufts University: 13.44% of total enrollment

Most surprisingly, declining international enrollment could actually harm domestic applicants' chances. International students often pay full tuition, helping fund financial aid packages for domestic students. With fewer international enrollees, universities may have less funding available for financial aid and may prioritize admitting full-pay domestic students.

"The impact varies significantly between public and private institutions," explains Dr. Rubin. "At elite private universities where international students comprise nearly 20% of the student body and yield at rates comparable to domestic students, policy changes could potentially create more meaningful shifts in admissions dynamics. However, at public universities, the potential statistical advantage from decreased international competition is marginal at best, and certainly not something to count on. Regardless of institution type, parents and students should continue focusing on developing authentic interests, challenging themselves academically, and crafting compelling applications."

The research also highlights some concerning long-term implications: reduced diversity of perspectives in classrooms, diminished global competitiveness of U.S. higher education, and potential loss of the innovation that international talent brings to America's economy.

The complete research findings, along with strategic guidance for both domestic and international applicants navigating the 2025-2026 application cycle, are available on the Spark Admissions website.

About Spark Admissions
Led by Dr. Rachel Rubin, a Harvard doctorate who conducted the largest study to date on how the top 75 U.S. colleges and universities make admissions decisions, Spark Admissions offers a personalized approach to college counseling, helping students find and gain admission to their best-fit schools.

Media Contact:
Anna Cramer
(617) 379-2535
[email protected]

SOURCE Spark Admissions