Number of International Students at U.S. Colleges Drops 4 Percent

The number of international students enrolled at U.S. universities fell by 4 percent in 2017. An analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security found that there were 808,640 international students enrolled in 2017. That figure was down from 840,160 the year before.[1]

Roughly half the decline came from graduate-level students enrolled in computer science and engineering programs.

The following table summarizing the data was provided in the National Foundation for American Policy briefing on the topic.

An earlier Number of the Day noted that there was a 13 percent decline in visitor visas issued during 2017.

1. National Foundation for American Policy, "Declining International Student Enrollment at U.S. Universities and Its Potential Impact," accessed June 11, 2018

Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology. Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.​

Scott Rasmussen is founder and president of the Rasmussen Media Group. He is the author of "Mad as Hell: How the Tea Party Movement Is Fundamentally Remaking Our Two-Party System," "In Search of Self-Governance," and "The People’s Money: How Voters Will Balance the Budget and Eliminate the Federal Debt." Read more reports from Scott Rasmussen — Click Here Now.