While the report offers a baseline for international student enrollment trends before the pandemic, a separate IIE survey of more than 700 schools found that international enrollment declined 16% this fall. New international enrollment fell by nearly half (43%), and some 40,000 students have deferred until a future term.
The latter number could offer colleges some hope. “Students are waiting in the wings to come into the U.S. to pursue an education,” said Mirka Martel, IIE’s head of research, evaluation and learning, in an emailed statement. Meanwhile, the number of new international students in the country fell 0.6% in the 2019-20 academic year.
