Common App Data Finds International Applications Dropped 10% in 2025-2026

The Common App released an annual report examining season-end statistics for the most recent year of first-year applicant and application data to bring attention to trends in applicants’ race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, geography, and the types of institutions to which they apply. According to the most recent First-Year Application Trends report, international student applications to U.S. colleges fell 10% in the 2025–2026 cycle, or by about 16,000 fewer students. This marks a reversal after a decade of steady growth and reflects the impacts of stricter federal immigration enforcement, including visa revocations and tighter limits on how long international students can remain in the country. In fact, just earlier this week, a State Department official confirmed that the agency is pausing all U.S. immigrant visa applications to undergo training to “ensure all consular officers are fully equipped to evaluate every visa applicant comprehensively and consistently.” Declines were steepest among applicants from Asia and Africa, down 11% and 17% respectively, while overall applicant volume across Common App’s member colleges still rose about 2%, reaching 1.5 million total applicants. The report notes that the drop is at least partly attributable to prospective applicants’ anticipation of visa difficulties subsequently discouraging them from applying in the first place, which is distinct from actual enrollment declines.