A record number of American students applied to college or university in the United Kingdom for fall 2025, according to recent data from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), the U.K.’s shared admission service. Some 7,930 U.S. undergraduates submitted applications, a year-over-year increase of nearly 14 percent.
UCAS’s data points to a trend among Americans who have expressed interest in emigrating after President Trump’s reelection in November. Some young Americans have elected to leave the U.S. to pursue a graduate degree in response to the Trump administration and its policies.
An exodus of domestic students to universities overseas could have negative consequences for already strapped institutions looking to recruit a shrinking undergraduate population.
Conversely, U.S. institutions are projecting a decline in international student enrollment. Recent figures from NAFSA, the association of international educators, found that among 150 institutions, 78 percent anticipate a decline in undergraduate and graduate international students.
UCAS also reported record growth in applications from China, up 10 percent year-over-year to 33,870 applicants, as well as from Ireland (15 percent increase) and Nigeria (23 percent growth). Overall, international applications grew 2.2 percent year-over-year.
In the U.S., Trump said the federal government would revoke visas from Chinese nationals who have ties to the Chinese Communist Party. Chinese students make up about one-quarter of international student enrollment in the U.S.(229,718 students), second to only India.
NAFSA member institutions also reported that international students from Nigeria are experiencing challenges getting visa appointments to enter the U.S., which could signal further enrollment declines in that group. As of June 2025, 23,689 students from Nigeria have active SEVIS statuses, according to data from the Department of Homeland Security.
