Record Numbers Of U.S. Students Are Applying To Colleges In The U.K.
A record number of American students are applying to colleges in the United Kindgom, this year, according to new data released last week.
That surge in interest comes as the Trump administration continues its highly publicized campaign against many aspects of higher education in this country, including attacks on international students, cutbacks in research funding, pressure on university presidents, crackdowns on elite institutions, and challenges to various components of the curricula – particularly those having to do with diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
One apparent effect of these tactics is a marked increase in the number of American undergraduate students looking to U.K. institutions to continue their post-secondary education.
New figures from the Universities and Colleges Admission Service show that by the June 30 deadline, 7,930 applications had been received from American students for the fall 2025 semester. That represents an almost 14% increase over the previous year, and it's the highest total since these data began to be collected in 2006.
The UCAS is a shared or unified admissions system employed in the U.K. Similar to the Common App in the United States, it's used by many — but not all — American students applying to British and other U.K. institutions so it likely underestimates the total number of applicants from the U.S. In addition, because it deals only with undergraduate admissions, it does not capture the outflow of U.S. graduate students that also appears to be underway.
The number of international students applying for undergraduate studies at U.K. universities and colleges through UCAS increased overall by 2.2%. The increase was driven by a record number of applicants from China, up 10%, in addition to year-over-year increases in applicants from Ireland (+15%), Nigeria (+23%) and the U.S.(+14%).
Not only did applications increase, the number of offers made by U.K. institutions to international students also saw a substantial jump — up more than 9% over the prior year.
Meanwhile, U.S. institutions are expecting international student enrollment to decrease this year. As examples:
In the 2023-24 academic year, more than 1.1 million international college students were enrolled in the U.S, according to the Institute of International Education's Open Doors report. That number marked an all-time high, representing about 6% of all college students in the nation. Since the pandemic in 2020-21, when the number of international students declined by a record 15%, enrollments have increased by a total of 200,000 students over the past three years.
However, the tide appears to be turning against the U.S. as a preferred destination for international students in the Trump era, and institutions in Europe, Australia and Asia are taking advantage and gaining market share.
That shift is now being accompanied by an increasing number of American students deciding to look abroad to continue their education, with the U.K. becoming a major beneficiary of these decisions.
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