Are US univs selecting lesser international students? Trump's policies?

[ssurange]

Most of the PhD applications are done and now we are just waiting it out. Call it musings of an empty mind, but I was wondering if being an international applicant reduces my chances of getting an admit.

Recently I'd come across some US-MBA aspirants who were discussing how the % of international students is falling year on year, after Trump's stringent immigration policies and how universities are refraining from handing our admits to international students.

 

Students applying for MBA and PhD have an entirely different outlook and I understand how some international students would be hesitant in opting for an MBA in the US if they have difficulties in finding work there after their education (to pay off the loans).

 

But are these policies likely to affect the decisions made by the admissions committee, especially when it comes to a PhD program that is funded by the Univ itself? Also, is a PhD applicant likely to be overlooked for funding/tution fee waiver if they are an international applicant?

I did my bit of research and couldn't come across anything conclusive regarding whether or not this affects the decision by admissions committee, but maybe someone here can shed some light on this....?

[BrazilianPhD]

There are some different things included in your discussion here. For example, one point of discussion is the change in the behavior of international students, and another different point is the change in the behavior of admissions committees.

 

I can understand that international applicants would be concerned, and then some of them would decide to not come to the US. I applied for Fall 2017, so right during the period when Trump was elected, and I saw a lot of people worried. And I also know that there are PhD students preferring to move to other countries after graduating, because of the uncertainties they would face in the US.

 

So, I guess we can see a reduction in the number of international students because of the changes in the behavior of applicants and students.

 

But I don't see why there would be a relevant change in the behavior of admission committees. Maybe there is some reason I'm not being able to see, or that I'm not aware of. But I don't expect universities to change policies against international students for PhD applications in business.

[ssurange]

Thanks for the response.

 

As per my understanding the universities usually hand out an offer to students that are most likely to enroll and since there is a shift in the countries that prospective students prefer, I was more or less wondering if the admission committees in the US are wary of rolling out offers to the international students.

 

I couldn't find the specific acceptance % for international students over the period of last 3-4 years, and hence the question.

 

P.S. This might sound stupid, but I am currently in the 'waiting it out' period of my applications, hence all the overthinking.

[ocelot22]

I cannot attest to whether international students are facing stiffer competition than domestic students or not, however, I can say that as far as "equality of outcome" is concerned, this certainly isn't the case with Finance PhD programs, with many programs being heavily dominated by, if not entirely composed of international students.

[BrazilianPhD]

Regardless of politics, of course universities do not want to waste time and effort with applicants that wouldn't enroll if they get an offer, and they would try to evaluate your motivation (not only to enroll but to actually graduate). If you did a job good with your SoP (and maybe interviews), they should be able to see if you are motivated enough or not.

 

As ocelot22 wrote, many programs are heavily dominated by international students. I don't see any problem. The people I know that wouldn't prefer to do a PhD in the US wouldn't even apply.

[StrategicMGMT]

One issue not mentioned here is also trouble getting visas for certain nationalities right now. We had two students that were denied US visas last year.