Attendance of International Students at U.S. Colleges and Universities

U.S. colleges and universities have traditionally been lauded as a Mecca for attracting international students. Touted as offering the best higher education in the world, international students from around the world have traditionally flocked to U.S. educational institutions. This influx brought opportunities for international students while providing U.S. higher education institution additional revenue and a diverse student body. Beginning with the Trump Administration’s inward tilt, the welcome mat for international students was removed and the COVID pandemic added to the uncertainty and difficulty of accepting international students to U.S. and indeed much of the western countries that traditionally served as destinations for international students. In this paper, we explore the current challenges and the path forward to attracting international students to U.S. colleges and universities.