US Politics
Record 8,000 US students have applied to UK colleges amid Trump’s crackdown on universities
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American students are applying for U.K. universities in record numbers amid Donald Trump’s college crackdown during his first few months in office.
The Trump administration has intervened in higher education, pressuring states, colleges, and universities to abandon diversity, equity, and inclusion programs while attempting to dictate curriculum.
The president has also launched high-profile battles against institutions such as Harvard University, freezing billions of dollars in federal funding over alleged liberal bias and antisemitism and threatening their tax-exempt status.
All of that appears to be driving American students across the Atlantic, with new figures from the U.K.’s university admissions service, UCAS, showing 7,930 applications from American students for the fall 2025 semester.
It marks a nearly 14 percent rise on the previous year and the highest total since records began in 2006.
The total number of U.S. students paying deposits to secure places on UK courses is up 19 percent compared to this time last year, according to Enroly.
St Andrew’s University is home to around ten percent of Americans studying at UK institutions.
The prestigious university, which has educated the Prince and Princess of Wales, reported a 14 percent increase in applications, according to the Financial Times.
Cara Skikne of Studyportals, a higher education data provider, said increased concern over campus freedoms had pushed more U.S. students to consider degrees abroad.
“Global universities are increasingly competing to attract students who feel unwelcome in the US, and at the moment that includes many of its domestic students,” she told the FT.
Studyportals analysed student searches on its website to highlight another concerning trend: U.S. universities are losing their appeal to international students.
Research published in June showed that pageviews for U.S. courses fell by 50 percent in the first quarter of the year, marking a post-Covid-19 pandemic low.
Despite Trump’s more restrictive approach to student visas and immigration policies, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the U.S. remains a welcoming place for British students.
Last month, McMahon told The Times that she would like to continue “to encourage” British students “to come here and study”.
