US universities are recruiting Indian and Nigerian students to replace Chinese. It's not worki

Chinese university students contribute over $14 billion a year to the US economy. But Chinese families are increasingly choosing to either study in China, or to other countries.

This shift is deepening the fiscal crises in American higher education, which also suffers from a steep decline in US student populations.

US universities are heavily recruiting students from India and Africa, in the hope to make up for shortfalls in Chinese enrollments. And briefly, this strategy seemed to work. A surge in students from India pushed China into second place, as a leading country of origin for US international students.

But that was short-lived. Indian enrollment in the past year plunged, with 99,000 fewer students. Nigeria also saw double-digit percentage declines in just a one-year period.

A more serious problem, however, exists in the financial commitments of the students' families. Chinese students cluster in the most highly-ranked, and most expensive, US university programs. In comparison, Indian and especially Nigerian students tend to attend far lower-cost programs.

Closing scene, Detian Waterfall, near Nanning, Guangxi

Resources and links:

LA Times, Why Chinese students still want to attend U.S. universities
https://www.latimes.com/world-....nation/story/2025-02

Interest in studying in US dropped 42% in January
https://www.universityworldnew....s.com/post.php?story

There are already 130,000 fewer international students in the US. Has anyone noticed?
https://distributedprogress.su....bstack.com/p/theres-

Already facing Trump administration cuts, US colleges risk losses from another revenue source: foreign students
https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/18..../us/international-st

SEVIS Data Shows Declining Number of International Students in the United States
https://www.aau.edu/newsroom/l....eading-research-univ

Wall Street Journal, Chinese Students on U.S. Campuses Are Ensnared in Political Standoff
https://www.wsj.com/politics/p....olicy/china-us-stude

Tracking College Closures and Mergers
https://www.bestcolleges.com/r....esearch/closed-colle

The Demographic Cliff: What It Means for College Admissions and Higher Education
https://www.applerouth.com/blo....g/the-demographic-cl

US: New survey shows international student recruitment shifting to India in 2023
https://monitor.icef.com/2023/....07/us-new-survey-sho

Why the Next Wave of International Students May Come From Africa
https://www.bestcolleges.com/n....ews/wave-of-internat