As Trump Pushes International Students Away, Asian Schools Scoop Them Up
For decades, Oxford and Cambridge in Britain, the Ivy League in the United States, and other renowned universities in Australia and Canada tended to top application checklists in the English-speaking world.
Gradually, universities in China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and Singapore began showing up in global rankings, with more affordable tuition. Governments sent representatives to college fairs and set targets for the number of students they wanted to bring in every year.
So when Mr. Trump, early in his second term, began pushing international students away, Asian nations started welcoming students who couldn’t continue their studies at American schools.
Story by Lydia DePillis and Jin Yu Young.
Commissioned and published by The New York Times.
August 2025
Photographed in Seoul, South Korea
Yonsei University. South Korea wants to have 300,000 international students by 2027.
People take photos in front of the “Sha” symbol at the entrance of Seoul National University.
The campus of Korea University.
Jess Concepcion, from the Philippines, is a microbiology student at Korea University
Jess Concepcion shows a photo of a sky lantern wish he made in Taiwan.
Jess Concepcion wears a pin that reads 'fight like a girl' as a reminder of the challenges he faced as a queer person growing up in the Philippines.
People walk on the campus at Yonsei University.
People walk on the campus at Seoul National University.
Hugo Adam, a master’s student studying international relations at Seoul National University.
Keity Rose Mendes, a undergraduate student studying industrial engineering at Seoul National University.
Keity Rose Mendes and Hugo Adam lead the International Students Association at Seoul National University.
People walk on the steps on the main campus at Seoul National University.
The main library exterior at Seoul National University.
Buildings on campus at Korea University.
People walk on campus at Korea University.