Let's look beyond the headline.
While yes, it is good for US universities from the financial standpoint, there is a real reason why foreign students go to US universities that no one talks about. The F1 student visa is a non-immigration visa. During interview, the student is supposed to convince the officer that they will come back to their country after their degree. But no one really wants to do that. And let's be honest, maybe 2-3% of students actually care about the education, for most, it is a ticket to a H1B and a life as an immigrant in the US.
There are a few issues now.
1. While we want the dollars of these overseas students, we don't want all of them to stay back here. We just want to the top of the cream to remain and pack the rest of them back. Just because someone gets a US degree does not mean they are good and we want them. Lots of diploma mills out there.
2. Making sure universities stay in business is not the job of the administration. My daughter is applying to college and there are about 6500 universities in the US. That is a lot. I am sure a good number of them don't need to be operational anymore. Let them shut down if they cannot sustain themselves without public money. No US business must be kept alive if it depends on foreign funds.
At this point I have lost track of Trump's stand on this. He keeps changing his mind and saying opposite things.
Trump is governed by money, since he is a businessman. That is okay as long as we are not taking short term money by selling out our long term future.
Trump Defends Foreign Students as 'Good' for US Universities
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-11-11/trump-defends-foreign-students-as-good-for-us-universities
While yes, it is good for US universities from the financial standpoint, there is a real reason why foreign students go to US universities that no one talks about. The F1 student visa is a non-immigration visa. During interview, the student is supposed to convince the officer that they will come back to their country after their degree. But no one really wants to do that. And let's be honest, maybe 2-3% of students actually care about the education, for most, it is a ticket to a H1B and a life as an immigrant in the US.
There are a few issues now.
1. While we want the dollars of these overseas students, we don't want all of them to stay back here. We just want to the top of the cream to remain and pack the rest of them back. Just because someone gets a US degree does not mean they are good and we want them. Lots of diploma mills out there.
2. Making sure universities stay in business is not the job of the administration. My daughter is applying to college and there are about 6500 universities in the US. That is a lot. I am sure a good number of them don't need to be operational anymore. Let them shut down if they cannot sustain themselves without public money. No US business must be kept alive if it depends on foreign funds.
At this point I have lost track of Trump's stand on this. He keeps changing his mind and saying opposite things.
Trump is governed by money, since he is a businessman. That is okay as long as we are not taking short term money by selling out our long term future.
Trump Defends Foreign Students as 'Good' for US Universities
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-11-11/trump-defends-foreign-students-as-good-for-us-universities
Quote:
By Hadriana Lowenkron
November 10, 2025 at 7:02 PM CST
Takeaways by Bloomberg AIPresident Donald Trump defended allowing foreign students to study in the US as a "good" practice and pushed back on a call to reduce their numbers, saying it would be financially destructive to the nation's higher education system.
- President Donald Trump defended allowing foreign students to study in the US as a "good" practice and pushed back on a call to reduce their numbers, saying it would be financially destructive to the nation's higher education system.
- Trump argued that reducing the numbers of foreign students would cause financial harm to the university system and lead some schools to go "out of business."
- Trump's comments offer a contrast with policies his administration has carried out that have targeted international students, including revoking thousands of visas and imposing heightened application requirements.
"You don't want to cut half of the people, half of the students from all over the world that are coming into our country destroy our entire university and college system I don't want to do that," Trump said in an interview with Laura Ingraham that aired Monday on Fox News.
"I actually think it's good to have outside countries. Look, I want to be able to get along with the world," he added.
Trump was repeatedly pushed by the Fox News host on why he wouldn't reduce the number of students from foreign countries in particular China who are studying in the US, with Ingraham casting it as a policy the president's supporters would back and a change that would make it easier for Americans to enroll in schools.
Trump argued that reducing the numbers of foreign students would cause financial harm to the university system and lead some schools, including historically Black institutions, to go "out of business."
"We do have a lot of people coming in from China, we always have China and other countries. We also have a massive system of colleges and universities. And if we were to cut that in half, which perhaps makes some people happy, you would have half the colleges in the United States go out of business," Trump said.
"We take in trillions of dollars from students. You know, the students pay more than double when they come in from most foreign countries. I want to see our school system thrive," he added. "It's not that I want them, but I view it as a business."
Trump's comments offer a contrast with policies his administration has carried out that have targeted international students. The administration has revoked thousands of visas, arrested students who were involved in pro-Palestinian activities and imposed heightened application requirements.