US universities look like temples of knowledge, but they are businesses. International students are their clients. And when racist politics or security fears clash with economics, politics wins.
In 2025, China has over 47 million higher education students. Against that, 600,000 in the US is nothing.
State funding for public universities has collapsed over time. In 1980, half of their budgets came from state money. Today it is less than one quarter.
The gap is filled by higher tuition and international students. In graduate programs for math, computer science, and engineering, more than half of all students are now from China or India. Without them, many labs and departments would shut down.
Trump says he welcomes students. But his government tightens visas, targets Chinese scholars, and fuels suspicion.
In May 2025, the State Department announced new visa rules that will “prioritize Americans over China,” reviewing all applicants from China and Hong Kong more strictly. At the same time, universities lobby Washington to relax the rules because their budgets depend on these students. Politics wins.
https://grumpychineseguy.substack.com/p/us-universities-depend-on-chinese?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=5194625&post_id=172344259&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=r7vu0&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
