Shunning Elite U.S. Institutions, Students Increasingly Look to Europe
As chaos, funding battles, immigration policy shifts, infringements on academic freedom, and other forms of instability and uncertainty continue to roil U.S. higher education, an increasing number of students is abandoning plans to attend Ivy League colleges and other prominent U.S. institutions. Instead, they're setting their sights on enrolling at Sciences Po and other elite French universities, The New York Times reports.
One revealing data point: The number of U.S. applications to Sciences Po increased by 52 percent during the current academic year, and applications from Sciences Po students to study for a year in the United States decreased by 50 percent. There have been similar spikes in U.S. applications to other international schools in Europe, such as the London School of Economics, according to the Times.
It appears the French government plans to capitalize on the increased interest in the country's universities. On April 21, French Higher Education, Research and Space Minister Philippe Baptiste announced that almost all new students who are coming to France from outside the European Union for the 2026–27 academic year will be required to pay more than EU students do—about 16 times more, according to the ICEF Monitor.
