Common App recorded a 10% decline in first-time international applicants in the 2025-26 cycle, even as domestic applicants rose 4% and overall applicants increased 2%. The report covers applications submitted from Aug. 1, 2025, to July 28, 2026, across a platform used by roughly 1,110 U.S. colleges.
Common App applicant mix
Of the 10 countries that account for the greatest number of international applicants on Common App, nine had declines. Kenya was the only one of those source countries to post a year-over-year increase, with applicant numbers growing 30%. Nigeria saw a 21% decline, and applicants from Africa fell 17%.
That split leaves colleges reading two different signals at once: domestic interest grew while the international pool narrowed. For institutions that depend on international students, the application change is the first visible sign that enrollment pressure may be building before admission decisions are even finished.
Rubio and senators
The application data arrives alongside policy actions that may affect whether students apply at all. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security released a rule capping international student visas to four years, and a coalition of higher education groups and unions sued over the rule.
A group of 30 U.S. senators also wrote to State Secretary Marco Rubio about the lack of available visa appointments for prospective international students at some embassies. Sheldon Whitehouse and Jack Reed said the lack of appointments seemed to mostly impact students from Latin American countries.
Enrollment this fall
An early-fall survey of over 800 colleges found a 1% drop in overall international enrollment and a 17% drop in new international students. That comparison matters because it shows the Common App decline is landing in the same window as weaker enrollment numbers, not in isolation.
The next hard readout will come from fall enrollment data, which will show whether the visa rule, appointment shortages and application drop are turning into a deeper loss of new international students.
