Isn’t it absurd that American universities spend tens of thousands of dollars educating some foreign students, only for many of them to leave the country after graduation? For some reason, it has become perfectly acceptable to deny Americans admission to their own elite schools so universities can educate the future political and economic leaders of other countries, including China.Many of these students also receive generous financial aid from elite American schools, despite not qualifying for federal student aid. Three out of four Dartmouth international students pay, on average, less than $10,000 a year in tuition. Harvard spent $60 million on 741 international students in 2024, leaving them with an average out-of-pocket tuition cost of just $13,000. How many American families get an Ivy League education at that price?
To make matters worse, less than half of international students stay in America long-term. Whether because of visa complications, better opportunities elsewhere, or a desire to return home, many of these highly educated graduates take their skills to foreign workforces. American universities, meanwhile, have little incentive to stop them.
That must change.
Students’ citizenship status and long-term plans should matter to universities, policymakers, and taxpayers. If American students are being rejected so that foreign students can receive a globally recognized education, universities should at least be expected to show that this arrangement benefits the United States.
