Listen Here
By Pulse Staff
The international student population at the University of Findlay has dropped about 60% since spring 2025, but there is a nuance to the numbers, according to University of Findlay Director of Graduate and International Admissions Kathy Patton.
“There are currently 115 international students on campus, with roughly half of those being athletes,” Patton said in an email interview. “We currently have students from 40 different countries.”
A report from the UF Office of Institutional Research for the fall 2024 semester showed about 340 international students at UF from 48 different countries. International student numbers that surged after COVID-19 have subsided, according to Patton.
UF ended the spring 2025 semester with 302 international students from 38 countries when many of the students from that surge graduated, according to Patton.
This week, the Trump administration announced a pause on all immigrant visa applications in order to train consular officials around the world on new policy. Patton says UF international students should not be directly impacted.
“Students come under nonimmigrant visas,” Patton said. “This will have more of an impact on permanent residency or green card applications.”
The Associated Press says the new policy the government is putting in place “could deny green cards to immigrants who use public benefits that could include food stamps, Medicaid, housing vouchers and others.”
Inside Higher Ed reported this week that new student visas in the U.S. dropped 23% in 2025. Findlay feels the effect as well, as recruiting international students has become more challenging over the last year or two.
“The United States remains an attractive destination for international students, but students are now also looking more closely at countries outside of the United States,” Patton said. “Students are not only comparing academic programs and cost, but also the visa process, immigration policies, and work opportunities after graduation.”
This makes it more challenging for UF to recruit international students. Patton says it’s mostly about expanding the ways they communicate with students.
“In addition to traditional email, we are implementing a platform that will allow us to communicate with prospective and admitted international students through WhatsApp. Being able to reach students through additional channels will help us to be more responsive and to keep them engaged and informed throughout the process.”
Patton says UF is in the process of implementing a new digital platform called Homebase, which will provide applicants and students with information and resources to help them navigate everything from preparing for their visa appointment to preparing to arrive on campus. She says it should be ready to go for the students starting for the Spring 2027 intake.
“Visa outcomes vary by country, individual applicant, and circumstances,” Patton said. “Over the past two years overall, we have noticed increased difficulty for students in securing appointments, longer wait times, and increased visa denials. In addition, there have been travel bans imposed that have prevented students from some countries from getting visas at all.”
An Insider Higher Ed analysis of the data shows that visa issuances were essentially in line with the previous year for the first several months of 2025 but dropped when President Trump paused all student visa interviews to implement new social media screenings for those applicants, which Patton corroborated.
“Another hurdle for visa applicants is the mandatory social media vetting that began in June 2025,” Patton said. “This has added more time in processing with increased risk for denials.”
There are other rules in place that will affect international students. According to the Department of Homeland Security on July 17, 2026, the department “published a final rule introducing a fixed period of admission and extension of stay procedure (EOS) for F (academic) students.” Previously. F students were allowed in the U.S. for an indeterminate period of time. Now, they will only be allowed in the U.S. for their time of stay listed on Form I-20.
“Beginning September 15, 2026, F-1 students will now have a fixed period of admission and will be required to apply for an extension of stay with USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services),” Patton said. “In addition, there are new guidelines that will impact their ability to transfer schools, change majors, change levels, and more. These new guidelines will be another thing for prospective students to consider when determining if, when, and where they want to study abroad.”
Patton says if UF international students carry their documents with them, there should not be any problems, but her office is on call for any students who experience difficulties.
