Due to the disruption caused by the pandemic, many colleges have waived their requirement that applicants submit standardized test scores for the fall 2021 admission. This resulted in soaring levels of applications. When schools decided to relax the policies, international student applications increased by up to 40% even in some of the most highly selective institutions in the United States. Education experts believe that making SAT scores an optional requirement played a huge role in the rise in the number of student applications. Many foreign learners appear to have chosen colleges that offer to waive exam score requirements. This also implies that students who are not strong test-takers but are high academic performers feel more empowered to apply.

Based on a new report from the global student network Educations.com, Canada and the UK have overtaken the US as preferred destinations for study among international students. According to statistics, there has been a steady decline in interest in American universities recorded since 2018. Data have indicated that by October last year, the US had dropped to third place behind Canada and the UK, with both countries experiencing an increase in student visa applications by three percent year-on-year, compared to a ten percent decrease in the US.

International students who moved countries to study in Leeds say they feel let down by the system, as they struggle to pay rent for accommodation that they are not using. Although some universities have refunded some percentage of the accommodation costs, many students are still struggling to meet the costs of rent. A survey showed that more than two in three student renters in the UK are concerned about their ability to make rental payments due to COVID-19. With this predicament, A Rent Strike Now campaign has been organized across the UK.

Some students in Northern Ireland have expressed frustration at missing out on a newly announced support payment. The Economy Minister has announced that the £500 (about $690) would be given to students due to disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Almost 40,000 students in universities and further education colleges are set to benefit from the fund but part-time students and non-EU students are not included as recipients. With this, excluded students have felt frustrated, neglected, and ignored. International students pay significant amounts of fees for tuition and visas but now they feel that the host country’s government does not care about the international student population.

As Australia’s borders remain closed, many of its international students are switching study destinations. Many former and prospective foreign learners have gotten tired of waiting for the government’s announcement to reopen. An increasing number of students are now opting for Canada, the UK, or the US. Australia’s Education Minister has recently stated that it would be very difficult for significant numbers of students to return to Australia in 2021 as the government prioritizes the health of its locals. In the meantime, Canada, the UK, the US, and Ireland are open to accepting international students into their territories.  

Study visas for thousands of foreign students in New Zealand are expiring, and many are preparing to leave the country. Official figures show half of the 40,000 international students in New Zealand in the middle of January have study visas that expire by the end of March. The upcoming exodus of international students is seen to force universities to make difficult financial decisions. English New Zealand has revealed that English language schools are now down to a fraction of their normal enrolments. Emergency government funding will be needed to help some schools survive until June.

Several international students in the US who were unable to work with classmates or take advantage of real-time campus services have indicated that differences in time zones are a contributing factor to the difficulties they endure. These students are already coping with stress related to global pandemic issues, finances, school-life balance, continuing complexities in immigration processes, and employment. Another issue that some international students face is their inability to access virtual services necessary for online learning. In some territories, networks and online services such as Google Docs are restricted, and virtual private networks provided do not always work properly.

The financial health of Ontario universities, particularly smaller schools outside the big cities, is under greater scrutiny as the provincial government threatens to impose financial oversight measures in the wake of Laurentian University’s recent insolvency. The COVID-19 pandemic’s expenses and revenue loss have added cost to Ontario universities of about a billion dollars. As a result, northern universities such as Lakehead, Algoma, and Nipissing have intensified their focus on budget planning. Many universities have turned to international student fees to make up the difference. 

 

According to immigration experts, Brexit and the UK’s new Immigration Rules will present more opportunities for UK students and work visas for Indians. The new post-Brexit Immigration Rules include important changes such as the Graduate Route which will now allow two years of unsponsored stay in the UK after completing a bachelor’s degree or three years after completing a Ph.D. Within this period, students can gain international experience and career prospects and ensure a smooth transition to skilled worker visas in the UK. 

Australia's decision to keep its borders closed is wreaking havoc on the country's universities, which have relied on lucrative tuition from foreign students. Experts say it will take years for the schools, among the best in the world, to recover from the economic damage. Australian universities have cut more than 17,000 jobs as operating revenue fell 4.9 percent last year and is expected to fall another 5.5 percent this year. According to Australian government data, although students can study remotely online, international-student enrollments were already down 14 percent as of November. The number of international students physically in the country has fallen further and is down about 35 percent when compared with pre-pandemic levels.

A proposal by a group of schools to run a managed isolation hotel to bring international students over is now under consideration by the education minister. About 10 schools with longstanding international programs have outlined the proposal in October last year. The pilot phase would see about 150 students aged under 18 and a guardian flown to New Zealand to quarantine in a hotel based on the existing COVID-19 Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ) facilities. The New Zealand government has reiterated that MIQ hotels need to fulfill very stringent public health criteria, including infection prevention and control. Three hundred students would be arriving in the country this April, with another 700 as MIQ availability allows.

The Philippine Bureau of Immigration has reported a huge 75-percent drop in aliens who applied for or renewed their student visas and permits in 2020 due to the pandemic, an all-time low. An immigration official has disclosed that only 1,254 foreigners applied for student visas last year, compared to the 4,785 in 2019. Foreign students who renewed their visas also dropped to 7,170, which is 31 percent less than the 10,433 who extended their visas in 2019. Many of those who intended to study in the country had no choice but to forego their plans. Pre-pandemic, the country has been a top destination for international students wanting to take English language courses, as well as study in the field of medicine. 

Los Angeles Mission College is a public institution located in Sylmar, California. It has a total enrollment of almost 10,000 with a student-faculty ratio of 26-to-1. The college offers degrees and certificate programs in 24 different fields. Popular majors include Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities, Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, and Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services. Los Angeles Mission College is the ninth and youngest college established in the Los Angeles Community College District and is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.