Ohio State University's overall enrollment ticked up this fall. But the number of first-year international students dropped by more than a third this year.
Ohio State's fall enrollment across its campuses grew to more than 67,255 students, including 61,326 at the main campus. But the number of first-year international students fell by 37% to 536, and about 24% less than it was two years ago.
Earlier this year, a dozen of Ohio State international students had their visas revoked by the Trump administration. Those visas were reinstated.
Then, in May the Trump administration said it would aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party.
More than 3,000 Chinese students are enrolled at Ohio State this fall, a drop of 9% from fall 2024.
Ohio State University spokesman Chris Booker said that overall international enrollment is up from two years ago.
The number of freshmen overall at the main campus is down close to 14% to 8,210. Enrollment of out-of-state freshman at the main campus is down close to 20% while the number of in-state freshmen is down 8%.
Enrollment at the university's five regional campuses — Lima, Marion, Mansfield, Newark and Wooster — increased 8.6% to 5,929.
Booker said that initiatives across the regional campuses are contributing to enrollment growth, including application fee waivers for students who apply to a regional campus as their first choice.
"Many students are also drawn to the advantages of studying close to home and the experience of a smaller campus," he said.
