WHAT COVID-19

MEANS FOR
INTERNATIONAL
STUDENTS
INTERESTED IN
THE US
Discover how prospective international students
are being affected by the coronavirus and what
their plans are for study abroad in the future.

www.qs.com/for-institutions/admissions-office-services/
Contents

Introduction 1

Overview 2

How students view coronavirus-related disruptions 4

How study plans have changed during the pandemic 7

How do prospective international students feel about starting their classes online? 9

What students expect from higher education institutions during the crisis 12

Conclusion 16

About QS 17

II What COVID-19 Means for International Students Interested in the US

Introduction
The profound effects of COVID-19 on higher education
institutions throughout 2020 cannot be overstated. As
governments around the world continue to enact policies
to contain the spread of the coronavirus, it is becoming
clear that maintaining healthy communities and strong
economies is a delicate balancing act.
Indus tr y analy s t s have also noted that Trump
administration policies restricting international students
to in-person learning could lead to further disinterest
in the US as a study destination—all this, amid growing
tensions with major international student source markets
like China.

Institutions have had to create on-campus policies that While conventional wisdom would indicate that the US as a
reflect the patchwork of localized government responses, higher education leader is in decline, the student mobility
providing a 2020 fall season that has differed widely across trends presented in this white paper, as evidenced by our
nations. coronavirus student survey, paint a less predictable story.

At the time of this white paper’s publication (12 October), Read on to discover the latest findings from the QS
many countries had established travel restrictions to coronavirus student survey, examining responses
curtail the spread of COVID-19. Nationwide lockdowns from those prospective international students who are
and mandated quarantines for incoming travelers have interested in studying in the US.
become the norm. According to an analysis by the PEW
Research Center in April 2020, at least 93% of the global
population now lives in countries with coronavirus-related
travel restrictions.

Beyond the obvious limitations that such travel restrictions

present to prospective international students, institutions
have faced monumental operational hurdles, rapidly
changing how and where learning takes place. Student
support has expanded beyond meeting educational
needs; US institutions must now act with health and
safety at the forefront of every decision.

Major operational shifts such as these come at a time

when international student enrollment was already on a
downward trajectory. NAFSA: Association of International
Educators predicts that US institutions could face a loss
of at least US$3 billion in the fall of 2020, according to
one survey.

https://www.qs.com/for-institutions/admissions-office-services/ 1
Overview

QS received over 74,000 responses from prospective international students since the start of this coronavirus survey,
with over 20,000 listing the US as their top study destination.

Of our global pool of respondents, the US ranked number two with 38% or 22,544 students interested in the US.
The UK received the most interest with 41% or 23,911 students saying they would like to study there; Canada ranked
number three with 35% or 20,317 students interested.

The international student response pool represented here is near-equally split between prospective undergraduate
and postgraduate students. Of the students interested in studying in the US that participated in the coronavirus
survey, 54% were planning on studying at the postgraduate level, while 42% were interested in undergraduate studies.

As you can see by the chart below, over half of these respondents (61%) expect to start their studies in 2021; 22%
expected a start in 2022; and 17% expect to start in 2023 or later.

What year do you expect to start your studies?

17%

22%

61%

2021 2022 2023 or later

We also asked students what year they would like to start their studies, and 66% said they would ideally like to start in
2021; 19% said they would like to start in 2022; and 15% said they would like to start in 2023, suggesting that student
expectations for a start date are aligned with when they would ideally like to start.

2 What COVID-19 Means for International Students Interested in the US

This is backed up by the fact that of those who would like to start in 2021, 82% of those expect to be able to do so in
the same year. This suggests that there is a relative amount of optimism amongst prospective international students
with regards to being able to progress their studies.

Before diving into the data related to student choices and behavioral trends, it is important to explore which other
study destinations the students in this survey were considering at the time of participating in this survey. To do so, we
asked prospective international students where they are considering studying in the future.

As you can see from the responses below, our student pool chose Canada and the UK as the top alternatives to study
in the US, with both options boasting a large lead over other countries.

Where are you considering studying in the future?

Canada 52% Australia 28% France 19% Netherlands 15%

UK 49% Germany 28% Switzerland 16%

It should be noted that the 20,000-plus students that responded to this survey were comprised of the international
student applicant pools of partner institutions throughout the world, the majority of which are based in Europe, the
UK, and North America.

QS also gathered prospective international student respondents through outreach on QS student portals TopUniversities.
com and TopMBA.com. The majority of users of both sites from September 2019-September 2020 were from India,
North America, and the UK.

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How students view coronavirus-related
disruptions

In order to understand the factors that influence the student decision-making process when it comes to choosing a
study destination, we asked prospective international students to help us identify the most common types of disruptions
they faced due to the global pandemic.

It is clear that government actions around the world impacted prospective international students’ study plans above
any other factors.

Respondents ranked the following options at the top: delays to visa application/processing (33%), government restrictions
on leaving one’s home country (32%), and government restrictions on arriving in a new country (29%). The fact that
government restrictions in their home country are just as restrictive as those in their destination country reiterates
the importance of establishing travel corridors between countries, to allow international students to travel to their
country of choice.

Did any of the following affect your ability to start your studies in 2020?

Delays to visa application/processing 33%

Government restrictions on leaving a home country 32%

Government restrictions on arriving in a new country 29%

Other 28%

A lack of available flights to destination country 24%

Difficulty getting vaccinations or health screenings

before being able to travel 14%

4 What COVID-19 Means for International Students Interested in the US

We also asked prospective international students how they felt about other countries’ handing of the global health
crisis. The results reveal how the management of the coronavirus around the world impacts student choice. As the
chart below demonstrates, just over half of our respondents stated that they have reconsidered where they want to
study based on how governments have managed the coronavirus crisis.

Has the way governments managed the coronavirus in their own country made you reconsider where to
study?

16%

56%
28%

Yes No Don't know

When asked which countries handled the coronavirus outbreak the best, countries such as New Zealand and South
Korea ranked highly, while the top choice study destinations for our survey pool (US, UK, and Canada) ranked at the
bottom. Of the 33 most popular countries for international study that we presented to student survey participants,
the US and UK were respectively chosen by 2% of respondents.

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Which country do you think has handled the coronavirus outbreak the best?

30% 32%

4%

9%
5%

5%
8%
7%

New Zealand South Korea Germany China Australia Canada India Others

This would suggest that, while the way in which governments handled the coronavirus outbreak impacts the student
decision-making process, it had not strongly dissuaded our respondents from choosing countries that did not handle
the outbreak well as their top study destination.

Whether or not the prospective international students surveyed in this report, from February 2020 until September
2020, had then decided against studying in the US as the pandemic continued to grow will require further research.

As highlighted earlier in this report, roughly half of these respondents expected to start their studies in 2021; 19%
expected a start in 2022; and 14% expected a start in 2023 or later. Only 14% of respondents were planning to start
their studies this year.

6 What COVID-19 Means for International Students Interested in the US

How study plans have changed during the
pandemic

Since the start of this survey in February 2020, the number of prospective international students that stated that
COVID-19 had impacted their study plans has steadily increased.

As of September 2020, 63% of respondents said that the coronavirus has affected their plans to study abroad; 24%
said that they did not know; while only 13% said that the coronavirus has not affected their plans.

Has the coronavirus affected your plans to study abroad?

24%

13%
63%

Yes No Don't know

Of those whose plans had been impacted, 55% of our survey respondents said that they are deferring or delaying
entry until the following year, 10% said that they now intend to study in a different country, and 6% said that they no
longer wish to study overseas.

https://www.qs.com/for-institutions/admissions-office-services/ 7
Which of these best describes how the coronavirus has changed your plans to study abroad?

13%

16%

55%

6%

10%

I now intend to defer/delay my entry until next year I now intend to study in a different country
I now no longer want to study overseas Other
None of these

It is clear that as colleges and universities recalibrate to offer new educational delivery mechanisms, whether that
means blended or entirely online learning, prospective students may have many new options to consider.

8 What COVID-19 Means for International Students Interested in the US

How do prospective international students feel
about starting their classes online?

We asked students how interested they would be in earning an online degree as a result of the coronavirus crisis.
While responses were near-equally split, it must be noted that these responses were again gathered on a rolling basis
as the pandemic unfolded, representing accumulated responses over time, rather than a recent snapshot.

With a large number of students not interested (36%) or only slightly interested (21%), it should come as no surprise
that an on-campus learning experience is highly appealing for international students, who favor cultural exchanges
and relationship building opportunities that accompany in-person study.

That being said, 64% expressed some level of interest in online learning, as you can see from the responses below.

How interested would you be in studying your degree online because of the coronavirus?

10%

11%

36%

22%

21%

Not at all interested Slightly interested Somewhat interested Very interested Extremely interested

Is it possible to quantify the value of an in-person learning experience? One way to understand how much prospective
international students value on-campus study is to compare it to how they value online learning in terms of tuition.

We asked prospective international students how much they thought tuition fees should be discounted as classes
were held online in lieu of face-to-face instruction, and the majority of those surveyed (62%) said that tuition for online
study should be discounted by 31% or more.

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Most respondents felt tuition for online study should be discounted by between 21%-30% (20% of respondents),
between 31%-40% (17% of respondents), or between 41%-50% (21% of respondents).

How much do you think tuition fees should be discounted by during online studies until you're able to start
face-to-face classes?

Up to 10% 3%

11% to 20% 9%

21% to 30% 20%

31% to 40% 17%

41% to 50% 21%

51% to 70% 14%

More than 70% 10%

Don't know 7%

With many students deferring or delaying their studies, the online search process has not only lengthened, but it has
expanded to include virtual relationship-building opportunities, such as virtual campus visits and virtual meetings
with university representatives.

In order to further understand how students were able to navigate contacting colleges and universities, we asked
them how interested they would be in attending an online or virtual student recruitment fair while travel is restricted.

Over half of respondents (59%) said that they were interested, even though they have never been to a student recruitment
fair before, while 15% also said that they were interested and had already attended a fair. This demonstrates that while
actual attendance of online recruitment events is fairly low amongst international students, there is a great deal of
openness amongst this audience to these types of events.

10 What COVID-19 Means for International Students Interested in the US

Have you already/would you be interested in, attending online/virtual student recruitment fairs to meet
with universities, while travel is restricted?

11%
15%

15%

59%

Yes - I have already attended online/virtual student event(s)

Yes - I would attend online/virtual student event(s) but I haven't been to any
No - I am not interested in attending online/virtual student events
Unsure

For prospective international students that are taking longer to conduct online research as they defer or delay their
studies, under what conditions will they choose to pursue study abroad plans?

To better understand which factors contribute towards the decision to commence studies, we asked respondents to
reveal when they would feel comfortable travelling overseas to study.

Students ranked which factors would contribute most to making this decision, and it is interesting to note that open
campuses and face-to-face instruction (47%) seemed just as important as having a vaccine readily available (46%). The
third most important factor was related to how many coronavirus cases were in their country of study (40%).

When do you think you will feel comfortable travelling overseas to study?

When campuses are open and face-to-face teaching is

47%
resumed

When a coronavirus vaccine is developed and available 46%

When there are few or no active coronavirus cases in my

destination country 40%

When social-distancing requirements have lifted in my

destination country 25%

As soon as I am legally allowed to travel to my

destination country 24%

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What students expect from higher education
institutions during the crisis

While student sentiment around earning an online degree may vary, our respondents said that moving education
online is one of the most important actions institutions should be taking during the crisis.

As the chart below shows, moving more lectures online (55%) and ensuring access to dedicated health professionals
(53%) were ranked the highest out of the five options presented.

However, it is worth bearing in mind that as the pandemic progresses and the new semester approaches, students
are increasingly likely to expect universities to hold lectures and seminars in larger rooms and less likely to expect
them to move lectures online.

This implies that while students appreciate the value of online learning as an alternative to face-to-face teaching, they
also expect universities to make every effort to allow teaching to occur as normal, with on-campus learning the default.

Which of the following do you think universities should be doing to limit the impact of the coronavirus?

Moving more lectures online 55%

Ensuring access to dedicated health professionals (e.g.

53%
nurses) for students

Holding lectures and seminars in larger rooms to

52%
minimize close contact in larger gatherings

Establishing a 24-hour helpline for students 52%

Ensuring that hand gel is widely available on campus 51%

Before the pandemic, colleges and universities around the world were competing for international students in a crowded
online marketplace. Now, in addition to highlighting the unique selling points of an institution and its programs, they
must communicate timely information and updates related to changing global pandemic-related conditions.

To understand which types of information prospective international students expected from institutions, we asked
respondents what information they needed more of as a result of the coronavirus crisis.

Funding and scholarships led by a strong majority, as seen in the graph below (71%). It also appears that students
are still in need of guidance in terms of how to choose a study destination (46%) and how to prepare for admissions
exams (40%).

12 What COVID-19 Means for International Students Interested in the US

What information would you like to receive from universities about the coronavirus?

71%

46%
40%
35% 34%
26%

Funding and Choosing a study How to prepare Application and Researching Alternative forms
scholarships destination admissions exams essay writing which program to of study
study

This data gives higher education institutions key insights as to how to both recruit and nurture prospective international
students throughout the research process. Unsurprisingly, financial concerns are still a top priority when it comes to
studying abroad.

In terms of information related to the global pandemic, how often would prospective international students like to
receive news or updates from colleges and universities?

The overwhelming majority (85%) would prefer to hear from institutions at least once per week, with nearly a quarter
preferring to be contacted at least once per day. As you can see from the chart below, only 3% said they did not want
coronavirus-related information to be shared by institutions.

https://www.qs.com/for-institutions/admissions-office-services/ 13
How often would you like to hear from universities with news/updates relating to the coronavirus?

5%
3%

8% 24%

30%

30%

Daily or more A few times per week Once per week

Every two weeks or less I wouldn't want to hear anything Don't know

To better gauge how prospective international students perceive the level of support they receive and/or expect from
institutions during the pandemic, we asked respondents how effective they think universities have been in supporting
international students during the outbreak of the coronavirus.

In good news, 10% of respondents said that institutions have been extremely effective, 22% said very effective, and
nearly half, or 45% said moderately effective. Only 7% chose not at all effective, and another 16% said slightly effective.

14 What COVID-19 Means for International Students Interested in the US

How effective do you think universities have been in supporting international students during the outbreak
of the coronavirus?

7% 10%

16%

22%

45%

Extremely effective Very effective Moderately effective Slightly effective Not at all effective

https://www.qs.com/for-institutions/admissions-office-services/ 15
Conclusion

This white paper has highlighted the importance that

US institutions need to place on supporting prospective
international students through consistent, targeted
marketing and communications.

At a time when the news of the day can impact the long-
term study plans of tomorrow, students are spending
more time online for their right-fit institution and
expecting adaptable learning opportunities with their
best interests—including health and safety—in mind.

In addition, prospective international students are open

to finding more ways to engage with institutions online to
get the information they need—from virtual meetings and
campus visits, to virtual college/university fairs.

Through major learning disruptions, travel restrictions,

and fluctuating government responses, one thing has
remained constant amongst international students: the
drive to study abroad at an institution where on-campus
learning, and in turn a positive student experience, is the
priority.

Student recruitment is, like the higher education landscape

itself, in a state of great transformation. Anticipate and
prepare for change by meeting students where they are
online.

QS has over 30 years of experience in connecting

prospective students at different education and career
stages with quality institutions around the world through
online student recruitment events and fairs, and our online
student portals, TopUniversities.com and TopMBA.com.

For more information on how you can leverage QS

digital marketing and virtual events, please visit:
www.qs.com/for-institutions/admissions-office-services/

16 What COVID-19 Means for International Students Interested in the US

About QS

QS Quacquarelli Symonds is the world’s leading provider of services, analytics, and insights to the global higher
education sector. Our mission is to enable motivated people anywhere in the world to fulfil their potential through
educational achievement, international mobility, and career development.

Our QS World University Rankings portfolio, inaugurated in 2004, has grown to become the world’s most popular
source of comparative data about university performance. For more information visit www.qs.com

QS portfolio
Ÿ QS Digital and Events provides prospective undergraduate, graduate, and MBA applicants with independent
guidance throughout their search and decision making. Our world-class digital platforms include TopUniversities.
com, TopMBA.com, and QSLeap.com which support search and inform applications to programs matching their
profile and aspirations. In parallel, prospective students can meet, either virtually or face-to-face, with admissions
officers of international universities and business schools. For universities and business schools, it offers effective
and innovative digital and off-line student recruitment and branding solutions.

Ÿ QS Enrolment Solutions supports higher education institutions to maximize their student recruitment with a range
of specialist services, from data-driven insights to optimized communications and student conversion. With over
20 years of experience QSES has an unequalled understanding of international student decision-making. Our
international office locations (UK, Romania, India, Malaysia and Australia) enable us to operate across time zones
to deliver high value to our partners and exceptional services for applicants.

Ÿ The QS Intelligence Unit is a leading originator of institutional performance insight drawing on unique proprietary
datasets gathered in pursuit of its published research. Best known for the widely referenced QS World University
Rankings, today comprising variants by discipline and geography, the unit also operates a sophisticated,
multidimensional quality standard; a comprehensive analytics platform facilitating advanced benchmarking;
and an in-demand consulting team. Our insights both inform and are informed by frequent presence and digital
conferences for educators, university leaders, and policy makers.

Ÿ QS Unisolution is dedicated to developing SaaS technology solutions to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of
international mobility, relations, and recruitment functions within education, positively impacting the educational
experience for the students, staff, and partners we serve.

For more information about the QS services, please contact b2bmarketing@qs.com

https://www.qs.com/for-institutions/admissions-office-services/ 17
To continue empowering motivated individuals and institutions across the world alike during the coronavirus outbreak,
QS’s response has included:

Ÿ Moving its student recruitment events online, ensuring that universities and talented potential applicants across
the world are still able to achieve high-quality personalized engagement

Ÿ Expanding its range of digital marketing offerings, empowering student recruitment teams as they seek to maintain
outreach and enrolment efforts.

Ÿ Launching a webinar series designed to enable university faculty and administrators alike to share best practices
as they transition their educational offerings into the virtual classroom.

Ÿ Ongoing surveys of prospective students and institutions globally to analyze how the COVID-19 crisis is impacting
them.

In 2019, as part of our commitment to sustainability, QS became a certified QS became a certified CarbonNeutral®
Company, Company, reflecting our efforts to reduce our impact on the environment through a range of efficiency
initiatives and offsetting unavoidable emissions through a verified carbon offset forestry project in Brazil.

18 What COVID-19 Means for International Students Interested in the US