Report: International Students Apathetic Toward 2024 U.S. Election Results
Credit: Doug Mills / The New York Times / Bloomberg / Getty Images- Prospective international students generally don’t follow U.S. politics, a recent survey found.
- Accordingly, they aren’t overly concerned with the winner of November’s presidential election.
- Those that do follow U.S. politics favor Vice President Kamala Harris over former President Donald Trump.
Just 35% of prospective international students say the results of November’s presidential election will influence their decision to study in the U.S.
A recent poll of nearly 1,000 prospective international students from IDP Education found that while the 2024 presidential election may be front of mind for many U.S. students, it’s not important to students abroad.
Over half of respondents (54%) say the election outcome won’t influence their decision to study in the U.S. at all.
Just 4% say it’ll influence them “significantly.”
Fifty-seven percent of respondents are prospective students who have not yet applied to any colleges. Twenty-six percent have started an application, while 17% have already submitted an application.
IDP’s survey included a mix of graduate, undergraduate, vocational, and pathway international students.
Most responses came from students in India and China, which are the two biggest feeder nations for international students coming to the U.S. for college. While China has historically been the biggest contributor of international students, recent trends show India has been closing the gap since 2020.
IDP’s report also highlighted that international students generally don’t follow U.S. politics closely, which may contribute to their apathy toward the upcoming election results.
Just 12% say they follow U.S. politics closely, while 26% say they are “generally aware” of what is happening in the U.S. political sphere. That means 62% say they either don’t follow U.S. politics at all or only know “a little bit” about U.S. politics.
Of those who do follow U.S. politics, more respondents say they’d rather study in the U.S. if Vice President Kamala Harris wins the presidential race.
Women leaned toward preferring Harris (62%), while men were split (51% for Harris vs. 49% for former President Donald Trump).
A BestColleges survey of current college students in the U.S. found that 52% of students favor Harris, versus 39% for Trump. Men and white students favor Trump, while women, Black, and Hispanic respondents support Harris.