The past two years have been marked by changes to the international education landscape, yet study abroad demand remains high. Despite the pace of policy shifts, international student resilience and dedication persists, and student counsellors remain committed to helping students achieve their study abroad dreams.
In August and September 2025, the ApplyBoard team connected with our network of student recruitment professionals to gauge how government changes in destination countries were affecting interest levels, how student numbers and motivations were evolving, and which countries students were aiming for. Nearly 400 recruitment professionals contributed to our Fall 2025 ApplyBoard Recruitment Partner Pulse Survey.1 We’re grateful to everyone who took the time to share their insights.
To see how student patterns and choices have changed over time, we’ve presented the most recent survey data alongside surveys from 2023, 2024, and spring 2025. While some previously shifting trends have stabilized, our results below illustrate the ripple effects of policy changes in the months and years after substantial changes.
Key Insights at a Glance
- Survey results showed greater student interest in diverse destinations, with 74% of respondents stating their students were considering study destinations beyond Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
- The UK kept its top spot among ApplyBoard’s destination countries2 based on respondents’ perception of how welcoming, open, and safe it is for international students.
- Over 90% of RPs shared that affordability was the top concern for their students when choosing where to study abroad, the highest rate we’ve seen for this factor since launching the Pulse Surveys.
- New Zealand, France, and Finland were the most popular alternative study destinations cited by study abroad counsellors..
Students See the UK as the Most Welcoming Destination, as Perception of the US Dips
In our survey, we asked recruitment professionals to answer 12 questions about the trends they’ve observed among the students they work with. When asked how welcoming a destination is perceived to be for international students, the UK kept its top spot from our Spring 2025 Pulse survey.
While the release of the UK government’s White Paper on immigration3 has industry professionals watching for upcoming changes, the UK’s overall welcoming rhetoric and recent policy stability mean many see the UK as a great place to send international students.
Meanwhile, participants’ answers relating to the US changed the most since Spring 2025:
Only 50% of survey respondents agreed the US was an open, safe, and welcoming destination for international students in Fall 2025, dropping 24 percentage points from Spring 2025.4 31% of respondents had a neutral outlook on this statement while the remaining 19% disagreed.5
Several factors likely contribute to this shift in perception, including the US government’s downsizing of the Department of Education, revoking hundreds of international student visas earlier this year,6 and pausing new student visa application interviews through May and June—some of the busiest months for student visa applications—to integrate higher levels of scrutiny.
That said, increasingly polarized views around destination countries expanded beyond just the US. The number of respondents who strongly disagreed that a given destination was open, safe, and welcoming grew for all six destinations in Fall 2025 versus Spring 2025, though the proportion of respondents who selected this option was notably larger for the US.
In general, outlooks on Australia, Canada, Ireland, Germany, and the UK were comparatively stable. The largest variances beyond the US shift were that respondents’ perception of Canada improved by five percentage points versus the Spring 2025 survey, from 79% to 84% agreement, and respondents’ perception of Ireland dropped by the same amount, from 79% to 74% agreement. As a result of those shifts in sentiment, Canada climbed back to second place from fourth in the previous survey, while Australia rounded out the top three with Germany close behind.
Optimistic student outlook towards the UK is evident in both our survey and recent UK student visa data. Student visa demand rose by 16% in the second quarter of 2025 compared to the same quarter in 2024, making it the third consecutive reporting period where main applicant UK Student visa applications rose.
Future Students Find the UK Most Attractive as a Destination
When we asked study abroad professionals about destinations in a more general sense, the US remained a compelling option for many respondents. While the UK received top honours for this metric, with 82% of respondents agreeing their students found it an attractive destination, just over two-thirds of respondents said their students thought the US was still a ‘very attractive’ or ‘attractive’ option:
This fall, perception of Canada improved by 3 percentage points to 74% attractiveness compared to the Spring 2024 survey, although this remained down 6 percentage points versus results from a year ago.
Other destinations’ attractiveness levels improved year-over-year, capturing some of this shifting attention: Australia’s reported attractiveness dipped by one percentage point to 66% compared to the spring, but it was up by 9 percentage points versus Fall 2024. Likewise, 60% of respondents found Germany an attractive destination in this edition of the survey, dipping slightly from 63% this spring yet rising by 7 percentage points from 53% in Fall 2024. Meanwhile, 50% of respondents found Ireland attractive in both Fall and Spring 2025, up from 42% in Fall 2024.
Increased Interest in Diverse Study Destinations
Although student interest in Big Four destinations,7 Germany, and Ireland improved or stabilized over the past six months, nearly three out of every four respondents to our Fall 2025 survey noted their students were considering alternative destinations. Let’s look at where else these future students plan to go:
This fall, New Zealand was the most popular alternative destination among survey respondents, jumping up from third place in our previous survey.8 21% of respondents noted their students were interested in the diverse study opportunities, laid-back culture, and beautiful cities and wild spaces that New Zealand has to offer. This level of interest nearly doubled versus our Spring 2025 survey findings, where 11% of respondents listed it as a destination of interest for their students.
Meanwhile, France shifted from first to second place among respondents and Finland dropped to third. Malta and Spain rounded out the five most popular alternative destinations.
Despite this shift, the proportion of recruitment counsellors whose students were interested in France also rose four percentage points to 20%. With affordable higher education tuition thanks to government subsidies,9 world-class cultural opportunities, Francophone and Anglophone classes, and its membership in the European Union, France’s appeal remained strong.
While Finland also offers English-language instruction at many of its institutions and is part of the EU, fewer respondents noted interest in Finland. This shift may be influenced by recent government announcements, including that as of August 2026, international students will be charged full-cost tuition. Moreover, universities may no longer use public funding for international student scholarships, significantly impacting affordability of Finnish programs.10
In general, interest in European destinations remained strong: 8 out of the top 10 destinations cited are in Europe, and “European countries” rose to eighth most-common answer when combined with the results for “Schengen countries.”
Outside of Europe, interest in destinations like the United Arab Emirates (UAE) grew to 6% of respondents (including several specific callouts to Dubai). The UAE rose past Singapore, as did mainland China, in this survey. Several respondents also noted they’re supporting students interested in Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia, demonstrating rising student interest in destinations across Asia.
Overall Interest in Studying Abroad Stabilizes
When we zoom out to take a look at overall student interest in studying abroad, results show that demand isn’t slowing down. For the first time since Q3 2023, over 20% of respondents shared they’d worked with significantly more students quarter-over-quarter:
The total number of respondents who had worked with more students dipped by three percentage points since the spring to 47%. However, looking at engagement levels over a longer timeframe, it’s encouraging that more recruitment professionals are reporting strengthening student demand year-over-year.
When your institution works with ApplyBoard, we review study abroad applications for accuracy and completion before they are submitted. This application pre-screening, along with our AI-powered program matching and recruitment partner vetting and training, have a measurable positive impact on acceptance rates.
Affordability Top of Mind for International Students and Recruiters
In our survey, we also asked which factors contributed most heavily to study destination decisions. In Fall 2025, four of the top five drivers were related to finances, whether directly—in the case of cost of living and cost of studying—or indirectly, relating to students’ ability to work both during and after their studies:11
While “cost of studying” remains the most common factor among students who are considering international study, it’s worth noting that more survey respondents cited this factor as a key driver than at any point since this question was added to the survey.
As the cost of living in many study destinations continues to rise, budget-conscious students may consider less expensive communities in popular countries, or shorter programs like accelerated degrees or graduate diplomas and certificates. Institutions that promote these programs effectively, while illustrating which post-study opportunities students in shorter programs are eligible for, can attract future leaders to their campuses.
As one survey respondent shared:
“In 2026, I expect students to lean more toward technology-driven programs like AI, cybersecurity, and data science, alongside fields such as healthcare and sustainability. Many will prefer flexible study paths—shorter certifications or blended learning—while postgraduate demand will remain steady for [these] specializations. Overall, the trend will be more career-oriented and skills-focused.”
In general, the perceived affordability of top study destinations dipped over the last six months with Canada as the single exception. Even given this change, Germany stood above the other five destinations: 77% of respondents agreed it was an affordable option for their students. Ireland was close behind at 69% agreement, and Canada was at 67%:
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While free or low-cost tuition at many public universities is definitely an advantage for Germany when it comes to affordability, academic institutions in each of these destinations can lean on—and promote—other strengths. These strengths include scholarships for talented international students, guaranteed on-campus housing including family-friendly options, access to a public health plan, or financial assistance through cross-government partnerships. Showing past examples of how co-op programs and other work experience opportunities have built students’ skills and network while they earned a salary is another powerful motivator.
Turning Insights into Strategy with ApplyBoard
Thanks to the feedback from international recruitment professionals worldwide, ApplyBoard’s RP Pulse Survey is a helpful check-in on our sector. It offers unique insights into what prospective students are thinking about, and what their advisors are hearing day-by-day.
If your institution wants to level up your international recruitment strategy, our team can help. The ApplyBoard platform builds opportunities for academic institutions to engage with and respond to student needs. Whether it’s through data-driven guidance around future program needs based on student interest, hosting lively webinars, or attending our showcase TRW event, our team can help your institution drive student success.
With our market insights, real-time data, and global network of partners, we can help your recruitment team reach tomorrow’s students where they are today.
If you’re ready to revolutionize your international student enrolment with the smartest platform for global student mobility, contact our Commercial Partnerships team.
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FOOTNOTES:
1. The ApplyBoard Fall 2025 Recruitment Partner Pulse Survey ran from August 19 to September 2, 2025. It received 385 responses from international recruitment professionals in 40 countries.
2. Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, the UK, and the US
3. UK Home Office, “Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper.” May 12, 2025.
4. This includes respondents who “agreed” or “strongly agreed” the US was an open, safe, and welcoming destination.
5. Here, “disagreed” refers to respondents who “disagreed” or “strongly disagreed.”
6. Inside Higher Education, “Where Students Have Had Their Visas Revoked.” April 7, 2025.
7. The major Anglophone study destinations of Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
8. This open-ended question allowed respondents to share the names of multiple destinations.
9. Campus France, “Tuition Fees in France.” Updated Sept. 15, 2025.
10. Jan Petter Myklebust, University World News. “Full-cost fees fuel inequity in international recruitment.” Aug. 19, 2025.
11. “Cost of living” as a discrete factor was added in the Fall 2025 survey. Prior to that survey, it fit under “cost of studying.” This question had 10 different options to choose from.
