As international student mobility continues to grow worldwide, US universities find themselves grappling with a new challenge: maintaining relevance, accessibility, and appeal in a competitive global education market.
At a recent Keystone Education Group event in Boston, Anne Corriveau from Boston University and John Erickson from Bryant University took to the stage to shed light on how student expectations have evolved and how institutions must adapt.
Both emphasized a significant cultural and economic shift: today’s international students are less focused on prestige or a broad "global experience," and more focused on value—particularly in the form of internships, career readiness, and return on investment.
“Students are asking me about jobs on campus well before they arrive… even before they apply,” said John, assistant director of international graduate admissions at Bryant. “At the graduate level, this is a major driver. They want work experience and internships built into the curriculum.”
“27 years ago, the US position in the Indian market was very different,” Anne recalled. “There weren’t that many institutions recruiting actively… It was different work, different messaging. But what students wanted then—a global experience, networking, a return on investment—some of that remains. What’s changed is the urgency and specificity of expectations.”
The importance of internships on student decision-making cannot be underestimated. A 2024 Keystone Education Group student survey of 27,000 students, found that 87% of students wanted to or planned to do an internship as part of their studies.
While student expectations are increasingly revolving around employability, institutions aren’t always able to meet the rising bar.
“They want to use this work experience to propel to a job here in the US or to be more sought after when they return home,” John noted. “The students want CPT (curricular practical training) on day one. We’re not able to provide that. We’re talking internally about whether we can build internships into the curriculum earlier.”
At Boston University, where international students make up nearly a quarter of the undergraduate population, Anne also sees this shift firsthand. She notes that families, not just students, are placing growing pressure on institutions to demonstrate tangible outcomes such as internships and job placements.
The attraction goes beyond studying in the US – it is what comes next for students.
However, amid increasing costs in both tuition fees and cost of living, Anne admitted the big challenge is cost and competition.
“We don’t offer any need-based assistance to our international population,” said Anne. “So how do you market an expensive institution to a shrinking pool of financially viable applicants?”
This is reiterated in Keystone’s student data, with 84% of students interested in studying in the US concerned about affordability.
One of the solutions to overcome these international student concerns is through peer-to-peer engagement between incoming and current students (who are often international), with both Bryant and BU leaning on peer mentorship.
And in a sector often criticized for generic messaging, both speakers agreed: differentiation, data, and authentic dialogue are more important than ever in student decision-making.
Anne recalled a conversation with a European high school counsellor, who told her: ‘You guys all sound the same’. “And she’s right. Differentiating your institution is really hard work,” said Anne.
What sets institutions apart, they argue, is not only academic quality but also campus life and soft skill development—areas where US universities still hold a unique edge. From research opportunities for undergraduates to leadership development through extracurriculars, these experiences are rarely replicated elsewhere.
Still, the question lingers: as student mobility grows, can the US maintain its slice of the pie without pricing out the next generation of international learners?
John left the audience with a final, sobering thought: “How are we going to make the US affordable for international student mobility? “A very important question for me is the value of the US. It is not attainable to the next group of international students. What can we do as an institution or as the US in general, to make it more affordable to capture some of the new international students entering the marketing.”
One theme that underpinned the discussion was the need to rethink safety narratives for international students studying in the US, and to showcase the US as a welcoming international study destination.
Keystone data from February shows that prospective international students are significantly more likely to be concerned about their safety whilst studying in the US: nearly 20% of prospective students identify this as a concern, compared to only 14% for the UK.
“I used to sell the US as a whole,” said Anne. “Now, I’m focused on selling locally (Boston). I think it’s important that students understand what it means to be in Boston. We hear about safety a lot now. I’ve had three, four, ten questions about safety this week from prospective students.”
As the US higher education sector adapts to these evolving demands, institutions like BU and Bryant are showing that success lies not just in attracting international students—but in supporting and retaining them with empathy, honesty, and a strong sense of belonging.