It’s not all about Trump - cost, distance, work and visas are all part of the USA brand story today
22 July 2025
Andrew Crisp looks at how prospective students are thinking about brand USA.
Surveys always have the power to surprise, to offer an insight that you hadn’t anticipated and consequently, can inform a new approach. However, sometimes the data confirms exactly what you suspected, and that’s very much the case with this year’s Business of Branding study.
Fewer students are considering studying in the USA.
For a number of years, the Business of Branding study has looked at country brands as education destinations. Consistently, the USA has held the top spot, sometimes closely run by the UK. This year’s study, which will be published shortly, finds the UK as the top choice, with the USA relegated to third behind Germany.
The value of education destination brands is enormous. In May 2023, a report published by Universities UK International (UUKi), the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) and Kaplan International Pathways in collaboration with London Economics, found that the intake of international students in the 2021/22 academic year contributed £41.9 billion to the UK economy.
More recently, NAFSA, the Association of International Educators found that in 2023/24 international students studying at U.S. colleges and universities contributed $43.8 billion to the U.S. economy and supported 378,175 jobs. For every three international students, one U.S. job is created and supported by spending occurring in the higher education, accommodation, dining, retail, transportation, telecommunications and health insurance sectors.
What attracts students to the USA?
Among those who remain open to or are actively considering the USA as a study destination, the Business of Branding report identifies that those from Latin America, India and South Africa are most interested. Just over three-quarters (76%) mostly or definitely agree that the country has a good range of quality business schools and 74% that it is attractive to international students and has a strong and dynamic economy.
Yet even among those who are open to the USA, there are doubts. While 38% were more motivated to study in the USA since President Trump had been elected, 30% were less interested.
However, it’s not just President Trump that is turning students away from study in the USA. Of those not currently open to or considering study in the USA, 1107 (just over half the total sample) had previously considered the USA for their degree. Among these respondents, the main reason for deciding against the USA is the unaffordable cost of study, selected by 34%. Indeed, even among those open to the USA 74% recognise that the country is an expensive place to study.
Just over a quarter (27%) of those who previously considered the USA decided it is too far to travel, 26% have been put off by the actions of President Trump’s government, 22% want to work overseas but felt they wouldn’t be able to in the USA after graduation, and 21% didn’t think they would get a visa to study.
Telling the international business education brand story for the USA will not be straightforward at present. Value rather than cost will be key, identifying the career benefits of study wherever possible, perhaps focusing on the business start-up scene, and the quality of provision, will all be part of the story.