Harvard Saw Record International Applications Despite Federal Crackdown, Admissions Dean Tells Alumni

Harvard received a record number of international applicants in each of the past two admissions cycles despite mounting federal restrictions on international students, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid William “Bill” R. Fitzsimmons ’67 told alumni in Minnesota earlier this month, according to an attendee.

Fitzsimmons delivered an address at the Harvard Club of Minnesota’s appreciation event for members and alumni interviewers on Oct. 8 in Minneapolis — the first visit to Minnesota from Harvard admissions in “many years,” according to the club’s website.

Richard Kuang, an alumni interviewer and Harvard Business School graduate who attended the event, said he asked Fitzsimmons about the federal government’s actions against international students. Fitzsimmons appeared confident that Harvard could continue to defend itself and its international students, Kuang said.

A spokesperson for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences declined to comment on Fitzsimmons’ remarks.

The remarks come as international applications to U.S. colleges fell 10 percent this year, according to Bloomberg.

Harvard does not publicly release the number of international applicants, but international students make up 16 percent of the Class of 2029, unchanged from the Class of 2028 and up from roughly 15 percent for the Class of 2027.

The College has not yet admissions statistics for the Class of 2030 — the second year since the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard that it has held the data until the fall.

Fitzsimmons credited the strong numbers in part to Harvard’s policy of offering international students the same financial aid as domestic students, according to Kuang.

That aid has recently come under federal scrutiny. In July, the Department of Justice opened an investigation into whether Harvard violated federal civil rights law by using gifts from China-based sources to fund financial aid programs that favor foreign students. Legal experts have said that the department could have grounds for a Title VI lawsuit, citing the precedent set by the Supreme Court’s affirmative action ruling.

The Trump administration has taken a number of measures against international students at Harvard.

In May 2025, the Department of Homeland Security revoked Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification, which the University needs to enroll international students. A federal judge ultimately blocked the order in June 2025.

Over the summer, the DHS proposed a rule that would have capped student and scholar visas at four years, before it was blocked in September. This month, the administration opened an investigation into potential J-1 visa fraud at Harvard and eight other universities and a Justice Department lawyer told a federal appeals court that President Donald Trump would “likely” reissue an expired proclamation barring Harvard’s international students from entering the U.S.

Fitzsimmons praised the Harvard Corporation and University leadership for working together as a team in the legal fights and said Harvard had drawn support from other universities and foreign leaders, including Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, according to Kuang.

Asked about applicants’ use of artificial intelligence, Fitzsimmons also told attendees that the alumni interview has become more important than it used to be, according to Kuang.

Fitzsimmons said outside help on applications was nothing new, noting that for decades some applicants have paid professional consultants to polish their essays and prepare them for interviews.

Fitzsimmons said, according to Kuang, that AI gave generic responses that did not do as well in the application process.

Kuang, who has interviewed Harvard applicants for nearly 15 years, said interviews can reveal when a student’s motivation comes from their parents rather than themselves.

“I can’t tell you how many times that I had sat in an interview, and you can just tell by their motivation and their expression, like this is like 90 percent of parents,” Kuang said.

—Staff writer Alexa M. Schmitt can be reached at [email protected] or Signal at alexaschmitt.15. Follow her on X ​​@alexa_m15_s.

—Staff writer Celine Muir can be reached at [email protected] or Signal at celinem.33. Follow her on X @celinemuir1.