Harvard has long been the world’s top college. Trump’s sanction puts its allure at risk

Campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass.

For students around the world, an acceptance letter to Harvard University has represented the pinnacle of achievement, offering a spot among the elite at a campus that produces Nobel Prize winners, captains of industry and global leaders.

That allure is now in jeopardy. In its intensifying fight with the White House, Harvard was dealt its heaviest blow yet on Thursday, when the government blocked the Ivy League school from enrolling foreign students. The move threatens to undermine Harvard’s stature, revenue and appeal among top scholars globally.

Even more than the government’s $2.6 billion in research cuts, the administration’s action represents an existential threat for Harvard. The school summed it up in a lawsuit seeking to block the action: “Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard.”

Within hours of the decision, the consequences started becoming clear. Belgium’s Princess Elisabeth, who just finished her first year in a Harvard graduate program, is waiting to find out if she can return next year, the palace said. The Chinese government publicly questioned whether Harvard’s international standing will endure.

“The relevant actions by the U.S. side will only damage its own image and international credibility,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a briefing in Beijing.

A federal judge on Friday blocked the administration’s decision as the lawsuit plays out, but the order is only temporary.

Students say their hopes and dreams are at stake

On the Harvard campus, international students said they were stunned, confused and deeply concerned about what the government’s action means for their degrees, future plans and legal status in the United States.

Walid Akef, a Harvard graduate student in art history from Egypt, said the Trump administration action would cost him “20 years of my life.”

“Coming to Harvard — I’m not exaggerating — I planned for it for 15 years,” Akef said. He earned two master’s degrees and learned multiple languages before arriving at the university. He also worries what the changes will mean for his family, since his wife is pregnant and will soon be unable to travel.

“This is absolutely disastrous. I’m going to lose not just stability, but I also lose my dreams and then lose, I don’t know, my beautiful life.”

Akef is cautiously optimistic that Harvard “will take care of this,” but he is also considering other options as U.S. policy becomes increasingly inhospitable to foreign students.

A graduating law student from Asia said he had planned to stay in the United States and find work, “but not anymore.”

“I don’t know what I’ll do, but my future doesn’t appear to be here,” said the student, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation.

Changes could erase a quarter of the student body

With a $53 billion endowment, Harvard can weather federal funding losses that would cripple other institutions. But this new sanction strikes at the heart of its campus.

Already, the change is causing disarray, as thousands of students consider whether to transfer or risk being in the country illegally. It could wipe out a quarter of the university’s student body, while halving some of its graduate schools and threatening students who work as researchers and teaching assistants. Some sports teams would be left nearly empty.

For many, it has been a time of panicked calls home and huddles with fellow international students. For Kat, a data science student from China, the news comes as she prepares to graduate. Foreigners set to receive degrees from Harvard next week can still do so.

“My biggest fear is whether I would get deported immediately” after graduation, Kat said. She spoke on the condition that she be identified only by her first name out of concern about retaliation. “We’re not sure about our status.”

If the government’s action stands, Harvard would be banned from admitting new international students for at least two school years. Even if it regains its place as a global magnet, top students may shy away for fear of future government reprisals, the school said in its lawsuit.

The university enrolls almost 6,800 foreign students at its campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, near Boston. Roughly 30% of those come from India and China.

Asked if he was considering restrictions on other universities, President Donald Trump said Friday: “We’re taking a look at a lot of things.”

“Harvard’s going to have to change its ways. So are some others,” the president told reporters in the Oval Office. “We don’t want troublemakers here” from other countries.

A time to weigh  other opportunities

In its court filing, Harvard listed some of its most notable alumni who enrolled as foreign students. The list includes Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister of Pakistan; Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the former president of Liberia; Empress Masako of Japan; and many leaders of major corporations.

Many of the world’s top students spend years preparing for their college applications, sometimes working with admissions consultants such as Crimson Education, a company named after Harvard’s school color. Crimson clients recently admitted to Harvard were shocked by the government’s action, said Jamie Beaton, a Harvard alumnus from New Zealand who founded the company. But rather than looking for other options, many students quickly shifted to finding a way forward with Harvard, he said.

Still, some current students and those bound for the university in the fall were weighing other opportunities. Two universities in Hong Kong on Friday extended invites to affected students.

“It feels like my world has exploded,” said Fang, a Chinese student who was accepted to Harvard for a master’s program. She also spoke on the condition that only her first name be used out of fear that she could be targeted.

Her student visa was approved just this week. “If America becomes a country that doesn’t welcome me, I don’t want to go there.” COLLIN BINKLEY & MICHAEL CASEY, CAMBRIDGE, MDT/AP