Education

… in Britain, that is. Per the Financial Times, there’s been a double-digit jump in American undergrads applying to UK universities: (Archive.is link to avoid paywall here.)

Data published by the UK’s university admissions service on Thursday showed 7,930 US students applied for undergraduate courses starting this autumn, an annual rise of 13.9 per cent and the highest number since records began in 2006.  Student recruiters said the data reflected the Trump administration’s assault on the higher education sector, with elite institutions including Harvard and Columbia at the centre of a battle over federal funding and academic freedom.

Mark Bennett, vice-president of research and insight at Keystone Education Group, an international student recruitment company, said Americans had been deterred from domestic study by Trump’s threats to cut funding and revoke student visas.

From slashing financial aid to meddling in enrollment standards to trying to break institutional accreditation, you don’t need me to remind you that Trump is befuckifying one of America’s crown jewels. Trouble is, will UK universities be able to handle the influx? The higher ed sector over here is in pretty deep shit, too, with a financial polycrisis threatening a shocking number of institutions. Here’s an excerpt from a June explainer by The Week:

In the last academic year, a third of the UK‘s 150 or so higher education institutions had only enough funds to last for 100 days, with an increasing number facing “a material risk of closure” unless they dramatically cut costs or merge over the next few years….

University leaders from the Russell Group warned that these proposals could make the UK “less competitive internationally”, further hitting their finances. The latest annual health check of the sector by the Office for Students (OfS) found that 43% of universities are facing budget deficits.

So roughly 50 of the UK’s universities are essentially living paycheck to paycheck. I can only imagine that they’ll welcome American undergrads with open arms, given that international students have to pay a premium on tuition.

Do note, however, that even with the mark-up, a three-year bachelor’s degree at a UK university could come out costing American students less than earning a degree from a selective private college at home, especially if they apply to schools where the cost of living is a little less painful — e.g., outside of London, Oxford, or Cambridge. I fully expect to hear more American accents in my runs along the canal near my grad school alma mater this autumn.

And who knows? Perhaps they’ll be all moved in and orientated in time for the big man’s visit. Not that it’s going to be quite so flashy an affair this time: the King has scheduled Donald for the royal equivalent of a loose hang, rather than an out-and-out celebration of the “Special Relationship”.

He’ll be here from September 17–19, which is when the House of Commons will be in recess. That means he won’t address them (though it’s possible he could address the Lords). He’ll also be staying at not at Buckingham Palace, but at Windsor Castle — an impressive place, no doubt, but it’s well out of central London. There’ll be a banquet attended by all the senior members of the royal family, well out of public view.

Perhaps he and Charles can compare their swollen hands and ankles. Or perhaps he and Andrew can reminisce about their late mutual pal, Jeffrey.

Time will tell. Meanwhile, some Londoners are already decorating in advance of the president’s arrival:

London is getting ready for Trump’s visit

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— WuTangIsForTheChildren (@wutangforchildren.bsky.social) July 17, 2025 at 6:29 PM

You could say that’s not nice to do to a guest, but, you know: honi soit qui mal y pense. Open thread.

Donald Trump Boosts Higher Ed EnrollmentsPost + Comments (42)