The recent move by U.S. President Donald Trump to bar international students from attending Harvard University is “concerning,” but experts who help Canadian students apply abroad say it shouldn’t deter them from considering American schools.
On Wednesday, Trump signed a proclamation to try and bar foreign students from entering the U.S. to attend the institution.
Harvard retaliated, filing a court challenge that led to a federal judge placing a temporary pause on the proclamation.
But while that pause is in place, the U.S. has moved to revoke the visas of international students, with those targeted studying under F-1 and J-1 visas.
Canadians have so far been able to escape some of these, as visas are not required to study in the U.S., but those studying at Harvard are in a different situation.
The school has approximately 686 Canadians enrolled as of 2022, and it’s yet to be seen what could happen to those studying or applying could also face difficulty.
According to Global Affairs Canada, the most recent data shows that nearly 28,000 Canadian students headed to the U.S. for study in 2023.
Canadian students should still apply, but be cautious
Yet while there could be difficulty, it shouldn’t necessarily deter you from making the jump.
“If they’re really passionate about studying at a particular American institution, there’s no reason right now that they should entirely abandon the country and its higher education system,” said Elizabeth Buckner, an associate professor of higher education at the University of Toronto.
Buckner said it doesn’t mean Canadian students shouldn’t still be cautious, noting that those potentially accepted to Harvard could face uncertainty if they have to leave the school in the middle of their degree.
When applying, students should be aware of what they need in order to study and take precautions given the uncertainty.
According to the U.S. Embassy in Canada, Canadian citizens don’t need a visa to study or participate in an exchange program in the U.S., but they need to obtain an I20 certificate of eligibility from the school or exchange program they plan to attend.
Once they’ve received the I-20, the student will be registered with SEVIS, the student tracking system, and required to pay a registration fee.
On crossing the border to begin their program, the student must then provide a Canadian passport, the I-20 or DS-2019 certificate, proof the SEVIS fee has been paid, proof they can pay fees and living expenses in the U.S. and proof of ties to Canada.
It’s why, Buckner said, Canadian students may need to think about potential circumstances that might not have come up in the past and may need to have a backup plan should they have to leave if more schools are told to limit international student attendance.
“If you suddenly can’t continue enrolling in your same institution, you don’t want to lose those one, two, three years of study without a degree, especially knowing how expensive the tuition is at American universities,” she said.
She added that students may want to research whether their program could be transferred to a Canadian institution if such a shift were to occur.
Consider Canadian universities or ones abroad
Tejbir Singh, the owner of Toronto Education Consultants, told Global News it may be worth it for Canadians to consider schools at home or abroad to avoid the uncertainty south of the border.
“They should trust Canadian universities that they’re going to get the right education,” he said.
But Singh added that while some may be after the programs at the U.S. schools, others may pursue the name — being able to say they studied at Harvard or Yale University.
“Instead of just going after the names, I would recommend them to go after the right quality education so they can actually learn something and then work in whatever field they are trying to prepare themselves for,” Singh said.
Singh’s company assists Canadians, permanent residents and international students in their applications to schools both in and outside Canada, as well as providing career counselling.
He noted that Canadians should also consider schools outside of Canada and the U.S. as another way to avoid uncertainty south of the border, which may give students a new opportunity.
“Sometimes what happens is people or students, once they complete their college, they usually try to study abroad to actually feel that lifestyle of being a student and start their journey,” he said.
Regardless of that uncertainty, both Singh and Buckner noted that Canadians shouldn’t be discouraged from heading south to study overall, but can consider other schools if they want to limit risks.
— with files from The Associated Press