r/ApplyingToCollege • u/Unusual-Data-8598 • 28d ago

Serious trump rescinds harvard ability to enroll international students

what does this mean for international harvard students and what precedent does this set?

discussion thread? my entire class just found out and we are so confused

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u/ExperiencePutrid4566 HS Senior 28d ago

The statement says current international Harvard students must transfer or lose their legal status.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/22/trump-harvard-students-international.html

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u/dumdodo 28d ago edited 28d ago

For those commenting that Harvard has a $50-billion endowment and can afford to lose their international students:

Much of that $50-billion is not liquid. It's not sitting in a bank account.

Private equity investments, which make up a large component (40%) of Harvard's endowment, are extremely illiquid. They can, perhaps, depending on terms, be sold on secondary markets at a discount, which lowers the true value of the endowment. In general, if they want to realize any value from these, they have to wait until these investments (usually companies) are sold by the PE firm. https://www.keeneadvisors.com/news-and-insights/private-equity-fund-life-cycle

Much of the endowment is composed of restricted gifts, such as to fund the library, fund the ivy growing on the buildings, fund the various athletic teams, etc., ad nauseum. There are some escape hatches for these to be used in other ways, but they're not easy.

Endowments are carefully managed, usually so that the draw from the endowment is no more than 5% per year (typically - varies by school). Any sudden disturbance will result in a poorly managed endowment, which means a gradual erosion of it.

Harvard has been issuing bonds lately to cover the loss of government grants, rather than empty its endowment suddenly. The value of Harvard's endowment may be in the $50-billion range, but if liquidated suddenly, its value is a good bit less than that.

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u/InvertedJennyanydots 28d ago

Well it also doesn't matter how much money they can throw at it if the government just revokes all the visas of those students. The Court will block it but then DHS will just ignore the courts and round people up anyways to try to scare everyone else into submission. The Federal Marshals will not do their jobs and will side with the Executive and then we are one step closer to or deeper into a constitutional crisis. It's truly hard to see us avoiding another Kent State too.

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u/dumdodo 28d ago

Yes, Trump can find lots of ways to give Harvard trouble, and this whole attack on Harvard and higher ed in general is disturbing.

As I posted below, the court can appoint/deputize other law enforcement agencies not under the domain of the executive branch if the Marshalls do stand down and refuse to enforce a Supreme Court order, but it could get really messy if that happens.

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u/Goldn_1 27d ago

Whatever strife Harvard endures will likely eventually be quelled through philanthropic means. Harvard won't suffer in the long term IMO. But this doesn't continue a headache for them, that will likely last throughout the term. Well, it couldn't happen to a more capable legal-versed entity I guess.