Being admitted to the prestigious Harvard University was a dream come true for TU Delft student Coen Visser (Aerospace Engineering). But the Trump administration’s new rules are making studying at the American university almost impossible for international students.
Library at Harvard University. (Photo: Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard)
After being admitted for the Master’s in Computational Science and Engineering in February, third year TU Delft student Coen Visser firmly believed that he was going to start studying at the prestigious university in September.
This all changed in April. Harvard lost billions in government subsidies as it refused to adopt the Trump administration’s demands. But the biggest blow came last Thursday when the university received a letter from Kristi Noem, the Minister of Inland Security. She announced that the Trump administration will no longer issue visas to foreigners who want to study at Harvard University. The current international students have to move to other universities in order to retain their residence permits.
“I heard it within minutes of Noem’s tweet,” says Visser. “I am in a group chat with other prospective international Harvard students, and it immediately exploded with messages. I could hardly believe it. It took me the whole evening to process the news.”
Doubts and disappointment
He had already bid his Harvard dream farewell. “In April when the American Government first announced the ruling, I started to have doubts. I wondered that if I was already deeply concerned about the security of my stay there, how stressful would the next two years be?”
So he changed his plans. “This decision by the American Government means that studying in the USA this year is not an option for me anymore.” As admission to Harvard is very competitive, Visser had also applied at other masters programmes in the same field. “I am lucky that I was also admitted to another course abroad.”
While he had not incurred big expenses for tuition fees and housing, he has lost EUR 500 in visa costs.
Harvard is fighting back
One day after the Government’s announcement, Harvard fought against the ruling in court. The university said that ‘the Trump administration’s crackdown on Harvard violates the First Amendment’. That same day Harvard’s motion was granted. A federal court judge in Boston temporarily blocked the Administration’s decision. This means that for now, the university may accept international students.
For Visser, this legal decision comes too late. “I am completely concentrating on a different master’s programme, but if you had told me in November that this would happen, I would have thought you were crazy.”
He hopes to still go to Harvard at some point. “I would like to do a PhD there in the future. But I would need a lot of luck to be accepted.”
International solidarity
The American administration’s plans are generating reactions around the world. Hong Kong has stated that the city will open its universities for the affected students. The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is offering international students at Harvard special grants. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) is also inviting both current and future international bachelor and master students at Harvard and other American universities to continue their studies at HKUST.
29 May
Whether international students may definitely go to Harvard will be made known on 29 May in the next hearing. It will then be determined whether the visa ban will be scrapped or will be applicable. Visser hopes that this situation does not continue for long. “I have had a lot of contact with other prospective international Harvard students whose plans have been turned upside down. This is also the case for the international students who are studying there now.”
At present, four TU Delft students are enrolled at the American university. TU Delft has contacted these students to give them support. “We are looking at each individual case to see what we can do for them,” a spokesperson had previously said.
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