Harvard Has Long Been The World's Top College. Trump's Sanction Puts Its Allure At Risk

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.

- Agencies

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.

International students face uncertainty as new government policies impact their status and future at a leading university.

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.”