International students expressed concerns as Purdue President Mung Chiang prepares to assume his role as Northwestern’s next president July 1, citing an alleged policy limiting international student admissions during his time at Purdue.
In late 2025 and early 2026, articles from the scholarly journal Science, The Lafayette Journal & Courier and Forbes alleged Purdue had an unwritten policy to limit the admission of international students from China and other countries the university deemed “adversarial” under Chiang’s leadership.
Purdue denied ever having such a policy in a March statement, according to The Purdue Exponent, a student-run newspaper covering Purdue and the surrounding community.
An international undergraduate student from China, who requested anonymity due to fear of retaliation from the University, said she and a fellow international student from China were initially hopeful when they heard the news of Chiang’s appointment.
Chiang was also an international student, moving from Hong Kong to the U.S. at 18 years old to pursue higher education at Stanford University.
“We later learned that he actually has some policies that are not really great for Chinese students, especially during his employment at Purdue University,” she said, referencing Purdue’s alleged policy under Chiang’s leadership.
She said many of her high school classmates in China who had been accepted into more competitive universities were rejected from Purdue.
The student said she fears Chiang’s appointment could mean a smaller community of Chinese students at NU. Currently, some international students already have difficulties finding a sense of community among their American, English-speaking counterparts, she said.
An anonymous undergraduate student from Russia, who requested anonymity due to fear of retaliation from NU, said she was initially excited for Chiang to be the University’s first Asian American president.
For many international students, she said, NU is an appealing choice due to its reputation for diversity and academic rigour.
“It was always a hub for all the diverse backgrounds, ethnicities and religions, and they were generally trying to judge us based on intellectual curiosity,” the student said.
While she said she would avoid drawing conclusions regarding the future of NU’s administration under Chiang, the student said the application of a University policy which limits the number of accepted international applicants could impact their perception of NU as an institution that welcomes international minds.
Another international student from China, who also requested anonymity due to fear of retaliation from NU, expressed doubt about Chiang’s future at NU.
She said she is still trying to understand why Chiang would allegedly restrict international student admissions while previously being an international student.
“He’s not only born in China, he’s raised in China,” she said.
She said she hopes the NU community will voice support for international students in case the University implements policies impacting international acceptances under Chiang.
Regarding Chiang’s future policies toward international students at NU, she said she’s “not very optimistic.”
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Bluesky: @lucaskubovchik.bsky.social
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