Written by Andrei Salimi
The decline in UK student visa applications continued in September, suggesting that August’s fall was not a one-off. Home Office statistics released on 8 October show a 19% year-on-year drop in sponsored study visa applications from main applicants compared with September 2025. Similar figures published for August recorded a 16% decline, prompting concern about international student recruitment and the ensuing financial ramifications across the UK higher education sector.
The figures are particularly significant for LSE, whose student body is among the most international in the UK. According to the School’s 2025/2026 statistics on students, LSE enrolled 9,541 students domiciled internationally, out of a total student body of 14,374 (66.4%). In an August 2026 interview with the Financial Times, LSE President Larry Kramer said declining international student numbers had weakened the finances of UK universities. Although other universities have begun to face financial difficulty, LSE recorded an operational surplus of £50.8 million in 2024/2025. It has also exceeded overall student intake targets for 2026/2027, according to a spokesperson. Nevertheless, the School has increasingly sought to diversify its revenue sources through philanthropy and endowment growth.
Kramer also outlined a “long-term objective” for LSE to receive “a third of its support from endowment income and philanthropy, a third from fees and the rest from other activities.” Indeed, an ambitious financial diversification plan has been underway since the 2024/2025 academic year, President Kramer’s first full year as head of LSE. In LSE’s 2024/2025 financial statements, Kramer announced an “increased fundraising campaign target of £750 million by 2030”, which has been supplemented by £88.9 million of pledges acquired during the 2024/2025 academic year and the hiring of a new Director for Alumni Engagement.
The LSE Benefactors Board, which lists entities that have donated more than £1 million to the university, paints an even more recent picture of this new fundraising push. Twelve benefactors were listed in 2025 and, so far, nine have been listed in 2026, up from a pre-Kramer high of seven in both 2021 and 2022 under former President Minouche Shafik. Separately, LSE’s fundraising campaign website reported that £603,807,551 had been raised as of 13 October, or 81% of the £750 million target. Of this total, £368 million had been raised since the 2024/2025 academic year.
Despite the financial crunch on the higher education sector as a whole, other top London universities have posted higher income surpluses than LSE. Imperial and UCL recorded surpluses of £141.9 million and £104 million in 2024/2025, respectively. LSE, in contrast, recorded a lower surplus of £50.8 million, largely due to its significantly smaller student body and less lucrative social science research grants. Adjusted for size, however, its surplus of £3700 per student was higher than that of UCL, £2008, but lower than that of Imperial, £6600.
When approached for comment, an LSE spokesperson said that, despite signs of weakness in the wider international student market, LSE has continued to attract strong overseas demand:
“LSE’s international application numbers compare favourably with the sector as a whole, with increases at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Current indications suggest that LSE has exceeded its overall intake targets at both levels of study; however, enrolment figures for 2026/27 have not yet been finalised.
We remain committed to attracting outstanding applicants from all over the world. Overseas students make an enormous contribution to the LSE community and to the UK’s culture, society and economy.”
