Nearly 20 Percent Fewer International Students Traveled to the U.S. in August - The New York Times

Nearly 20 Percent Fewer International Students Traveled to the U.S. in August - The New York Times

Nearly 20 Percent Fewer International Students Traveled to the U.S. in August

The data shows the steepest decline in August international student arrivals since the pandemic.

By Aatish Bhatia and Amy Fan 

Oct. 5, 2025

The number of international students arriving in the U.S. in August fell by 19 percent this year compared with last year — the largest decline on record outside of the pandemic.

International student arrivals to the U.S. in August

 fewer students (-19%)

Source: Trade.gov

 

Note: The data for August 2025 is preliminary and excludes visitors who arrived from Mexico via land, and visitors from Canada.

The decline is occurring as the Trump administration has delayed visa processing, instituted travel bans or restrictions for 19 countries, threatened to deport international students for pro-Palestinian speech, and heightened the vetting of student visa applicants.

The data, based on arrival records of international student visitors, includes both new international students entering the U.S. and existing international students returning to the country. That means we don’t know the number of new students alone.

But in the past, August arrivals have been a reasonably good indicator of fall enrollment. Most international students arrive in August, in time for the fall semester, as they can’t enter the country more than 30 days before their programs begin.

And a separate federal database tracking international students tells a similar story. It shows that the increase in the total number of international students was 23 percent smaller this fall, compared with the same period last year. Because this number accounts for both new students and recent graduates, it also points to a decline in the numbers of new students.

Though the actual enrollment numbers aren’t known yet, the travel data offers an early sign of international student trends, and how they vary among countries and regions.

A large drop in students arriving from Asia

The United States hosts the most international students of any country: about 1.3 million doctorate, master’s, bachelor’s and associate students, according to recent government data.

Over 70 percent are from Asia, and Asian students also make up the largest share of travelers in the data. This year, the number of Asian students arriving in the U.S. in August fell by 24 percent — the lowest August numbers on record outside of the pandemic.

August international student arrivals from…

Asia

 fewer students (-24%)

China

India

South Korea

Source: Trade.gov

Nearly one in three U.S. international students are Indian. The number of international students arriving from India already started to decline last year. But this August, it dropped by an additional 44 percent, following prolonged delays in processing student visas.

About one in five U.S. international students are from China. Since the pandemic’s end, fewer Chinese students have enrolled in U.S. universities, following heightened tensions between the U.S. and China. This August, the numbers of arriving Chinese students continued to decline.

The number of students arriving from Europe stayed mostly the same

Students from Europe make up about 7 percent of U.S. international students. But they made up about 16 percent of international student arrivals in August. Their arrival numbers stayed roughly similar to those of the past year.

August international student arrivals from…

Europe

 fewer students (-2%)

Spain

United Kingdom

Germany

Source: Trade.gov

There were more students arriving from Britain, and slight declines in the numbers of students from Spain and Germany. The largest drop in European student visitors was from Russia, which has had strained relations with the U.S.

Declines from Africa, the Middle East and South America

Students from Africa also make up about 7 percent of international students in the U.S. Their arrival numbers fell in August by nearly a third.

August international student arrivals from…

Africa

 fewer students (-32%)

Nigeria

Ghana

Kenya

Source: Trade.gov

The shares of students arriving from Ghana and Nigeria fell by nearly half in August.

In July, the U.S. placed tighter rules on many categories of visas for citizens of Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Cameroon. These visas now allow a single entry to the U.S. and are valid for three months (student visas typically allow multiple entries and are valid for many years). In September, the U.S. reversed these restrictions for Ghana, after the country agreed to accept people deported from the U.S.

The data also shows a decade-long decline in students arriving from the Middle East, who made up roughly 5 percent of all international students in 2024, driven largely by a drop in students from Saudi Arabia.

August international student arrivals from…

Middle East

 fewer students (-17%)

Saudi Arabia

Turkey

Kuwait

Source: Trade.gov

The number of students arriving from South America (about 6 percent of international students) also showed a decline this year, despite student travel having been relatively steady aside from the pandemic.

August international student arrivals from…

South America

 fewer students (-11%)

Brazil

Colombia

Peru

Source: Trade.gov

The data captures travel from many countries, but not all. The number of students arriving from Canada and over land from Mexico, for example, are released on a two-month lag. And for many countries, the number of international students who come to the U.S. is small. But overall, fewer students arrived in August from most countries in the data. You can explore more below:

Change in international student arrivals

Between August 2024 and August 2025. Click on a circle or search for more details.

Or try: AfricaAsiaCaribbeanCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastOceaniaSouth America

 +16%Iran -86%↑more students↓fewer students

Avg. change

-19.1%

Note: Circle sizes reflect the numbers of international students who arrived from each country in August 2025, and the vertical positions reflect the shift from August 2024 to August 2025. The average change is weighted by the number of international students who arrived in August 2024.

International student arrivals

Click on a region for more details

Place of residence	Aug. 2024	Aug. 2025	Change
Asia	250,740	191,179	-24%
Europe	51,439	50,548	-2%
Middle East	22,896	18,917	-17%
South America	22,183	19,769	-11%
Africa	16,965	11,456	-32%
Caribbean	7,124	6,468	-9%
Mexico (excluding arrivals on land)	6,361	5,719	-10%
Central America	5,555	5,336	-4%
Oceania	3,677	3,746	+2%
Total	386,940	313,138	-19%

Source: Trade.gov

 

Note: The data for August 2025 is preliminary and excludes visitors who arrived from Mexico on land, and visitors from Canada. The data set aggregates visitors from some countries.

Reasons for the decline

Why did fewer international students arrive in the U.S. this August? Here are a few possibilities:

1. Visa delays

Many international students have had difficulty obtaining student visas this year. In late May, the State Department paused student visa interviews for three weeks during the peak period that these visas are issued.

When interviews resumed, there were wait times of months to secure an interview at some consulates. As a result, some students may not have been able to obtain a visa in time for the fall semester.

It’s not clear yet how many student visas were issued over the summer — the State Department reports this data on a lag. But the data from May shows a 22 percent drop in F-1 student visa issuances (the most common type of student visa), compared with the previous May.

2. Travel bans

In June, the State Department also instituted a travel ban or visa restrictions for citizens of 19 countries, which further limited student travel.

Iran is one of the countries with a travel ban. The travel data shows that the number of arriving Iranian students dropped by 86 percent this August — the largest decline for any country in the data this year.

August international student arrivals from…

Iran

 fewer students (-86%)

Source: Trade.gov

Data from SEVIS showed that the fall spike in international student enrollment from countries with a travel ban was nearly 70 percent smaller this year.

3. Increased uncertainty

With the Trump administration’s approach to immigration, some foreign students may view the U.S. as a less welcoming or reliable option for study.

Consider these events: In March, the government began detaining and attempting to deport international students, in a crackdown on pro-Palestinian activism. (In a recent ruling, a federal court said the Trump administration acted unconstitutionally in trying to deport foreign students for their pro-Palestinian advocacy.)

In April, the State Department abruptly canceled more than 1,500 student visas, and later restored their legal status. In May, the State Department said that it would “aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students.” In June, it instructed student visa applicants to make their social media profiles public for “a comprehensive and thorough vetting.”

All this may have led some students to opt to study in countries with fewer restrictions. A survey by the Institute of International Education found visa delays, difficulties entering the U.S. and the possibility of visa revocations among the top reasons that colleges expect a decline in their international student enrollment.

“The problem isn’t that the students have lost confidence in the quality of U.S. education. They have lost confidence in our administration’s commitment to international students,” said Fanta Aw, the C.E.O. of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, a nonprofit dedicated to international education.

4. Less travel overall

Some colleges have advised their currently enrolled international students to avoid international travel, such as going home for the summer, warning they may not be able to re-enter the U.S.

The data available so far combines new and existing student arrivals. So a decline may in part reflect a reluctance of existing international students to travel internationally over the summer. For now, these factors can’t be separated until more data arrives.

But the mix of problems for international students has led to what Professor Aw calls “a perfect storm.” Her organization has projected a 30 to 40 percent drop in new international student enrollment this fall, with a cost of nearly $7 billion to the economy.

“The impact of this is going to be felt long term,” she said.

What colleges may be affected?

The colleges that might be most affected by a decline in international students are generally not the most selective colleges, but ones that are the most dependent on these students, said Dick Startz, a professor of economics who analyzes trends in higher education.

Here are three kinds of colleges that could be the most affected:

1. STEM graduate programs

The majority of all international students in the U.S. are enrolled in graduate school, over 80 percent of whom are studying STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).

A Times analysis of recently released data from the Department of Education found at least 229 midsize or large in-person master’s programs where the majority of graduates were international. In 55 of those programs, all in STEM or legal fields, over 95 percent were international.

Master’s programs have had the largest growth in international students over the past five years, and these programs have also shown the largest decline in their growth this year, according to SEVIS data. At the University of Central Missouri, which graduated over 1,500 international master’s degree students in 2024, The Associated Press reported that new international student enrollment dropped by half.

Many teaching assistants and researchers in undergraduate laboratories and STEM programs are also international students, and a sustained drop in international students could make it harder to operate some of these programs.

2. Smaller arts schools, and Christian colleges

The undergraduate colleges with the highest shares of international students are disproportionately small art and design schools, music conservancies and Christian colleges.

An analysis by the credit rating agency Moody’s pointed out that some of these smaller specialty programs are at higher risk of insolvency if international students decline significantly. Inside Higher Ed has reported signs of decreased international enrollment at some of these colleges.

Niagara, a private Catholic university in western New York, reported a 45 percent drop in the number of students from outside of the United States and Canada this fall. In September, the university confirmed it had laid off staff members, according to reporting from The Niagara Gazette.

And DePaul, a private Catholic university in Chicago, reported a 62 percent decline in new international graduate student enrollment, because of visa difficulties and a “declining desire for international students to study in the U.S.” In a letter to faculty and staff, the university president said to expect pay cuts, layoffs and a hiring freeze, as first reported by Reuters.

3. Flagship state schools

At many state schools, international students pay considerably higher tuition than in-state residents. A drop in international enrollment could be a financial burden to these colleges, as well as to the local economies that benefit from the students’ presence.

For example, Ohio State reported in September that its enrollment of new international students dropped by 314 students, or nearly 38 percent. And at Indiana University, new international student enrollment fell by 443 students, or 30 percent, across all of its campuses.

What’s next?

Experts say a sustained drop in the numbers of international students could diminish American competitiveness in science and engineering.

Nearly three-quarters of international students who receive a doctorate in science and engineering stay and work in the country after they graduate, and over 40 percent of all doctorate-level scientists and engineers in the U.S. are born outside the country. The newly instituted $100,000 fee for H-1B work visas is likely to further reduce the flow of STEM workers.

The data so far offers an early indicator of trends in international student enrollment, but it isn’t the complete picture. Over the coming months, enrollment data from colleges and the number of visas issued over the summer should allow better understanding of these trends.

Deloitte’s AI use created a blunder Down Under

Deloitte’s AI use created a blunder Down Under

Deloitte’s AI use created a blunder Down Under

The Australian government is getting a refund after a mistake-filled report



Anna Kim
ByDave Lozo
October 6, 2025

• less than 3 min read


You can’t make this up—but perhaps Deloitte’s AI could. The company is giving a partial refund to the Australian government after a $440,000 report was found to contain numerous AI hallucinations, the latest example of how consulting firms are grappling with the new tech.

What went wrong? Australia’s Department of Employment and Workplace Relations asked Deloitte to analyze the efficiency of its welfare system. But academics pointed out mistakes in the firm’s report that included citations to nonexistent studies, AFR reported. Deloitte admitted to using an LLM (Azure OpenAI GPT-4o) and later updated the report, but noted that the updates didn’t change its overall findings or recommendations.
A ‘human intelligence problem’

That’s how Australian Labor Senator Deborah O’Neill described the error. The phrase highlights the issues arising as AI takes over the grunt work formerly done by newbie consultants:The Wall Street Journal spoke to experts who predict consultancies will reap more benefits from AI work in four to five years, when the tech improves. And in May, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said that AI could wipe out half of entry-level jobs at white-collar companies within five years.
Harvard Business Review points out that this shift in hiring at professional services firms could leave companies wondering where partners, who do the less routine work now, will come from in the future.

Maybe more AI is the answer: Deloitte announced a massive deal yesterday to provide Anthropic’s Claude to more than 470,000 of its global employees over the next few months.—DL

Children start avoiding information at age seven

Children start avoiding information at age seven
Children start avoiding information at age seven
We choose ignorance 
as we age – even when knowledge is more useful
By Bronwyn Thompson
October 05, 2025

Study finds the age at which we decide to turn our brains off more frequentlyDepositphotos
VIEW 1 IMAGES

Whether it's avoiding the news or checking a bank account, adults often deal with uncertainty by switching off and not seeking knowledge – even when that knowledge could be of benefit to us. Now scientists have identified just when in life we start to choose the "ignorance is bliss" path, opting for comfort rather than uncertainty.
University of Chicago researchers have pinpointed the precise age at which we start avoiding information, a behavior known as the Ostrich Effect (even though ostriches don't, in fact, bury their heads in sand) – and it begins a lot earlier in life than you might think. In a series of experiments that looked at information avoidance in 320 American children aged between five and 10 years, they found that younger kids actively sought out knowledge, while by the age of seven individuals became information-avoidant if the answers were potentially going to evoke a negative emotion.
“Why is it that children are these super curious people, but then we somehow end up as these information avoiders as adults?” asked Radhika Santhanagopalan, a post-doctoral researcher from the University of Chicago. “What is this transition?” 
In the first experiment, researchers looked at five potential reasons we might exhibit this "head in the sand" behavior: to avoid negative emotions like anxiety or disappointment; to avoid negative information about our own likability or competence; to avoid challenges to our beliefs; to protect our preferences; and to act in our own self-interest (perhaps while trying to appear not self-interested).
Different scenarios were then constructed to see if avoidant behaviors were elicited and if these reasons were driving them. One test was to have each child think of their favorite and least favorite candy, and then offer the kids the chance to watch a video about why eating each of their choices was bad for their teeth.
“We found that, whereas younger children really wanted to seek information, older children started to exhibit these avoidance tendencies,” said Santhanagopalan. “For example, they didn't want to know why their favorite candy was bad for them, but they were totally fine learning why their least favorite candy is bad for them."
Then there's the curious case of "moral wiggle room" – where individuals will choose to avoid information for self-interest but do so in a way that doesn't seem selfish to others. This was demonstrated with another scenario, in which partnered-up children were presented with two buckets of stickers for themselves and their partner. One bucket offered more stickers, while the other was covered and had an unknown amount of stickers. Before choosing which bucket to claim, participants were asked if they wanted to know how many stickers their partner would get.
“We want to act in our own self-interest, but we also care a lot about appearing fair to other people,” Santhanagopalan said. “Moral wiggle room allows us to achieve both goals.”
While knowing how many their partner might get in the hidden bucket didn't personally affect their own sticker gain, older children increasingly turned down the chance to find out how the other person would benefit. In doing so, it meant there was no guilt that came with choosing the bucket with the unknown amount of stickers for their partner.
“What the moral wiggle room does is allow them to pick the self-interested payoff, while also maintaining the illusion of fairness,” Santhanagopalan said. “That veil of ignorance allows them to act in their own self-interest.”
The findings – that as children got older they increasingly avoided learning information to avoid those negative emotions tied to the knowledge – held true for all but one of the five reasons, and that one was about competence. Kids across the board were not hesitant about finding out if they'd done badly on a test – a situation where the answer could be negative – and the researchers hypothesize that this could be because school fosters growth and positive change, so a bad result is just a minor step on the path to a good outcome.
“It’s possible that because they’re getting all this messaging about how you can change your aptitude if you put in the work,” said Santhanagopalan, “maybe they’re more inclined to seek information because they know they can potentially change the outcome.”
In adulthood, information avoidance is common – it can be overwhelming, threaten long-held beliefs or create fear of uncertainty that is otherwise consciously or unconsciously shut out. The researchers add that this avoidance can have personal and societal consequences, like "deepening political polarization or ideological rigidity."
The team suggests actively questioning why you might be avoiding useful information, where short-term discomfort is prioritized despite the knowledge potentially having long-term benefits. Then trying to reframe the knowledge as ultimately valuable and useful, making you less inclined to actively avoid information.
“Humans have this propensity to want to resolve uncertainty, but when the resolution is threatening, people might flip to avoidance instead," Santhanagopalan said. "I think there's something to be said about being able to tolerate and even embrace some level of uncertainty.
“I think that might help in not falling prey to information avoidance," she added.
The research was published in the journal Psychological Science.
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Trump and Hegseth declare an end to 'politically correct' leadership in the US military

 Trump and Hegseth declare an end to 'politically correct' leadership in the US military

Trump and Hegseth declare an end to 'politically correct' leadership in the US military
Story by Ben Finley, Konstantin Toropin And Evan Vucci
• 17m •
4 min read







President Donald Trump is greeted by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth before speaking to a gathering of top U.S. military commanders at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in Quantico, Va. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)© The Associated Press

QUANTICO, Va. (AP) — President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared an end to “woke” culture in the military and targeted other policies of past administrations Tuesday before hundreds of top U.S. military officials who were abruptly summoned to Virginia from around the world.


Hegseth announced new directives for troops that include “gender-neutral” or “male-level” standards for physical fitness, while Trump bragged about U.S. nuclear capabilities and said the nation's “dangerous cities” should be used as "training grounds for our military.”

Hegseth had called military leaders to convene at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, near Washington, without publicly revealing the reason until this morning. Hegseth’s address largely focused on his own long-used talking points that painted a picture of a military that has been hamstrung by “woke” policies, and he said military leaders should “do the honorable thing and resign” if they don’t like his new approach.




U.S. military senior leadership listen as President Donald Trump speaks at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025 in Quantico, Va. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)© The Associated Press

Meetings between top military brass and civilian leaders are nothing new, but the gathering had fueled intense speculation about the summit’s purpose given the haste with which it was called and the mystery surrounding it.

Admirals and generals from conflict zones in the Middle East and elsewhere were summoned for a lecture on race and gender in the military, underscoring the extent to which the country’s culture wars have emerged as a front-and-center agenda item for Hegseth’s Pentagon, even at a time of broad national security concerns across the globe.




Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks to senior military leaders at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025 in Quantico, Va. (Andrew Harnik/Pool via AP)© The Associated Press

The president also warned that “America is under invasion from within.”

“After spending trillions of dollars defending the borders of foreign countries, with your help we’re defending the borders of our country,” Trump said.

Trump is used to boisterous crowds of supporters who laugh at his jokes and applaud his boasts during his speeches. But he wasn't getting that kind of soundtrack from the generals and admirals in attendance.

In keeping with the nonpartisan tradition of the armed services, the military leaders sat mostly stone-faced through Trump’s politicized remarks, a contrast from when rank-and-file soldiers cheered during Trump’s speech at Fort Bragg this summer.




U.S. military senior leadership are seen before President Donald Trump arrives to speaks at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025 in Quantico, Va. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)© The Associated Press

During his nearly hour-long speech, Hegseth said the U.S. military has promoted too many leaders for the wrong reasons based on race, gender quotas and “historic firsts.”

“The era of politically correct, overly sensitive don’t-hurt-anyone’s-feelings leadership ends right now at every level,” Hegseth said.


That was echoed by Trump, who said “the purposes of America military is not to protect anyone’s feelings. It’s to protect our republic.″

″We will not be politically correct when it comes to defending American freedom,” Trump said. “And we will be a fighting and winning machine.”

Hegseth said he is loosening disciplinary rules and weakening hazing protections, putting a heavy focus on removing many of the guardrails the military had put in place after numerous scandals and investigations

Hegseth said he was ordering a review of “the department’s definitions of so-called toxic leadership, bullying and hazing to empower leaders to enforce standards without fear of retribution or second guessing.”

He called for “changes to the retention of adverse information on personnel records that will allow leaders with forgivable, earnest, or minor infractions to not be encumbered by those infractions in perpetuity.”


“People make honest mistakes, and our mistakes should not define an entire career,” Hegseth said. “Otherwise, we only try not to make mistakes.”

Bullying and toxic leadership has been the suspected and confirmed cause behind numerous military suicides over the past several years, including the very dramatic suicide of Brandon Caserta, a young sailor who was bullied into killing himself in 2018.

A Navy investigation found that Caserta’s supervisor’s “noted belligerence, vulgarity and brash leadership was likely a significant contributing factor in (the sailor)’s decision to end his own life.”

Hegseth used the platform to slam physical fitness and grooming standards, environmental policies and transgender troops while talking up his and Trump's focus on “the warrior ethos” and “peace through strength.”

Hegseth said the department has been told from previous administrations that “our diversity is our strength,” which he called an “insane fallacy.”


“They had to put out dizzying DEI and LGBTQE+ statements. They were told females and males are the same thing, or that males who think they’re females is totally normal,” he said, adding the use of electric tanks and the COVID vaccine requirements to the list as mistaken policies.

Hegseth said this is is not about preventing women from serving.

“But when it comes to any job that requires physical power to perform in combat, those physical standards must be high and gender neutral,” he said. “If women can make it excellent, if not, it is what it is. If that means no women qualify for some combat jobs, so be it. That is not the intent, but it could be the result.”

Hegseth's speech came as the country faces a potential government shutdown this week and as Hegseth, who has hammered home a focus on lethality, has taken several unusual and unexplained actions, including ordering cuts to the number of general officers and firings of other top military leaders.

___

Finley and Toropin reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed to this report.

Ben Finley, Konstantin Toropin And Evan Vucci, The Associated Press

Bill Gates pledges $1b for global disease fight, urges governments to step up | The Straits Times

Bill Gates pledges $1b for global disease fight, urges governments to step up | The Straits Times

Bill Gates pledges $1b for global disease fight, urges governments to step up


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Philantropist Bill Gates making his opening remarks during the annual Gates Foundation's Goalkeepers Summit in Manhattan, New York, on Sept 22.

PHOTO: REUTERS

Follow topic:Bill Gates



Published Sep 23, 2025, 07:36 AM


Updated Sep 23, 2025, 07:06 PM




NEW YORK - The Gates Foundation will give US$912 million (S$1 billion) to the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, philanthropist Bill Gates announced on Sept 22 as he urged governments to reverse global health funding cuts.

Speaking at a Reuters Newsmaker event in New York, Mr Gates said the world was at a crossroads, with millions of children at risk of dying if funding drops too steeply.

The Gates Foundation’s pledge matches its donation in 2022. That was the last time the Global Fund, a Geneva-based independent non-profit, raised money on its three-year budget cycle.


The announcement follows deep aid cuts from governments around the world, led by the United States.

“A kid born in northern Nigeria has a 15 per cent chance of dying before the age of five. You can either be part of improving that or act like that doesn’t matter,” Mr Gates said in an interview before the foundation’s annual Goalkeepers event in New York on Sept 22. The event celebrates and seeks to accelerate progress on United Nations global development goals set for 2030, including improving health and ending poverty.

“I am not capable of making up what the government cuts, and I don’t want to create an illusion of that,” he said about his pledge.


The Gates Foundation, the philanthropy started by the Microsoft co-founder and his then wife in 2000, is one of the world’s biggest funders of global health initiatives, with a particular focus on ending preventable deaths of mothers and babies, tackling infectious diseases and lifting millions out of poverty.

 

FICO just upended the credit score market

Francis Scialabba

A magic number that can determine whether you’ll be a homeowner will be sent to mortgage companies without intermediaries. Fair Isaac, the company that creates FICO credit scores, announced yesterday that it’ll offer them directly to the lending industry, eliminating the need for credit reporting agencies Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion in the transactions. The trio’s stocks were down 4.3%, 8%, and 11% at market close, respectively. Sidelined Fair Isaac’s shares rallied over 18% as it moved to loosen the credit bureaus’ grip on the mortgage process: The three companies specializing in detailed credit reports currently resell FICO scores with a markup to firms supplying compiled credit reports to lenders. The change could diminish their profit by as much as 15%, according to Jeffries. But starting now, Fair Isaac will license FICO scores directly for a flat $10 fee whether or not a loan is closed, or a $4.95 fee plus a $33 fee if a loan is inked, which it says will make an average score pull 50% cheaper for industry players—savings that could be passed on to homebuyers. It’s a bone for regulators…that comes after Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte accused Fair Isaac of monopolizing the credit score industry. Earlier this year, the agency let government-backed lenders use credit scores from FICO’s rival, VantageScore—which was created by the three credit bureaus.—SK