More than 90 percent of graduate schools across the United States have seen a drop in the number of applications from foreign students, according to a recent report released by the Council of Graduate Schools.

The drop in applications is the most significant from countries that usually supply the largest number of applicants, such as China and India, and covers all fields of study.

Many foreign students are interested in studying in the United States but feel the process of getting a visa is time-consuming and unpleasant.

Shirley Annette, a 20-year-old university student in Paris, France, said she would love to go to graduate school in the United States eventually.

“I really like the way classes are organized in the U.S., and I really want to go study there during my third year of college and then get into graduate school to study American law,” Annette said.

This might be impossible, however.

“There is a lot of red tape that you have to sort out before you can even set foot in the U.S. Honestly, it isn’t really student-friendly. It’s also very expensive,” Annette said.

Lorena Galliot, also a 20-year-old university student in Paris, suspects the drop in applications is due to foreigners’ dislike of the current U.S. political administration.

“I had never heard of this drop in foreign student applications, but the fact that it seems so widespread tends to make it seem unlikely that it is due to one particular country’s university policies or lack of funding,” she said.

Galliot added President Bush in particular was very unpopular outside the United States and that many students may prefer to study elsewhere because of their frustration with his policies.

“But then again, it’s just a hunch, and I live in France,” she said. “The only way to find out if I’m right is if Kerry is elected and applications go back up.”

Employees at the University of Wisconsin Office of Admissions say there is a large gap in the number of applications for the undergraduate and graduate schools. They feel important distinctions should be made between the two schools.

“You really have to separate applications for graduate school and undergraduate school,” said Jane Shepard from UW Undergraduate Admissions, noting the undergraduate foreign applications have gone up. “But most of the undergraduate applications come from wealthier countries, whereas at the graduate level many more people need funding from the university.”

Shepard added many other countries, such as Canada, Australia, England and New Zealand, are making changes in the application process to draw in more foreign students.

“If I can’t go to the U.S., I’ll go to Canada,” Annette said, adding that it was much less of a hassle to apply there.

The UW Office of Graduate Admissions did not return phone calls Friday.

The United Kingdom, a popular alternative to the United States for many students, has seen an increase in the cost of higher education.

Sarah Buszard, a 19-year-old student at University College in London, feels once the government in the United Kingdom increases tuition in roughly two or three years, university applications will drop in the United Kingdom and the United States.

“It will be just too expensive, so I think the temptation of getting a job and earning money will be greater than living in abject poverty three or four years and leaving university with at least