2026年全球学生招生状况报告

G L O B A L R E P O R T The State of StudentRecruitment2 0 2 6 Connectwithus! LinkedinKeystone Education Group Instagram@keystone_edu Websitewww.keg.com The State of StudentRecruitment in2026 If there's one thing the last twelve months have taught us, it's that student recruitment doesn't stand still.Policy shifts, geopolitical tension, and the rapid rise of AI have all changed how students think aboutstudying abroad, and how they choose where to go. That's what makes this year's report such an interesting read. We've heard from over67,000 prospectivestudents across 150 countries,and what they're telling us is that the old playbook needs rewriting. The Big 4 destinations are facing real competition. Students are increasingly looking toward destinationsin Europe and Asia, with a focus on the value the degree will bring them rather than traditional factorssuch as reputation. They're now using AI to research their options, but still turning to university websitesand people they trust when it's time to decide. Our 2025 State of Student Recruitment report was downloaded by 1,200 professionals from across thesector and is still being downloaded in 2026. We hope this year’s report offers even more valuableinsight and helps you refine your recruitment strategies for the years ahead. Whether you're rethinking your marketing and recruitment mix, refining your messaging, or just trying tomake sense of where the market is heading, our aim at Keystone is the same as always: to help you haveyour strongest recruitment year yet. By Saba Davenport Chief Marketing OfficerKeystone Education Group Table ofContents 010203060710121722Our DataKey TakeawaysStudent MobilityKeystone Student Sentiment ScoreSubjects & SkillsFlexibilityMotivations & InfluencesCommunications & Social MediaStudent Decision Making Facors Our data Understanding why students choose to study —and where— has never been more important. Tohelp make sense of this, Keystone Education Group has analyzed and dissected survey responsesfrom over 67,000 prospective students across 150 countries. This isn’t just a collection of numbers. It offers a clear picture of how student choices are changing,and what universities need to pay attention to. The findings highlight noticeable shifts in the destinations students are considering, show howpolicy changes influence that process, and identify other key factors that make a difference in theprospective student journey: from the tools audiences use and their expectations of them, to theconnections and content they’re actually seeking. This report brings our key findings together in a practical way, helping universities understand - andplan - for the State of Student Recruitment in 2026, Our data sources: Pulse Survey Data01 Share of Search02 When mentioned in the report, we have usedouraction-based methodology to gain agreaterinsight into user behaviour and tomeasure audiences, destinations and subjects. Ourunique tracker survey polls Keystone’saudiences, revealing cycle-on-cycle insight: Trendsstretching back to 2021Measuring sentiment, intention, impact Datais drawn from search actions onKeystone’sstudy platforms,calculated inrelative terms. e.g. the % of an audience whosearch for a particular subject in a particulardestination. Data is drawn from an opt-in survey runningacrossthecoreKeystoneSearchandDiscovery platforms. This report captures the state of student recruitment at the current moment. But the data it draws onis far more than a simple snapshot survey. Our combination of search and survey data allows us to understand what student behaviour looks likeandwhat’s driving it. What audiences do and what they say. What they look for and why they look forit. And because our audience research is embedded within our platforms, both of our data sources are‘always on’: tracking real trends and sense-checking data over time. I hope you find these highlights useful - myself and my team would love to chat about the questionsthey inspire and share more of what we’re seeing. Dr Mark Bennett, VP Research & Insight- Keystone Education Group K E Y T A K E A W A Y S What’schangedforstudentsin2026? A T A G L A N C E Studentmobility Most popular destinations in 2026 While theUSAwas ourmost-searcheddestination (19%), fewer students in our survey areselecting it as theirintendedstudy destination, a trend that has persisted for the second yearrunning. The UK is the main beneficiary of this shift, with high intent from our audiences despiteincreasing visa obstacles. CanadaandAustraliahave both recovered slightly this year after a downturn in 2025 due to policyinstability, and they now take up third and sixth place respectively. Diversification of student interest isn’t slowingdown: it’s accelerating. There’s been a big shift when it comes to growth in interest beyond the Big 4. More students aregravitating towards Europe overall, asItalyandIrelandhave also increased their share in oursurvey. Combined