Is it worth the risk? Adnaan finds himself seriously asking that question. At 29, after earning a master's degree in banking and financial law at Paris Saclay, he had planned to continue his studies in the United States. He was accepted at a public university in New Jersey to prepare for the New York Bar, but decided to postpone his start date to 2026 and has not ruled out delaying even longer. "Trump as president is just too unpredictable when you're a student," Adnaan said. (The students interviewed for this article asked not to give their full names.)

The young lawyer wanted to move across the Atlantic because the New York bar opens up career and salary opportunities far beyond what is possible in France. But the Trump administration's unprecedented attacks on Harvard University have unsettled him: "I've been a father since 2024. What will happen if, in the middle of the year, I'm told my visa is no longer valid? What am I supposed to do with my family?" On top of that, to go, he would need to borrow about $90,000 (€78,000) for two years of study. "Ideally, I was thinking of staying there to work for three to five years, where salaries are higher, to pay off the loan quickly," he explained. Should he take the risk of going and then find himself back in Paris, without a diploma and saddled with debt? And, he added, "It's never a good sign when a government attacks its own universities, it doesn't reflect very well on the health of its democracy."

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