That possibility could become a reality if British citizens vote to leave the EU in the referendum later this week. Under the EU’s “free movement” principal, students from member countries have the same access to universities in the U.K. as Brits themselves. They apply the same way, dole out the same tuition (now some £9,000 per year), and rely on the same U.K. loan facilities, whose terms—that borrowers only have to pay back loans once they reach earnings of £21,000—are generous, at least by U.S. standards. But if the “leave” campaign notches a victory in the vote Thursday, U.K. university leaders fear that EU students will be forced to pay more and that their schools’ global reputations as magnets for scholars seeking a diverse and research-rich education will fade, prompting EU and international students to go elsewhere.