Summary
College enrollment among 18-year-old freshmen fell 5% this fall, with declines most severe at public and private non-profit four-year colleges.
Experts attribute the drop to factors including declining birth rates, high tuition costs, FAFSA delays, and uncertainty over student loan relief after Supreme Court rulings against forgiveness plans.
Economic pressures, such as the need to work, also deter students.
Despite declining enrollment, applications have risen, particularly among low- and middle-income students, underscoring interest in higher education. Experts urge addressing affordability and accessibility to reverse this trend.
This country doesn’t prioritize education and then we wonder why people like Trump get elected.
Zoomers are unaliving the college debt industry
I so hope this is true. We have an extremely anxious teenager waiting for his early decision results expected out this week. I hope for every advantage he can get
Yeah, it’s because academia has become a for-profit business first, and an educational centre second.
I’m no expert, but I’m having a hard time not thinking this is a recipe for a major generational housing crisis. We’re telling kids the “key” to success is getting that fancy college degree, when in reality it’s just a bunch of debt and no job prospects.
When are we going to start factoring in the actual cost of a 4-year education? Tuition’s through the roof, student loans are suffocating people under 30, and we’re telling them “just do it” for the ‘sake of their own future’?
And another thing - what’s with all this emphasis on getting a “degreed” person out into the workforce? Can’t we teach 'em something in high school? Do we really need to be training 20-year-olds to fill up our 40-something year-old retirements?
