More than 1M fewer students are in college, the lowest numbers in 50 years • Hacker News Board

Re: More than 1M fewer students are in college, the lowest numbers in 50 years

#11

Post by pacbard » Thu, Jan 13, 2022, 2:42 PM UTC

This is probably related to teenagers enrolling in college not only for an education but also for the amenities that come with college life (think of greek life, moving away from parents, college sports, freedom to explore your identity, etc.) The pandemic has put a stop on most of all non-academic stuff, making enrolling in college less appealing to this group of students.

It will be interesting to see a follow-up analysis that parses out enrollment behavior by subgroup (e.g., by SAT/ACT score) as it will be easier to understand who is choosing not to enroll in college.

Another follow-up could be to see which institutions are losing students. It is known that college enrollment is counter-cyclical to the economy and that enrollment declines at community colleges and open access universities when people can get a job right out of high school.

Re: More than 1M fewer students are in college, the lowest numbers in 50 years

#12

Post by mfer » Thu, Jan 13, 2022, 2:43 PM UTC

US colleges have many students from foreign countries on visas. I wonder what the impact of the pandemic is on that segment of the student population.

This isn't likely to hit community colleges, which the article touches on. Just trying to point out that digging deeper might show some interesting details.

Re: More than 1M fewer students are in college, the lowest numbers in 50 years

#13

Post by tootahe45 » Thu, Jan 13, 2022, 2:43 PM UTC

"It's very frightening,"

No, it isn't. A tight labor market which provides more opportunities for on-the-job training is positive for everybody except those who made their money selling fake tickets.

Re: More than 1M fewer students are in college, the lowest numbers in 50 years

#14

Post by LanceH » Thu, Jan 13, 2022, 2:45 PM UTC

jack_pp wrote: post #4

A big reason for going to college is socializing so.. makes no sense to go now.

I have a son in college. The services that his school offers are greatly reduced, but the tuition continues to climb year on year.

If his major/career had the choice of degree vs work, the latter would be a really good choice right now.

Re: More than 1M fewer students are in college, the lowest numbers in 50 years

#15

Post by ghaff » Thu, Jan 13, 2022, 2:46 PM UTC

fortran77 wrote: post #3

Bostonian wrote: post #2

I've read that more Americans start college than in other developed countries but that the fraction of college graduates is similar. This suggests that there are too many unqualified students attending college in the U.S., and if the declining enrollments are coming primarily from that group, it's a good thing.

And now there are movements to eliminate SATs or similar standardized tests, allowing more unqualified students to enter college. Enrollment might also be down because of COVID. For many, I think, college is more about getting away from home and living in a fun-filled alternate world for a few years with dorm rooms, frat parties, etc. With remote classes and restrictions, why bother? (I'm imagining here -- I commuted…

I would have had a hard time recommending that someone start college during the pandemic given the option to defer for a year (or more). Of course, alternative activities weren't in a great place either.

I also have first-hand knowledge of a fair number of students who took some time off during the pandemic.

Re: More than 1M fewer students are in college, the lowest numbers in 50 years

#16

Post by baby-yoda » Thu, Jan 13, 2022, 2:49 PM UTC

colleges have been expanding with zero constraints for 20+ years - demand for degrees increased significantly, enrollment went up and up, student loans being federally backed were given out to anyone for any amount so tuition naturally increased substantially. seemingly limitless growth opportunity?

now many are massively bloated organizations with declining utility and the need to maintain their perpetual growth - who wants to cut costs? the downward spiral is only going to accelerate, IMO. and that doesn't even account for declining birth rates. my feeling is the next 20 years will see the higher ed industry contract rather quickly and the universities that remain will deliver either on quality (increasingly difficult to hold an advantage) or accessibility (inexpensive, contemporary workforce training since employers no longer do that).

Re: More than 1M fewer students are in college, the lowest numbers in 50 years

#17

Post by stinkytaco » Thu, Jan 13, 2022, 2:53 PM UTC

pacbard wrote: post #11

This is probably related to teenagers enrolling in college not only for an education but also for the amenities that come with college life (think of greek life, moving away from parents, college sports, freedom to explore your identity, etc.) The pandemic has put a stop on most of all non-academic stuff, making enrolling in college less appealing to this group of students. It will be interesting to see a follow-up a…

Most of the amenities you speak of are not available at community colleges, which have seen the biggest decline. The pandemic definitely figures into this, but I don't think amenities can account for the large decline in certificate and vocational training this represents.

Re: More than 1M fewer students are in college, the lowest numbers in 50 years

#18

Post by reaperducer » Thu, Jan 13, 2022, 2:54 PM UTC

sAbakumoff wrote: post #10

why bother? you enroll to a college, you collect a huge debt that the government is not going to cancel - they prefer to give money to corporations instead. covid-19 disrupted in-person education and it's not gonna away any time soon. at the same time there are plenty of crypto startups that don't give a sh*t about education and could be pretty lukrative

I always chuckle when someone on HN inevitably rails against education in a post with bad spelling, grammar, and expletives.

Re: More than 1M fewer students are in college, the lowest numbers in 50 years

#19

Post by fasteddie31003 » Thu, Jan 13, 2022, 2:55 PM UTC

Might be a good think. You're not going to be overburdened by debt. You don't have to spend some of your time learning worthless topics. You might not meet as many women, which let's face it is a big reason to go to college. At least in programming you can train yourself to make well over 6 figures without any formal education. You might need a mentor. If there are any high school grads not going to college who are looking for a tech mentor, reach out.

Re: More than 1M fewer students are in college, the lowest numbers in 50 years

#20

Post by pm90 » Thu, Jan 13, 2022, 2:56 PM UTC

baby-yoda wrote: post #16

colleges have been expanding with zero constraints for 20+ years - demand for degrees increased significantly, enrollment went up and up, student loans being federally backed were given out to anyone for any amount so tuition naturally increased substantially. seemingly limitless growth opportunity? now many are massively bloated organizations with declining utility and the need to maintain their perpetual growth - w…

The population of the US has increased all this time too, and so has foreign student enrollment.