Undergraduate enrollment continues to decline at U.S. colleges and universities

Most high school seniors have decided where they will pursue the next four years of their education, but some colleges and universities are struggling to fill spaces for new students. Doug Shapiro, executive director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, joins CBSN to break down the 4.5% decline in undergraduate enrollment compared with last spring.

[arainniara]

Jobs don't pay enough, cost of living is high, student debt is high. Why put ourselves through that?

[lindsey]

The debt of college and the previous years of hearing about people's lives being ruined by student debt has finally caught up to the colleges. The government should have addressed the problem years ago and now people won't take the risk.

[nmorawa]

I love how they are like, "I don't know why our rates are dropping." You don't always find a job after college, and people are not motivated.

[mariovicks]

The illusion is over! Lol they tired of being extorted just to learn.

[leahgary]

Between how difficult and complicated financial aid is, the pandemic, and how difficult and complicated enrollment can be...it's almost not worth the effort. Colleges literally have you jumping through hoops trying to get every thing you need just to start a new semester and the books cost a fortune on top of the cost of tuition.

[juliahanlon]

I understand we’re in a pandemic; I really don’t mean to be selfish or anything like that. But tbh online school really isn’t for anyone. I’d say if worse comes to worse, school can wait. The fact that tuition is the same price or even increasing doesn’t help either

Edit: thanks for the likes, I never had a comment get this much attention 😆

[lanyserogers]

It doesn’t really help either when the universities refuse to provide more financial aid options for low income students as well as hiking up tuition prices to oblivion

[omar]

I can confidently say, gen z isn’t going the typical university route, there’s just other options we can take & have learned from millennials college debt

[choo]

I believe fear is the biggest reason for so many young people choosing college. The fear of being left behind their peers, the pressure from their parents, no clear life goal. People just go to college because everyone else is going.

[lizardkid]

My 4 older cousins are now in their 30s and still live with their parents. They all have degrees.

[littlechepe]

If you want school go to community college and work a part time saving money. Once you transfer to University you have money saved. I did that and have no debt and will graduate soon. Best choice I have ever made

[hisokamorow]

If you’re not planning to major in medicine, accounting, law or some type of engineering then don’t bother.

[JourneyToJourneyman]

I see this as a positive. College degrees will no longer be as saturated.

[Blitznstitch]

It's not worth going into debt for a degree anymore. Going to college is worth it if... You have a defined path to your profession of choice. Like if you want to be a vet - that's defined. But if you don't know, don't go.

[AzureRook]

My state college is more interested in making money than providing an education, the quality of education for its price tag is almost a scam!

[tarzzqwe]

In my opinion colleges aren't giving students the value for the cost of the education, they know after graduation they will graduated with tons of debt and aren't guaranteed a higher paying job after they finish.

[liveandletlive]

"How could this happen?"
Inflated tuition. Insane housing costs at both private and state schools. High interest student loans. No guarantee of a job after college.

Listen, I know online college hasn't been good for everyone. If you've struggled, I'm truly sorry and I hope things improve for you soon. However, I am a current community college student and online college has gone surprisingly well for me. When I transfer this fall, I will be attending my online state university instead of a brick-and-mortar school. Why? I don't love online school, but I can afford it. I'd rather not fund a college football team and luxury dorms when I don't have to. If decent jobs didn't require a bachelor's degree college would be a massive waste of time and money. If more of us rise up and refuse to play Sallie Mae's game, college will become more affordable.

[MCMXCVI-April]

I graduated high school in 2015 and started college that fall. Going to college is stressful and overwhelming in many aspects. I went to college for 2.5 years and they charge for everything! I had a full Academic ride but seeing what many of my classmates went through is enough to drive you insane. Drove me insane trying to work full time to support my outside of school and working to maintain my scholarship. I took a chance and dropped out to pick up a trade. That being said many of my friends have their bachelors and are swamped in debt, can’t find jobs using their degrees, and still live at home with their parents. Me on the other hand, I have a generous income, a homeowner at 24, and no lingering college debt. Long story short, I feel like the enrollment percentages are declining because folks are tired of the scam of the college/university system. But that’s just my opinion.

[brookedavidoff]

I'm a full-time college student and a single mother, Zoom school is very hard. The amount of self-learning needed for Zoom school can be overwhelming. There is no school library, no quiet time if everyone in your home is home. It's definitely challenging.

[msj]

Another reason college enrollments have declined because Gen Z is a smaller generation that Millennials. This trend will continue to grow and will fall off a cliff in the next few years because starting in 2007 or 2008 is when our extremely low birthrate started.