A topic for a different thread then - was primarily curious the relevance of the statement related to this thread.
well, it’s not popular in California. My son is the only one in his entire high school class who applied (at least according to Naviance). When he tells people he applied there they seem shocked.
Article is kind of alarmist in its tone. I would not consider a 15% drop - which if you look at the data is a 15% trend down over ~15 years as a “cliff”. At the same time we have higher application rates into colleges (kids that 10 years ago didn’t apply are doing so today). Not suggesting there might not be a shaking out of some colleges that were on the edge but the stories statement of “Many colleges won’t survive the fall.” I’m simply not buying. Time will tell though.
The idea that Auburn or any university is casting a wider net to create more brand awareness and possibly get kids from new markets to apply to them is simply good marketing regardless of the timing. That’s part of the drive to have a successful athletics program.
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I work in higher education, and we have been talking and preparing for this for the last few years. It is always a topic of conversation at academic conferences - what are schools doing in the face of a drop in 18-year-olds and rising tuition/costs? There are a number of smaller colleges in the NE that have already merged with other schools, and a few more that I am aware of are on the horizon. The big schools will be fine, and not everyone will be impacted at the same level. However, it is a concern for admissions and enrollment management. The Penn State system was originally composed of 14 institutions but, since 2021, has been working to consolidate to 6 with concerns over rising costs and potential lower enrollment. Many smaller schools need to broaden their geographic reach to remain viable - particularly if they have to give out a lot of $ to attract students. Those institutions that have a large percentage of full pays will not impacted as much. Families are also more sensitive to COA and seeking out schools that offer “better value for money”. Auburn is potentially one of those schools - good and growing reputation, good outcomes, depth and breadth of programs, athletics, environment, and decent COA compared to some competitor schools.
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Completely agree with everything you wrote - which was a MUCH more reasonable tone than “Looming Enrollment Cliff”
“Dangerous precipice looms on the horizon… Many colleges won’t survive the fall”
“By 2030, our nation will have far fewer colleges than it does now”
I suppose it all depends on how one defines “Many” and “far fewer”.
Any company that deals with specific demographics adjusts its strategy as those demographics change. I’m not sticking my head in the sand on the topic. My main disagreement was the tone of the article making it sound like within 10 years 1/3 of colleges will fold.
None of it really matters. I work in an industry that is heavily STEM, primarily engineering. Almost no one cares about or asks where you went to school. We have engineers from GT, MIT, Stanford, along side folks from Auburn and CU and even Kennesaw State. Work ethic and results are what matters
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