{"id":2251822,"date":"2024-05-24T03:17:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-24T07:17:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/college-admissions-expected-to-drop-in-the-fall-after-first-time-increase-since-pandemic\/"},"modified":"2024-05-24T03:21:23","modified_gmt":"2024-05-24T07:21:23","slug":"college-admissions-expected-to-drop-in-the-fall-after-first-time-increase-since-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/college-admissions-expected-to-drop-in-the-fall-after-first-time-increase-since-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Anticipated decline in college admissions this fall following initial post-pandemic rise"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcollege-admissions-expected-to-drop-in-the-fall-after-first-time-increase-since-pandemic%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2251822&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The spring 2024 semester marked a 2.5% surge in \u200cundergraduate enrollment,\u2064 a first in four \u200byears. However, the increase\u2063 may be short-lived, with financial aid turmoil anticipated for\u200d the fall. Challenges in completing the Free Application for Federal \u200cStudent Aid (FAFSA) may\u2064 impact\u2064 college admissions, prompting alternative education pathways and \u2064a \u2064shift in perceptions regarding the value\u200d of a college degree.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Overall <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/higher-education\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>undergraduate<\/a> enrollment increased by 2.5% for the spring 2024 semester, the first time enrollment in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/education\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>bachelor\u2019s programs<\/a> has risen in four years. But the modest increase is likely to be short lived, as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/student-loans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>financial aid chaos<\/a> is expected in the fall.<\/p>\n<p>According to data published Wednesday from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, total undergraduate enrollment has increased by 2.5%, driven primarily by community college enrollment and continuing a slow overall trend, and it comes off an increase from last fall. It is also the first time in four years that bachelor\u2019s programs at both public and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/schumer-slams-fat-cats-who-dont-want-to-cancel-student-loans\/\" title=\"Schumer Slams \u2018Fat Cats\u2019 Who Don\u2019t Want To Cancel Student Loans\">private universities increased<\/a>, which is higher growth than last fall. The fall semester is typically seen as a more traditional starting period.<\/p>\n<p>But the trend is not likely to continue into the fall of 2024, as spring 2024 enrollees will be the last class not affected by the Department of Education\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2955414\/amid-fafsa-debacle-colleges-confused-about-bidens-gainful-employment-demands\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>botched<\/a> Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, rollout, which left large swaths of potential college students in financial limbo.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have seen double-digit declines in the number of completed FAFSA applications, which means millions of people not knowing what their financial aid situation is even today,\u201d Adam Kissel, visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation\u2019s Center for Education Policy, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cWe may see colleges closed this fall because of the number of students not matriculating.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The normal time for students to accept offers from colleges is by May 1. Nearly one month later, many potential students still do not know if they can afford to go. In response, Gov. Jim Justice (R-WV) <a href=\"https:\/\/governor.wv.gov\/News\/press-releases\/2024\/Pages\/Gov.-Justice-declares-State-of-Emergency,-suspends-FAFSA-requirement-for-WV-students-applying-for-state-financial-aid-progr.aspx#:~:text=Jim%20Justice%20announced%20today%20he,determines%20a%20student's%20financial%20need.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>declared a state of emergency<\/a> in late April, noting FAFSA application rates were down 40% in his state and suspending the requirement that students complete FAFSA in order to qualify for West Virginia\u2019s own <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ucla-student-government-passes-stipend-to-compensate-undocumented-students\/\" title=\"UCLA Student Government Passes Stipend To Compensate Undocumented Students\">financial aid program<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Because of the \u201cabsolute disaster that the Biden administration has been on FAFSA,\u201d Kissel said, he anticipates many students will be effectively forced into taking a gap year, from which some will come back to pursue school and others will not.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019ll be in the military, there won\u2019t be an easy way to come back. They\u2019ll become a homemaker and decide that they enjoy their new life outside of high school. They will go to a community college,\u201d Kissel said. \u201cSo there will be a bounce back, but it won\u2019t be 100% by any means.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Community college and other nontraditional routes for education are gaining in popularity among young Americans. As the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2927455\/high-school-students-skeptical-of-college-degree-value-study\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>reported<\/a>, a growing number of high school students are skeptical of the value of a college degree, preferring educational and professional routes such as on-the-job training, licenses, certificates, and trades.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith many governors and state governments no longer requiring a college degree for government jobs in those states, that sends a strong signal to high school students that they could get a good job, even a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-texas-gop-candidate-ditches-pro-amnesty-thesis-champions-hardline-immigration-agenda\/\" title=\"Exclusive--Texas GOP Candidate Ditches Pro-Amnesty Thesis, Champions Hardline Immigration Agenda\">white collar job<\/a>, without a college degree,\u201d Kissel explained. \u201cMeanwhile, costs have gone up, the perceived value of a college degree is going down.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The numbers from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center bear this out.<\/p>\n<p>Associate degrees saw the biggest bump in enrollment at 4.4%, including a 6.2% increase from first-time freshman enrollment. That was followed closely by certificate programs at 3.6%. Likewise, high school dual enrollment, or taking classes in high school for college credit, skyrocketed again, at 28%, a 10% increase following a yearslong trend.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s increased value perceived by high school students in not spending four years in college in a traditional four year program, and with students taking lots of advanced placement classes, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/college-enrollment-rebounding-at-california-community-colleges\/\" title=\"California community colleges are experiencing a resurgence in college enrollment.\">choosing community college<\/a>, and transferring or choosing dual enrollment,\u201d Kissel said. \u201cThey\u2019re saving money because they see such a sticker shock at public colleges.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to Kissel, those changes are being driven by both cultural shifts from young people and economic incentives not to attend a traditional, four-year program.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProbably the largest driver is economic factors, the American economy,\u201d Kissel said, pointing to increasing tuition costs that are driving many students to seek two-year programs and potentially cut costs in half with a guaranteed admissions program into a state school if one is offered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere could be a cultural factor in that students see less of a need for their parents\u2019 college-type experiences,\u201d he continued. \u201cStudents are more online than ever before. They don\u2019t drink as much. They don\u2019t have premarital sex as much. They don\u2019t have girlfriends and boyfriends as much.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There are other factors too. On top of the FAFSA debacle and tuition increases, affirmative action ended last year, and students are also unable to put trust into the Biden administration\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-votes-to-overturn-bidens-student-loan-forgiveness-program\/\" title=\"House overturns Biden's student loan forgiveness program.\">student loan transfer scheme<\/a>, which forces student loan debt on taxpayers after the first attempt at doing so was struck down by the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On top of that, it is an election year, and early 2025 could see a new president who could turn many of the Biden administration proposals upside-down. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t know what a natural market would be for higher education because we massively, to the tune of trillions of dollars, distort the market by subsidizing student loans,\u201d Kissel said. \u201cSo we know that college is extremely over-enrolled because of the distortion of the market.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Spring 2024 saw a 2.5% rise in undergraduate enrollment, the first in four years. However, this uptick may be brief due to anticipated financial aid challenges in the upcoming fall. Data released by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center on Wednesday indicates potential instability<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":179,"featured_media":2251823,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/iStock-1399490449-1024x573.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2251822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/iStock-1399490449-1024x573.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2251822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/179"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2251822"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2251822\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2251823"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2251822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2251822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2251822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}