alt Hacker NewsThe number of students graduating high school peaked in 2025 and has now started a gradual decline. Colleges are essentially now playing a game of "musical chairs" competing for students and there aren't enough to go around. The elite institutions and cost-effective state schools will probably be fine but less exclusive private colleges without a solid value proposition have no clear path to survival.
https://www.wiche.edu/resources/report-u-s-high-school-gradu...
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https://educationdata.org/college-enrollment-statistics
>62.8% of high school (or equivalent) graduates go on to postsecondary study.
>Enrollment among new high school graduates has declined 10.4% since its peak in 2009 (70.1%).
There are still a lot of kids that could go to those 3rd tier universities, but choose not to. The cost/benefit is not perceived to be there anymore.
How do we know that was a peak? There's only been one more year of data
> number of students graduating high school peaked in 2025 and has now started a gradual decline
Hasn’t this happened after each boom generation?