A new report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center shows that college freshmen enrollment is down 5 percent since last year, the first decline since the pandemic. 

Doug Shapiro, Executive Director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center said in a press release that “[i]t is startling to see such a substantial drop in freshmen, the first decline since the start of the pandemic in 2020 when they plunged nearly 10%.” 

According to the study, however, the overall number of undergraduates has increased by 3 percent. Shapiro continued, “the gains among students either continuing from last year or returning from prior stop outs are keeping overall undergraduate numbers growing, especially at community colleges, and that’s at least some good news for students and schools alike.”

When discussing the reason for the findings, Shapiro said, “[i]t’s very hard to pinpoint any single cause of the changes, particularly in freshmen this fall… There have been so many different headwinds,” including “demographic declines … continuing concerns about the cost of college and labor market shifts.”