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Is College Still Worth the High Price? Weighing Costs and Benefits of Investing in Human Capital
Students have several options for life after high school. While college has been a popular choice, college enrollment for recent high school graduates has dropped, and some people are challenging the notion that college is the best route for the majority of students. This article examines whether college is still a good investment.
Journal Article
College Freshman Enrollment Drops during Pandemic
First-time college enrollment declined significantly in 2020—a stark contrast with what traditionally happens during recessions.
Report
Intended college attendance: evidence from an experiment on college returns and costs
Despite a robust college premium, college attendance rates in the United States have remained stagnant and exhibit a substantial socioeconomic gradient. We focus on information gaps?specifically, incomplete information about college benefits and costs?as a potential explanation for these patterns. For this purpose, we conduct an information experiment about college returns and costs embedded within a representative survey of U.S. household heads. We show that, at the baseline, perceptions of college costs and benefits are severely and systematically biased: 75 percent of our respondents ...
Who Applies to and Enrolls at Selective Colleges?
Attending college is an investment in one’s human capital. But how does parental income impact where students apply and, ultimately, where they enroll?
The Pandemic Dents College Attendance
COVID-19 caused a sharp drop in college enrollment in the fall of 2020, driven almost entirely by the decline in first-time undergraduates.
Report
Information heterogeneity and intended college enrollment
Despite a robust college premium, college attendance rates in the United States have remained stagnant and exhibit a substantial socioeconomic gradient. We focus on information gaps? specifically, incomplete information about college benefits and costs?as a potential explanation for these patterns. In a nationally representative survey of U.S. household heads, we show that perceptions of college costs and benefits are severely and systematically biased: 74 percent of our respondents underestimate the true benefits of college (average earnings of a college graduate relative to a non-college ...
Briefing
Transitioning from High School to College: Differences across Virginia
In Virginia, there are substantial differences across school districts in college enrollment and, conditional on college enrollment, attendance at high-resource colleges and universities. School districts in low-income and relatively rural areas tend to demonstrate the weakest outcomes, but income and geography do not fully account for the observed differences. Whether limited enrollment at a broad range of colleges arises from gaps in academic preparation, difficulty in navigating the application process, or individual preference matters greatly for public policy.
Why Do Women Outnumber Men in College Enrollment?
Women appear to have a relatively higher financial return to college education than men, who have access to lucrative careers that require only a high school diploma.
Journal Article
District Digest: Preparing to Work: The Demand for Postsecondary Education and How It's Changing
Starting around a decade before the COVID-19 pandemic, and more acutely during the pandemic itself, postsecondary enrollment declined — most notably among community colleges, both in the Fifth District and in the United States as a whole. Yet the 2023-2024 academic year saw a shift in that trend as enrollment grew once again. What's going on?The unsatisfying answer is that there are conflicting forces at work, and it's hard to tell which will prevail. But one thing is clear: Combined with the anticipated decline in the college-age population, high costs of four-year degrees, and changing ...