US Colleges Face a Shrinking Student Pipeline

Higher ed spent thirty years building dorms for a supply of eighteen-year-olds that just stopped showing up.

US colleges are confronting a prolonged demographic squeeze as the number of high school graduates, after peaking in 2025, is projected to decline 13% through 2041, putting particular pressure on regional schools with limited endowments. Joining David Gura and Christina Ruffini on Bloomberg This Weekend is Carleton College Professor of Economics Nathan Grawe who explains that institutions are cutting programs, competing harder for students and emphasizing affordability and return on investment, while inflation-adjusted tuition at public four-year colleges has fallen 7% over the past decade. (Source: Bloomberg)

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