The number of 18-year-olds is about to drop sharply, packing a wallop for colleges — and the economy

Courtesy Of: Hechinger Report Jon Marcus 01/10/25 Pickup trucks with trailers and cars with yawning trunks pulled up onto untended lawns in front of buildings from which people lugged books, furniture, mattresses, trophy cases and artwork. Anything else of value had already been sold by a company that specializes in auctioning off the leftover assets of failed businesses. At least …

Number of Freshmen Enrolling in Undergraduate Programs Sees Notable Decline

Courtesy Of: The 74 K.C. Compton 01/07/25 Editor’s Note: On January 13, 2025, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center announced that there had been significant errors regarding the freshman enrollment data they published in the Stay Informed report as well as the Special Analysis of 18-year-old Freshmen report in fall 2024. The organization cited an error in its research methodology and stated that …

College-bound students fear ‘outing’ undocumented parents on FAFSA financial aid form

Courtesy Of: LA Times Jaweed Kaleem 01/02/25 A few days before winter break, Lynda McGee, a college counselor at Downtown Magnets High School in Los Angeles Unified, got an unexpected visit from a student’s father. The man, a warehouse worker who emigrated from Guatemala 28 years ago, wanted to make sure that McGee knew his wishes firsthand. “My daughter going …

FAFSA mess leaves mixed-status families in limbo as school year looms

COURTESY OF: EdSource Before the end of his junior year at Washington State University Tri-Cities, Jesse Gonzalez already had a job offer. His internship with an environmental cleanup company in Richland, Wash., had gone so well that his bosses invited Gonzalez to join full-time after completing his studies. That seemed easy. All he needed was enough financial aid to cover …

Cal State board anticipates a ‘painful year’ as campuses cut costs

COURTESY OF: EdSource California State University is taking the forecast of a snowballing budget gap so seriously, even a recent message touting a new hire came with the equivalent of a financial weather advisory. The nation’s largest university system welcomed Emily F. Cutrer as the new interim president of Sonoma State University last week with the stern reminder that she must address “enormous …

UC admits more California residents, looking to meet state goals

COURTESY OF: EdSource The University of California admitted a record number of California resident first-year students for the upcoming fall term, offering a spot to 93,920 of them, the university system announced Wednesday. UC also made more admission offers to community college transfer students and to low-income students. Latino students were the largest demographic group of admitted first-year students, while …