The College Affordability Crisis
Students at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth hang out in the quad on campus. Kayana Szymczak/Getty Images hide caption
Students at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth hang out in the quad on campus.
Kayana Szymczak/Getty ImagesThe graduating class of 2025 is the largest the country has ever seen — around 3.9 million students. That's according to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.
And it'll likely be the largest group for a while.
That's because starting next school year, the number of high school seniors is expected to drop sharply. That's partly due to low birth rates connected to the 2008 recession.
How are colleges and universities, many of which are already struggling to keep their doors open, grappling with declining enrollment?
And as the rising cost of room and board outpaces tuition, how are parents of college-aged students deciding where to send their children – or whether to send them at all?
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