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Locust Walk on the University of Pennsylvania campus. (Ximena Conde/WHYY)
Colleges across the country saw enrollments dip this fall, with area schools experiencing larger-than-average drops, according to recent data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
Nationally, enrollment fell 2.5%. Pennsylvania schools dipped 3.1%, Delaware schools declined 3.2% and New Jersey saw a 4.2% decline.
Combined, the three states had about 37,000 fewer students enroll in colleges this fall compared to fall 2019.
Explaining these enrollment losses will take time.
It’s clear, however, that the pandemic has hurt some types of schools more than others.
Graduate enrollment, for instance, actually went up this fall, according to the data. So too did undergraduate attendance at four-year private universities.