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Pennsylvania College Enrollment Among the Worst in the Nation

Author Anne Erickson
Joab L. Thomas Building in the campus of Pennsylvania State University at State College (University Park), PA.

Pennsylvania college enrollment numbers are declining, but by how much? According to new research released from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, it’s going down a lot. The decrease in enrollment wasn’t just during the pandemic, either. Here are the numbers.

Before we get to Pennsylvania, let’s look at some national trends. Overall, female enrollment declined by 1.2 percent (-118,000 students) while male enrollment grew by 0.4 percent (+25,000 students), according to the study. Also, most of the states follow the same “national trend, with slowing declines, stabilization, or growth over last spring. Both multi-state institutions and primarily online institutions (POIs), which are not included in individual states, regained the enrollments they lost last year, returning to spring 2021 levels.”

Finally, one booming field is computer science. According to the study, “computer science undergraduate programs at four-year institutions reached their highest rate of growth in three years (+11.6%, +62,000 students) in spring 2023. At two-year institutions, computer science enrollments are now above pre-pandemic levels, reversing three years of flat or declining numbers.”

Pennsylvania College Enrollment Numbers

Pennsylvania’s colleges and universities experienced enrollment drops more than four times larger than the average decline in the U.S., according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. In Pennsylvania, spring college enrollment for 2023 dropped 2.6% over 2022. Nationally, college enrollment went down just 0.5% over that same time, so a major difference. As for the hard numbers, overall college enrollment in Pennsylvania for the spring was at 585,758. One bright glimmer of hope is that the rate of decline isn’t as steep as in previous years. In spring 2021, the rate was -3.5%, and in spring 2022, it was -3.3%. Find the full report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center here.

Pennsylvania: The 10 Best Colleges, Ranked

  • 10 Best Colleges In Pennsylvania

    This list is via US News & World Report.

  • 10. Duquesne University

    Duquesne University is one of the nation’s top Catholic universities. It’s a regular on this list.

    Duquesne University

    Founded in 1878, Duquesne is consistently ranked among the nation's top Catholic universities for its award-winning faculty and horizon-expanding education. A campus of nearly 8,000 graduate and undergraduate students, Duquesne prepares students by having them work alongside faculty to discover and reach their goals.

  • 9. Thomas Jefferson University

    On their website, they state, “Our Philadelphia campuses are tradition-breakers and beautiful places to learn. We cross the city and the suburbs.” It is a beautiful campus!

    Thomas Jefferson University

    At Thomas Jefferson University, we are helping you to redefine what's possible.

  • 8. Temple University

    Temple University is a public state-related research university located in Philly.

  • 7. Drexel University

    Drexel University has a rich history and was founded back in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel.

    Drexel Home

    Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA is an academically comprehensive and globally engaged urban research university, dedicated to advancing knowledge and society and to providing every student with a valuable, rigorous, experiential, technology-infused education, enriched by the nation's premier co-operative education program.

  • 6. The Pennsylvania State University

    Everyone knows Penn State. It’s a a major, public, research-I university serving Pennsylvania and the global community, as they state on their site.

    Penn State University

    Penn State is a major, public, research-I university serving Pennsylvania and the global community. Learn more about our undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs.

  • 5. University of Pittsburgh

    The University of Pittsburgh is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh.

    Home

    The transformative gift - for which the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine will make an equivalent co-investment - will support labs, fellows, research and clinical work to push orthopaedic treatments forward.

  • 4. Villanova University

    They’re the only Augustinian Catholic university in the nation. Not to mention a great basketball team.

    University | Villanova University

    Villanova University is a Catholic university founded in 1842 by the Order of Saint Augustine. At Villanova, our educational experience is rooted in a passionate, collaborative pursuit of knowledge and service to others.

  • 3. Lehigh University

    Lehigh is recognized among the nation’s premier research universities.

    Home

    Home | https://www2.lehigh.edu/home

  • 2. Carnegie Mellon University

    The famed Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university based in Pittsburgh.

    Homepage - CMU - Carnegie Mellon University

    CMU is a global research university known for its world-class, interdisciplinary programs: arts, business, computing, engineering, humanities, policy and science.

  • 1. University of Pennsylvania

    No big surprise that this is No. 1. The University of Pennsylvania is a private Ivy League research university in Philly that gets recognized all the time for its excellence in academics.

    University of Pennsylvania

    Topics Featured

Anne Erickson started her radio career shortly after graduating from Michigan State University and has worked on-air in Detroit, Flint, Toledo, Lansing and beyond. As someone who absolutely loves rock, metal and alt music, she instantly fell in love with radio and hasn’t looked back. When she’s not working, Anne makes her own music with her band, Upon Wings, and she also loves cheering on her favorite Detroit and Michigan sports teams, especially Lions and MSU football. Anne is also an award-winning journalist, and her byline has run in a variety of national publications. You can also hear her weekends on WRIF.

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