Dive Brief:
- The percentage of students attending their first-choice school is at its lowest point in 39 years.
- Cost appears to be responsible for that decline, with 46% of students saying money was a factor in where they went — up 15 points from 9 years ago.
- Financial aid is a more important factor in enrollment than ever before, with 49% of students saying offers impacted the decision to attend their current campus.
Dive Insight:
The full report stems from an annual survey of incoming college freshmen from UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute. It also includes statistics on how many students expect to take online courses (not many) and how many students described themselves as politically middle-of-the-road (nearly half).
