The entire edifice of higher education and industry depends on a steady flow of students coming in and qualified graduates flowing out. What happens to the system when the crucial input of applicants drops dramatically? Amy and Mike invited journalist Jon Marcus to answer that very question, because the dreaded demographic cliff is here.

What are five things you will learn in this episode?

1. What exactly is a demographic cliff?

2. What have colleges done to prepare for a decline in applicants? 

3. Which schools are most and least threatened by the demographic cliff?

4. How does the demographic pattern benefit applicants? 

5. How will this shift in population impact schools and society?

MEET OUR GUEST

Jon Marcus is higher-education editor at The Hechinger Report and also writes for The Washington Post, The New York Times, Wired, NPR, and other magazines, newspapers, and websites. Jon holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree from Bates College, and attended Oxford University. He teaches journalism at Boston College and Northeastern University.

Jon previously appeared on this podcast in episode 201 to discuss How College Board and ACT are Changing.

Find Jon at [email protected] or on Bluesky/X at @jonmarcusboston.

LINKS

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

A looming 'demographic cliff': Fewer college students and ultimately fewer graduates

Despite public perception, and for the first time in decades, college acceptance rates are going up

Nonprofit Explorer - ProPublica

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Tests and the Rest is THE college admissions industry podcast. Explore all of our past episodes on the show page and keep up with our future ones by subscribing to our email newsletter.

ABOUT YOUR HOSTS

Mike Bergin is the president of Chariot Learning and founder of TestBright. Amy Seeley is the president of Seeley Test Pros and LEAP. If you’re interested in working with Mike and/or Amy for test preparation, training, or consulting, feel free to get in touch through our contact page.