Money Matters: Education and Wages

 Over 1 million fewer students are enrolled in college now than before the pandemic started - a 6.6% decline. In the new report from MyElearningWorld.com, they examine the massive economic impact of that decline.

After crunching the numbers, they found that the total potential loss of lifetime earnings by the over 1 million students skipping out on college could exceed $1 trillion.

You can view the methodology, as well as data visualizations here: https://myelearningworld.com/pandemic-college-enrollment-decline-report/

Other Interesting Data:

• 63% of students who enroll end up earning a bachelor's degree. Of the 1,025,600 lost students during the pandemic, that's 646,128 bachelor degrees lost.
• Of those lost bachelor's degrees, 179,910 would have gone on to get their master's and 38,690 would have gotten their doctorates. 
• The cost of attending college has risen at 5x the rate of inflation over the last 50 years, while real average wages have barely budged.

I had a chance to learn more in this interview.

How did you arrive at the estimate of lost income?

I'll refer you to the "by the numbers" section here: https://myelearningworld.com/pandemic-college-enrollment-decline-report/

It's a pretty lengthy discussion.

What are some of the factors that affect college enrollment?

Cost is a big one. In a report we put out a while back, we showed that the cost of college has increased at 5x the rate of inflation in the last 50 years. (link) Meanwhile, real average wages have barely budged. In fact, I saw a recent study saying they are actually declining. 

Then factor in that many colleges went virtual during the pandemic, and some even remain so. I think a lot of young people see that and think, why the heck would I pay so much for Zoom classes?

What can families do to overcome some of those factors and still go on to higher learning?

Well, it really will come down to saving and investing early if you want your child to stick to the traditional college route. I don't see costs coming down anytime soon, although, who knows? I'd also encourage my child to look carefully at the career outlook when choosing a major. That way, they can have a realistic view of how long it might take to pay off any loans they may take out.