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More Students are Going to College: Spring 2025 Stats

lesscollegestress
May 26
2 min read

I like to share any current statistics, since much of the data about the high school class of 2025 will not be revealed until August.

Despite financial losses and continued economic volatility, Americans still believe that investing in a college education is worth it.

But money matters. I’ve written several times about families opting for more reasonably-priced public universities over expensive private institutions that give little or no non-need based merit aid. We also see an increased interest in international options, with Canada, the UK, and Ireland the top college destinations. Why? As many students and families approach college vocationally (beginning college with the specific intention of getting a job in a particular field), the European model of choosing a major and earning a degree in 3 years instead of 4 is increasingly attractive. We know that international students comprise roughly 6% of students at US colleges, and there is significant data on how many US students study abroad while enrolled in a US-based college, but statistics are unclear on the percentage of Americans pursuing their entire college education abroad. (Please let me know if you discover any reliable stats).

Here are the statistics on US college enrollment for Spring 2025.

Total postsecondary enrollment is up 3.2 percent this spring (+562,000), compared to spring 2024. Undergraduate enrollment grew 3.5 percent, reaching 15.3 million but remains below pre-pandemic levels (-2.4%, -378,000). Graduate enrollment also increased 1.5 percent, now 7.2 percent (+209,000) higher than in 2020.
Undergraduate enrollment increased across major institutional sectors, with community colleges (Public two-year and Public PABs-those offering one BA/BS degree and mostly Associates degrees)) seeing the largest growth (+5.4%, +288,000).
Enrollment increased for all undergraduate credential types. Bachelor’s and associate programs grew by 2.1 percent and 6.3 percent, respectively, but remain below spring 2020 levels. Undergraduate certificate program enrollment continued to grow this spring (+4.8%) and is now 20 percent above 2020.