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Dive Brief:
Two-thirds of surveyed high school graduates who decided not to enroll in college, 67%, cited the cost-of-living expenses as their primary motivator, according to new data published by consultancy EAB. That’s a sharp rise from the 51% who said the same last year.
The share of students entering the workforce directly after high school also rose, while the portion of students taking a gap year declined, “suggesting a growing emphasis on immediate economic needs,” Tuesday’s report said.
Newly enrolled college students said they prioritized career outcomes and internships while also expressing trepidation about artificial intelligence. Among them, 42% said they expect AI to influence the career they pursue, and about 10% reported already changing their fields of study because of AI.
Dive Insight:
A significant majority of the 9,516 recent high school graduates surveyed, 89%, enrolled in college for the first time in fall 2025.
Among that group, 44% said successful job placement upon graduation is one of the characteristics that best represents the value of higher education. Meanwhile, 35% said the same of active-learning experiences like internships and co-ops and the availability of scholarships. About 30% prioritized generous financial aid packages and moderate tuition prices.
But students’ backgrounds influenced how they perceived that value, the report said. Newly enrolled college students from higher-income households prioritized job preparation and career outcomes more highly than those from lower-income backgrounds.
And first-generation students were more likely than their peers to put a greater emphasis on the availability of financial aid.
A quarter of the 1,022 surveyed high school graduates who did not enroll in college, 25%, said their decision stemmed from the inability to afford higher ed.
Another quarter, 26%, said they didn’t enroll because they wanted to take time off first. However, EAB noted that time off has declined as a motivator since its 2024 survey, when 39% of these students gave the same reason.
“Questions about cost and value have long shaped whether and where students enroll, but broader cost-of-living increases are adding new pressures that make the decision to enter, or stay in college, much harder,” Pam Royall, co-author of Thursday’s report and head of research at EAB, said in a Tuesday statement.
Surveyed college students also expressed unease about the workforce implications of AI. Half said they felt uncertain about the impact of AI on their future careers, the most common response. About a third of students reported feeling concerned, skepticism and nerves or anxiety.
“Initially I chose computer science,” one student told researchers. “After seeing AI replacing entry-level jobs, I switched to electrical and computer engineering.”
Just 13% of respondents reported feeling optimistic, and 7% said they were excited.
“AI is upending the value equation in higher education,” Royall said. “Colleges must prove they’re preparing graduates by offering experiential learning and emphasizing in-demand, durable job skills that are less likely to become obsolete in an AI-driven economy.”
That is especially true “when seeking to attract students with greater ability to pay,” the report said.
The data shows that students from households earning more than $120,000 annually are more likely to submit deposits to multiple colleges. That desire to keep options open, combined with their financial flexibility, means that colleges face competition for wealthier students longer into the application process.
“Strengthening late-stage communication and differentiating on value will be critical to converting these admits into enrollments,” the report said.
More broadly, students are applying to more institutions and receiving more offers, it found.
“Competition now extends later into senior year, and an application alone is no longer a strong signal of intent,” the report said.
