A new study by EAB highlights a trend among students who feel unsure about their commitment to college due to growing concerns about affordability, academic success, and mental health preparedness. These students started their high school career during the COVID-19 pandemic and are currently making the transition into adulthood.
The data offers new insight on the contributing factors for the spike decline in enrollment at community college and universities across the country.
About 20,000 high school students were surveyed. These students, referred to as “Gen P,” a term coined by EAB to describe the generation of students whose college-going behaviors have been influenced by the pandemic, expressed real concerns about attending college. 
Hope Krutz
“A key part to this report is not just the impact on the next one or two classes,” said Hope Krutz, president of Enroll360, an EAB initiative that delivers consulting and marketing services to institutions across the country. “But really how is the pandemic reshaping how the college search experience and process happens for students and what students are looking to gain out of college?”
According to the survey, more than one in five students (22%) have decided to opt out of college because they are not mentally ready. This is a sharp increase from pre-pandemic levels that showed 14% of students feeling this way in EAB’s 2019 survey. The survey took into account the academic, mental, social, and financial issues that are concerning students as they decide what to do with their future and why many are opting out of attending college.
First generation and lower-income students were hit particularly hard. About 28% of first-generation students expressed concern over not feeling mentally prepared for college versus 20% of non-first-generation students. These students are already faced with many disadvantages. According to The Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public policy organization, first generation college students tend to come from lower-income families and complete school at a lower rate than their peers.
