National trends
How college is changing
Every other page answers a question about one college. These look at the whole landscape: what changed across the site's four-year colleges over the years of federal data, and where. Each study compares the same colleges at both ends (a ), says whether it counts , and shows where a change happened, not why.
Studies
Study 7
Where the students went
35%
of campus-based undergraduates attend a college with 20,000 or more students, fall 2024
- At colleges with 20,000+ students
Across 1,406 campus-based colleges, the share of undergraduates at colleges with 20,000 or more students in fall 2014 rose from 31% to 35%, and R1 research universities went from 41% to 46% of students.
1,406 colleges · Fall 2014 → fall 2024
Read the studyStudy 1
Men and women in admissions
48%
of colleges admit women at a notably higher rate than men, fall 2024
- Women admitted at a higher rate
- Men admitted at a higher rate
In fall 2004, 13% of colleges admitted men at a rate 3 or more points higher than women; in fall 2024, 6% did, while 48% favored women by as much.
912 colleges · Fall 2004 → fall 2024
Read the studyStudy 2
Test-optional went mainstream
5%
of colleges still require the SAT or ACT, fall 2024
- Share of colleges requiring the SAT or ACT
In fall 2019, 66% of colleges required the SAT or ACT; in fall 2024, 5% did, while the median college's SAT submission share fell from 63% to 15%.
1,511 colleges · Fall 2019 → fall 2024
Read the studyStudy 3
Shrinking colleges
51%
of colleges have at least 10% fewer undergraduates than ten years ago, fall 2024
- Smaller than at the window's start
Across 1,537 colleges, 51% have at least 10% fewer undergraduates than in fall 2014, while 23% grew that much; the median college's undergraduate count fell 11%.
1,537 colleges · Fall 2014 → fall 2024
Read the studyStudy 4
The price gap, by who is discounting
-12%
change in what students pay on average, after inflation, 2023–24
- Full price, indexed
- Average paid, indexed
At the median college, full price fell 1% after inflation over 10 years, while what students actually paid fell 12%, and the discount off the sticker price grew.
1,432 colleges · 2013–14 → 2023–24
Read the studyStudy 5
Public colleges and students from other states
13%
median public college's out-of-state share of first-years, fall 2024
- Median public's out-of-state share
The median public college's out-of-state share rose from 11% in fall 2014 to 13% in fall 2024, and the share of publics that are 30%+ out-of-state rose from 17% to 22%.
496 colleges · Fall 2014 → fall 2024
Read the studyStudy 6
The Pell graduation gap
+11.2 pts
point gap between Pell recipients and students with neither, at the median college, entered fall 2018
- Median gap, points
At the median college, Pell recipients from the class entering fall 2010 graduated within six years 9 points less often than students with neither a Pell Grant nor a subsidized loan; for the class entering fall 2018 the gap was 11 points.
1,103 colleges · Entered fall 2010 → entered fall 2018
Read the studyBiggest movers
All ten listsThe colleges that changed the most over ten years, among colleges big enough at the start for a change to mean something (the ).
Applications surged
, fall 2014 to fall 2024
Median college: +41.8% (881 colleges ranked)
Sources:IPEDS Admissions survey, Fall 2014 to Fall 2024;College Scorecard (enrollment), Fall 2014 to Fall 2024;IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey (distance education), Fall 2014 to Fall 2024About the data(built 2026-10-12; CPI retrieved 2026-10-12)
Top 10 and how it's rankedGot much harder to get into
, fall 2014 to fall 2024
Median college: +6 pts (891 colleges ranked)
Sources:IPEDS Admissions survey, Fall 2014 to Fall 2024;College Scorecard (enrollment), Fall 2014 to Fall 2024About the data(built 2026-10-12; CPI retrieved 2026-10-12)
Top 10 and how it's rankedStudents pay much less
(in 2023–24 dollars), 2013–14 to 2023–24
Median college: −11.3% (1,149 colleges ranked)
Sources:IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey, 2013–14 to 2023–24;IPEDS Student Financial Aid survey, 2013–14 to 2023–24;College Scorecard (enrollment), Fall 2013 to Fall 2024;inflation: BLS CPI-U, school-year averagesAbout the data(built 2026-10-12; CPI retrieved 2026-10-12)
Top 10 and how it's rankedBy athletic conference
All 127 conferencesHow each 's member colleges compare and changed, and who joined or left. The Power 4, median member, on one scale:
Southeastern Conference
16 members on the site · medians
- Acceptance rate, fall 202467%
- Average total cost, 2023–24$29,019
- Undergraduates, fall 202429.2K
- Applications, fall 2014 to fall 2024+106%
Big Ten Conference
18 members on the site · medians
- Acceptance rate, fall 202454%
- Average total cost, 2023–24$32,640
- Undergraduates, fall 202433.8K
- Applications, fall 2014 to fall 2024+87%
Atlantic Coast Conference
18 members on the site · medians
- Acceptance rate, fall 202420%
- Average total cost, 2023–24$40,102
- Undergraduates, fall 202416.5K
- Applications, fall 2014 to fall 2024+70%
Big Twelve Conference
16 members on the site · medians
- Acceptance rate, fall 202480%
- Average total cost, 2023–24$25,707
- Undergraduates, fall 202428.6K
- Applications, fall 2014 to fall 2024+70%
By state
Every stateHow each state's colleges changed: size, applications, cost, and where their students come from. Colored here by the median college's undergraduate change over 10 years.