The Looming College-Enrollment Death Spiral
After many decades of democratization, higher education could once again become a luxury good.
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Illustration by Matteo Giuseppe Pani / The Atlantic The ‘Best’ Colleges Aren’t the Best Forever
Prestige isn’t permanent.
Illustration by The Atlantic The College-Admissions Process Is Completely Broken
But it doesn’t have to be.
Adam Maida / The Atlantic; Getty The SAT and the ACT Will Probably Survive the Pandemic—Thanks to Students
Despite colleges dropping their testing requirements because of the coronavirus, students continue to sign up for the exams, believing that a score is the key to admission.
Shutterstock / The Atlantic Colleges Are Deeply Unequal Workplaces
As universities plan to reopen, they continue to overlook the concerns of campus staff.
Caroline Brehman / CQ-Roll Call, Inc / Getty There Is No Way to Prevent the Next Cheating Scandal
Admissions officers are in no position to evaluate the truthfulness of the applications they review.
Ben Margot / AP Why Are So Few Male Students Studying Abroad?
More than 300,000 college students went overseas in 2016–17. Just a third of them were men.
d3sign / Getty As Humanities Majors Decline, Colleges Try to Hype Up Their Programs
The Great Recession scared a lot of students away from the humanities. Now administrators are trying to bring them back.
Jae C. Hong / AP The Rise of College ‘Grade Forgiveness’
Universities are letting students take classes over again—a consequence of the pressure schools feel to ensure their “customers” are satisfied.
Gerry Broome / AP The Two Most Important College-Admissions Criteria Now Mean Less
When so many students have outstanding grades and test scores, schools have to get creative about triaging applicants.
Charles Mostoller / Reuters
