In the wake of an unprecedented pandemic, with political, social, and even ecological upheaval dominating our cultural consciousness… how are today’s students really feeling? About themselves, their priorities, and their future prospects?
The "State of the American College Student" perennial study began in 2021 as a means to measure and track the shifting perceptions of current and prospective college students as society navigated the upheaval and recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
This proprietary tracking study provides insights into the emotions, opinions, lifestyle priorities and experiences of current and prospective college students. The findings lead to marketing implications that can have impact on an institution’s enrollment and retention performance.
A few highlights from the new 2023 study include:
Students are prioritizing more in their lives and appear committed to wellness and self-improvement.
Students were asked to think about their lifestyle priorities over the next six months and asked to rate the level to which they would prioritize certain aspects. Perhaps given the public narrative about an impending recession, students say making money (81%) is their top priority, a +16pp increase from a year prior. Yet, finding joy or happiness (78%), emotional wellness (73%) and lowering stress are also high priorities, each gaining since 2022. In fact, compared to last year, students are placing a greater sense of importance on all of the lifestyle priorities tested. This suggests that students are more intentional in their desire to improve multiple aspects of their life, from financial to emotional and social.
Consideration of dropping out of college has increased among current students.
While they say they understand the importance of a college degree, this year, one in five current college students said they are considering dropping out of the college/university in which they are currently enrolled (20%) – this represents an increase of +8 percentage points compared to 2022.
AI is making an impact – students are concerned while also welcoming.
From a career development perspective, over half of current college students are concerned that AI will make it harder for them to get a job after graduation (51%) and that their colleges should make efforts to incorporate AI competency into curricula to help them prepare for their careers (51%). In fact, nearly a third say developments in AI is impacting their decision about what to major in. Nevertheless, desire for utilization is there. More than 60 percent say they would use AI chat bots provided by their universities to help them understand potential career opportunities and more than 40 percent would use AI chat bots offered by their school to manage their mental health.
