9 MAJOR Changes In College Education Faced by Millennials

It’s clear, millennials differ from other generations in many ways. And, there are many significant differences as far as higher education is concerned, millennials are being criticized a lot. The Typical Student team told you that 1700s students were much worse than millennials. Still, Gen Z students turned out to be a lot more ignorant.

Today, we’re going to tell you about 9 MAJOR changes Millennials have experienced while pursuing higher ed. Tune in for more!

#1 Millennial undergrad enrollment has doubled from 1970 to 2009

Source: news-prod.wcu.edu

Compared to their parents, millennials have more demand for higher ed. According to the Department of Education, in fall 2000, about 5.1M were enrolled, while in fall 2017, US colleges expected a total of 20.4M enrollees.

#2 Millennials face decrease in college acceptance rates

Source: blog.suny.edu

As competition is growing, it’s getting harder to get accepted into college for a regular millennial. According to the statistic by US News & World Report, Columbia University had 65% acceptance rate in 1988, while in 2014 it dropped to 7%. In the same period, the University of Michigan’s acceptance rate decreased from 52% to 33%.

#3 Millennials have to pay more college tuition and fees

Source: pittnews.com

BusinessInsider experts claim college tuition has doubled since 1980s. Considering the inflation rates. the cost of an undergrad degree increased by 213% at public schools. As for private schools, the tuitions have increased by 129%. In the late 1980s, a private undergrad degree cost $7,050 ($15,160 in today's dollars). Now, it costs $34,740 on average.

#4 College supplies are more expensive

Source: achievalife.com

The price of college books has increased by 812% over the past 30 years, according to the Government Accountability Office report. On average, a millennial college student spends $1200+ on textbooks per school year.

#5 College offers better technology benefits to millennials

Source: eutd.eu

Mobile gadgets and laptops weren’t available to millennials’ parents. Now, students can enjoy the benefits of distance learning receiving lectures in case they miss their classes.

#6 Online education is becoming more common

Source: today.uconn.edu

Millennials prefer online education over the human to human interaction. Growing leaders survey has shown 69% of millennials prefer learning from technology than from people. People aged over 45, however, don’t feel the same. Only 50% of respondents preferred learning through technology.

#7 Millennials have a more diverse student population

Source: transylvaniatimes.com

The 2018 State of the Student research project research has revealed current minority enrollment is 42% for 1,000 students. In 1970, the minority enrollment percentage was around 15%. At that, female students make up over 50% of the student population.

#8 Millennial college students aren't as religious as they used to be

Source: chapel.duke.edu

In 2014, around 25% of millennial students didn’t identify with a specific religion. In 2005, the percentage was around 16%, according to the UCLA's Cooperative Institutional Research program. At that, in the same period of time, the percentage of Catholic college students who don’t identify with any religion rose by 4%.  

#9 Millennials are prone to more stress

Source: learn2balance.wordpress.com

Millennial college students know the stress is REAL. According to the research, the number of students feeling "occasionally or frequently feel overwhelmed" increased by 10% between 2005-2015. Also, given the above mentioned factors like tuition and fees increase, 70% to 80% of students have a job while attending school. Around 40% of students work 30+ hours a week.