Joe Shasky never went to college. In fact, he didn’t even finish high school. He was a self described “troubled” kid with a lot of anger and family issues at home. Trying and ultimately giving up on getting a GED at community college only compounded his negative emotions, adding feelings of shame and failure to the mix.
“I hated school,” he said. “I had undiagnosed ADD, I didn’t like sitting in a classroom.” Not going to college wasn’t down to a reason as simple as that, though. Paying bills, working a job, living on his own, and balancing his social, personal, and professional life was difficult. Unlike many people, he didn’t have the means of dedicating all his time to studies, something that college often demands. And quite simply, it was something he couldn’t afford.
But Shasky’s story is far from singular. A study by Edge Research and HCM Strategists from 2022 explored the reasons behind dropping college enrollment. Although COVID-19 and financial concerns are big factors, they’re not the only ones.
“We knew from the data that enrollments in college were declining, before the pandemic and in an accelerated way during the pandemic,” said Terrell Halaska Dunn, managing partner of HCM Strategists and an author of the study. “We wanted to understand why – how potential learners were making their decisions and how they valued higher education.”
The study pinned down the top three reasons people cited in not getting a college education, with worrying about money, feeling stress, and prioritizing getting a job being the primary obstacles.
First, 38% found it too expensive/didn’t want to take on more debt. In fact, as of the fourth fiscal quarter of 2024, student loan debt in the United States has totaled $1.77 trillion.
“The cost to go is out of control and you have so many educators and you have so many institutions who are making so much money off of the entire [pyramid] scheme, that to me, the juice isn’t worth the squeeze,” Shasky said.
The second reason is that 27% found it too stressful. The study notes that helping more students obtain a degree doesn’t just come with addressing the financial side of things, but also guidance in managing stress and anxiety while in school.
“…It was striking to see how the need for supports, beyond the financial, would be welcomed across this audience of 18-34 year-olds,” said Adam Burns, Chief Operations Officer of Edge Research. The reason for this?
“We’ve seen a significant increase in mental health issues, more generally in this country,” Halaska Dunn said. “That would be reflected in our results.”
Last but not least, 26% found it more important to get a job and make money. Although that’s one of the main reasons people have for not going to/dropping out of college, it’s also a top reason people have for getting a degree. Forty-four percent agree that being able to make more money is a top reason for getting a degree, closely followed by 41% who say being able to get a better job is a top reason for getting a degree.
However, it’s important to address that it’s not just the “push factors” that are driving the exodus: more students are also relying on other means of post-high school education, with 16% believing they can get the skills and credentials needed through other educational programs. Shasky was one of those people too.
“Not having [a college education]… fueled me to learn everything I possibly could through Youtube, Wikipedia, etcetera,” he said. “Because now you can learn anything you want on the internet for free. You don’t need to be paying for a Stanford education.”
Something else the study emphasized was students’ need for ROI, or return on investment. The study’s segmentation analysis found that 35% of the audience needed reassurance that pursuing a degree was “worth it.”
“I think we can hypothesize that as the costs of college have continued to rise significantly, people are turning their attention more and more to what will I get for my investment of time and money?” Halaska Dunn said. While for many those doubts and barriers are enough to keep them from college, others see a greater benefit from attending college. The American Enterprise Institute says that college continues to be a major driver of upward mobility in society.
Jordan Clarke ’23, an alumnus at Archbishop Riordan High School, committed to the University of Southern California. At press time, he’s attended USC Gould, an undergraduate law program being implemented for the first time.
“I’m going to college because as an African American man, one thing that I’ve always been taught is that they can take pretty much everything away from me,” he says. “They can take my house, my phone, my loans, whatever it may be. But they can never take my education away from me.”
Although financial concerns are a primary driver in declining college enrollment, it’s not entirely exclusive to those who aren’t going to college. Another alumna from Riordan, Angelina Ning ’23, who committed to the University of California, Los Angeles, says at press time that while her family makes enough to not qualify for financial aid, there’s still stress around paying for her tuition.
“Since I don’t qualify for FAFSA or any financial aid, my family will have to pay for all my tuition out of pocket or from completing scholarships,” she said. “During college I am also expected to do work-study so I can also pay for my financial expenses.”
Ultimately, while college enrollments have been declining around the country, Skyline College has actually seen an opposite trend in 2023. “Enrollments have increased at Skyline College during Spring 2023, which may be a result of SB893,” said Dr. Vinicio Lopez, the vice principal of instruction at Skyline College. However, he emphasizes that the phenomenon at Skyline is an anomaly in comparison to nationwide trends.
Senate Bill 893 is an enrollment fee waiver that applies to students who reside in San Mateo County, passed in 2022.
Today, Joe Shasky is a well known sports talk radio host at 95.7 The Game and a passionate Bay Area sports fan. As of press time in 2023, he works in sales (“Love money,” he says) and coaches youth basketball. Although back then and still now he felt great shame in not going to college, he’s now lapsed many of his peers professionally and financially.
Most of all, he emphasizes the importance of learning life skills that only come from, well, living life. He says the lessons and skills he’s learned from stuff you can’t do in a classroom, like trying to start his own business and working for other people, is invaluable.
Looking back, he says that not going to college is a double edged sword. Although currently he’s working on getting his high school diploma, he says he has no interest in going back to college or getting a degree. Because ultimately, he puts it this way:
“Not everything is for everyone.”
