Gen Z is questioning college altogether. Meanwhile, older generations are coming back to finish it

Ruth Bauer is president of InsideTrack, a nonprofit that coaches students coming back to finish their degrees/keep them on track to graduate.

Across the country, millions of students are heading back to college for a new school year. But the scene on many campuses is probably not the one you’re picturing. Today, there are fewer traditional sophomores moving back into their dorms after a summer off, and far more adults returning to campus after years away.

Following decades of steady growth, the share of high school graduates heading straight to college has fallen, from nearly 70% a decade ago to about 60% today. My 20-year-old son decided to enroll, but I hear him and his friends talk constantly about whether the jobs they are training for will still exist when they graduate. One recent Gallup survey found that nearly half of students have considered changing their major over concerns about how AI might impact their field. Against that backdrop, it is not hard to understand why an 18-year-old might ask whether college is still worth it. 

But while the answer to that question is growing more complicated, college remains one of our surest levers for promoting economic mobility. And just as Gen Z’s faith in the degree has begun to crumble, another group of Americans is betting on higher education in record numbers. More than 40 million Americans have some college credit, but no degree, and a........

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