Two different school years started during the Covid-19 pandemic. Even for Fall 2021, the second school year — and 18 months and several vaccine options later — the pandemic is still impacting our lives.
The latest round of Household Pulse surveys from the Census Bureau shows that, in the six surveys since August, only 40% of Black respondents have reported no change to their higher education plans. This is compared to 44% of white, 43% of Asian and 35% of Hispanic respondents.
However, HBCU applications have soared during the pandemic, with Baltimore’s Morgan State University seeing as much as a 60% bump in prospective students. Meanwhile, college enrollment has been falling nationwide at a steady decline since the beginning of the pandemic.