America is running out of teenagers. Universities are worried | BBC Global

By 2039, the US is set to have 650,000 fewer 18 year olds than it does today. For universities, that demographic cliff poses an existential challenge. Fewer teenagers means fewer college applicants. Fewer applicants means fewer enrolled students. And fewer students means that some universities may not make enough money to keep their doors open. Katty Kay talks with Nathan Grawe, a Professor of Economics at Carleton College, about how difficult it will be for colleges to ride out this demographic drop — and what they will need to do to survive it. 00:00 A Looming Demographic Decline 00:01:15 Understanding the Crisis 00:02:00 What Colleges Will Do 00:03:17 Elite vs. Local Schools 00:04:43 Is This Peak College Cost? 00:06:09 The Vocational Shift 00:07:22 Coping with Change 00:09:21 Advice for Colleges You're watching New Normal with Katty Kay – each week, we bring you conversations with expert guests about how our world is changing and what that means for our lives. Explore past episodes and get early access to new ones on BBC.com. Subscribe to BBC Global: https://www.youtube.com/c/bbc_global?sub_confirmation=1 For the latest news, analysis and features, visit: www.bbc.com #bbc #US teenagers