There are promising signs that a college enrollment rise is happening, particularly for freshmen, writes Susan Snyder for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The COVID-19 pandemic and its accompanying isolation put a chill on college attendance but these post-pandemic times are seeing signs of a college enrollment rise on campus.

The number of freshmen grew by 4.3 percent, or 97,000 students and growth came at community colleges, private schools, and public universities, according to the National Student Clearinghouse.

“This is a very promising sign for higher education after two straight years in which the number of new entering students sat at 10 percent below pre-pandemic levels,” said Doug Shapiro, vice president for research and executive director for the national group.

Freshmen enrollment nationally is 6 percent — or 150,000 students — lower than in 2019.

Pennsylvania was down 1.4 percent in overall college enrollment and 2 percent in undergraduate enrollment. Public four-year universities fell 4.1 percent, community colleges dropped 2.1 percent but private four-year colleges grew by 2 percent.

Computer and information sciences enrollment grew by 10 percent nationwide over 2021.

White student freshman enrollment fell 2.4 percent while Latino, Asian, and Native American student enrollment grew between 7 to 8 percent. Black student enrollment held steady.

Read more about a college enrollment rise at The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Even amidst college enrollment declines, historically black colleges and universities have seen enrollment go up.