Human Capital Education’s latest research on admitted student behavior and what actually drives their college choice.
Uncover the Student Decision-Making Process
We analyzed responses from over 70,000 admitted students from the 2026 enrollment cycle to better understand their enrollment decision. What we witnessed was a consequential change in student behavior that will impact how university leaders and enrollment teams plan for and engage with their 2027 enrollment class. From affordability to influencers, today’s students are more skeptical and more risk averse than prior cohorts, leading to later enrollment decisions, increased double deposits, and a jump in the number of admitted students that are choosing to forego higher education entirely. Read the full report to understand how to strengthen your strategy to grow your class in 2027.
Uncover the Student Decision-Making Process
We analyzed responses from over 70,000 admitted students from the 2026 enrollment cycle to better understand their enrollment decision. What we witnessed was a consequential change in student behavior that will impact how university leaders and enrollment teams plan for and engage with their 2027 enrollment class. From affordability to influencers, today’s students are more skeptical and more risk averse than prior cohorts, leading to later enrollment decisions, increased double deposits, and a jump in the number of admitted students that are choosing to forego higher education entirely. Read the full report to understand how to strengthen your strategy to grow your class in 2027.
Human Capital Education’s latest research on admitted student behavior and what actually drives their college choice.
Value affordability, financial aid, and net price as a key factor
Reported submitting multiple deposits in 2026, double since 2024
More admitted students declined enrollment entirely
Director of Survey Research
Liz Colavita is Director of Survey Research at Human Capital Education. She runs Human Capital’s survey research, largely focused on turning data from the Admitted Student Review into insights on yield, melt, net price, and competitor dynamics. Her work also spans student satisfaction and engagement, housing, and alumni surveys. Prior to joining Human Capital Education, Colavita received her MS from The University of Chicago and BA from Duke University.
Sr Director, Enrollment Strategy
Ken Anselment is Senior Director of Enrollment Strategy. With more than 30 years of experience in higher education, he helps institutions make sense of evidence to shape student experience and organizational practice in service of their mission. He has advised institutions on recruitment, retention, and enrollment leadership during periods of growth, uncertainty, and change. Ken is the author of Climbing the Admissions Leadership Peak and host of The Admissions Leadership Podcast, a trusted forum for enrollment leaders with more than 100 episodes since launching in 2019.
Senior Survey Analyst
Alana LaBelle-Hahn is a Senior Survey Analyst at Human Capital Education. She holds a master’s degree in Social Science from the University of Chicago. She is also a Michigan State University alumna and proud Kalamazoo Promise Scholarship recipient. Her career has consistently centered on higher education, including work supporting international students at MSU, assisting doctoral researchers through the immigration process, and using data to better understand the experiences, choices, and needs of students today.
The Admitted Student Review surveys the full admitted pool at participating institutions — students who enrolled, students who were admitted and chose somewhere else, and admitted students that did not enroll at any institution in 2026. Institutions rarely hear from admitted students that choose not to enroll, a valuable source of data for institutions seeking to improve their competitive position. 91 institutions participated in the 2026 cycle, producing more than 70,000 responses.
Most institutional surveys reach only the students who enrolled, and they measure one campus against itself. The Admitted Student Review covers enrollees and non-enrollees across 91 institutions, so a shift you see on your own campus can be checked against the national pattern before you build a strategy around it.
Institutions that participate receive their own results alongside the national benchmark. Interested in gathering data on your 2027 enrollment cycle? Contact our team to learn how we help students with Admitted Student Surveys.
The 2026 survey was fielded May through July, 2026, after students made their Fall 2026 enrollment decisions and while the reasoning was still fresh. We conduct research on admitted students annually, allowing us to provide insights on linear trends over more than 20 years of data.
Yes. Results of our Admitted Student Surveys can be analyzed by institution type and by student population, including first-generation, Pell-eligible, and under-represented students. Partners that participate in the annual survey of admitted students can see where their student population diverges from the national average and benchmark data against like institutions.
