Will Your College Survive the Demographic Cliff?

Long before I took my first admissions job and found myself worrying about the number of high-school graduates, I was aware of the demographic cliff and what it meant. Or, it might be more accurate to say, I was aware of the demographic cliff and the rumors of what it was going to mean.

I graduated from high school in 1977, and my freshman year at Iowa State University was spent in Wilson Hall, a part of “The Towers” residence halls south of the main campus, four 10-story buildings that were a cross between the midcentury