Fall 2022: 78.5% of applicants to Boone County’s 4 universities were admitted

Boone County’s four universities admitted an estimated 78.5% of applicants for fall 2022, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Of those who were admitted, 30.7% enrolled.

Of the four institutions in the county, two provided detailed enrollment data at the time, including University of Missouri-Columbia and Stephens College.

At least 20,953 people applied to Boone County colleges in the 2022-23 school year.

NCES data shows that among them, around 38,083 students enrolled in the universities, including 29,970 in undergraduate and 8,113 in graduate programs. In total 6% of undergraduates transferred from another college or university.

The reported undergraduate student body is comprised mostly of white (74.1%) and Black or African American (8.1%) students.

Among the institutions that provided disclosed enrollment data, University of Missouri-Columbia stood out with the largest enrollment at the time, welcoming 31,304 students.

U.S. college enrollment has been in a downward trend since peaking at around 18.1 million students in 2010. Recent increases offered some relief, but experts project a steeper decline in 2025.

This decline is likely due to two main factors. First, the pool of young adults is shrinking as birth rates have fallen nearly 23% between 2007 and 2022. Second, the rising cost of higher education, including skyrocketing student loan debt. A 2023 Wall Street Journal report shows that more than half of Americans think a four-year degree is not worth the cost.

Some educational data is based on estimates. Shifting demographics among student populations can sometimes result in gender totals which do not equal 100%.