84.3% of college applicants to Chester County’s 8 universities were admitted for fall 2022

Chester County’s eight universities admitted an estimated 84.3% of applicants for fall 2022, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Of those who were admitted, 18.4% enrolled.

Of the eight institutions in the county, five provided detailed enrollment data at the time, including Chester County Intermediate Unit, Lincoln University and Immaculata University.

At least 24,051 people applied to Chester County colleges in the 2022-23 school year.

NCES data shows that among them, around 23,481 students enrolled in the universities, including 19,546 in undergraduate and 3,935 in graduate programs. In total 5.3% of undergraduates transferred from another college or university.

The reported undergraduate student body is comprised mostly of white (64.4%) and Black or African American (17.5%) students.

Among the institutions that provided disclosed enrollment data, West Chester University of Pennsylvania stood out with the largest enrollment at the time, welcoming 17,275 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.

NCES shows that enrollment data was not available for Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Great Valley in Chester County.

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