64.2% of college applicants to Lancaster County’s 13 universities were admitted for fall 2022

Lancaster County’s 13 universities admitted an estimated 64.2% of applicants for fall 2022, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Of those who were admitted, 22.8% enrolled.

Of the 13 institutions in the county, seven provided detailed enrollment data at the time, including Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, Millersville University of Pennsylvania and Elizabethtown College.

At least 21,079 people applied to Lancaster County colleges in the 2022-23 school year.

NCES data shows that among them, around 16,640 students enrolled in the universities, including 14,740 in undergraduate and 1,900 in graduate programs. In total 6.1% of undergraduates transferred from another college or university.

The reported undergraduate student body is comprised mostly of white (68.3%) and Hispanic (10.3%) students.

Among the institutions that provided disclosed enrollment data, Millersville University of Pennsylvania stood out with the largest enrollment at the time, welcoming 6,775 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 two institutions in Lancaster County, including Harrisburg Area Community College-Lancaster and Lancaster Theological Seminary.

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