The Cope of Predicting Higher Ed’s Death

This Andrew Yang tweet was going viral: Heard about a small college in the Midwest that has lost 50% of its enrollment in the last 10 years. Hundreds of colleges are going to close in the next decade and it’s going to be devastating for many communities. — Andrew Yang (@AndrewYang) August 30, 2026 Whether it’s hopes or promises of AI making white-collar jobs obsolete (wrong) or college obsolete, people keep projecting their desires, when the actual data doesn’t support it. This comes off as just another “cope” from people who lacked the talent to make it to the interview stage — let alone be hired — and now hope that AI will make them feel better about their own failure at life. Society doesn’t conform to your notions of fairness. AI isn’t some great arbiter that will rectify the inequities of modern life. But to address the tweet, it’s not collapsing though. “Around 100 or more four-year institutions have closed in that time.” But there are 3,400 to 4,000 degree-granting institutions…