Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of Americans going to college has dropped by 1 million. Researchers estimated the total could be as high as 3 million over the last 10 years. Education experts in the United States have recently talked about the reasons leading to the decline. They include lower birth rates, higher pay for most jobs during the pandemic and the rising cost of a college education. However, education experts and economists are starting to think about the long-term effects if the drop continues. Some warn the decline could affect the U.S. as competing nations like China greatly increase their college attendance. Jason Lane is the leader of the College of Education, Health and Society at Miami University in Ohio. He called it a “crisis” that is not widely recognized. With fewer people going to college, “society is going to be less healthy,” Lane said. “It’s going to be less economically successful. It’s going to be harder to find folks to fill the jobs of the future…”