77.2% of college applicants to Bergen County’s 15 universities were admitted for fall 2022

Bergen County’s 15 universities admitted an estimated 77.2% of applicants for fall 2022, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Of those who were admitted, 16.9% enrolled.

Of the 15 institutions in the county, five provided detailed enrollment data at the time, including Ramapo College of New Jersey, Holy Name Medical Center-Sister Claire Tynan School of Nursing and Jersey College.

At least 14,167 people applied to Bergen County colleges in the 2022-23 school year.

NCES data shows that among them, around 33,340 students enrolled in the universities, including 30,487 in undergraduate and 2,853 in graduate programs. In total 8.1% of undergraduates transferred from another college or university.

The reported undergraduate student body is comprised mostly of white (34.5%) and Hispanic (31.2%) students.

Among the institutions that provided disclosed enrollment data, Bergen Community College stood out with the largest enrollment at the time, welcoming 11,192 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 Virginia University of Integrative Medicine – New Jersey in Bergen County.

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