Jaded with education, more Americans are skipping colleges

上学？腻了！越来越多的美国年轻人不读大学了

（来源：外刊daily）

Hundreds of thousands of young people came of age during the pandemic but didn't go to college.

在美国，有数十万在疫情期间成年的高中生没有进入大学继续学习。

Many have turned to hourly jobs or careers that don't require a degree, while others have been deterred by high tuition and the prospect of student debt.

他们之中不少人转而从事时薪制工作或者无刚性学历要求的工作，而另一些人则在高昂的学费以及沉重的学生贷款面前望而却步。

What first looked like a pandemic blip has turned into a crisis.

最初看上去只是新冠疫情期间的突发事件，如今已演化成了一场危机。

Nationwide, undergraduate college enrollment dropped 8% from 2019 to 2022, with declines even after returning to in-person classes, according to data from the National Student Clearinghouse.

根据国家学生信息交流中心的数据，2022 年全国范围的本科院校入学人数，相比 2019 年，下降了 8%，即使回归面授课堂之后，入学人数减少的情况也没有停止。

The slide in the college-going rate since 2018 is the steepest on record, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

据美国劳工统计局称，这场始于 2018 年的大学入学比率滑坡是有史以来最严重的。

Economists say the impact could be dire.

经济学家称（入学率降低带来的）巨大影响可能预示着灾难。

At worst, it could signal a new generation with little faith in the value of a college degree.

往最坏的想，这可能预示着新一代人对一份大学学位的价值并不买账；

At the minimum, it appears those who passed on college during the pandemic are opting out for good.

往小了说，看上去那些在疫情期间放弃升学的高中生是彻底离开校园了。

Predictions that they would enroll after a year or two haven't borne out.

有人曾预测，这些高中生会在一两年后重新入学，但这并没有发生。

Fewer college graduates could worsen labor shortages in fields from health care to information technology.

大学毕业生人数减少，会加重从医疗保健到电子科技等领域的劳动力短缺问题。

For those who forgo college, it usually means lower lifetime earnings.

对于那些放弃大学的人来说，这往往意味着终身收入的减少。

And when the economy sours, those without degrees are more likely to lose jobs.

而且当经济环境变差的时候，这些没有学位的人丢掉工作的可能性更高。

"It's quite a dangerous proposition for the strength of our national economy," said Zack Mabel, a Georgetown researcher.

乔治敦大学的研究员扎克·马贝尔说：“对于我们的国家经济实力来说，这是很危险的事情。”

At the same time, the nation's student debt has soared.

同时，全国的学生债务已经飙升。

The issue has loomed large in the minds of young Americans as President Joe Biden pushes to cancel huge swaths of debt, an effort the Supreme Court appears poised to block.

当美国总统乔·拜登推动取消巨额负债的时候，贷款问题已沉重地压在美国年轻人的心头多时，但是最高法院似乎已经准备去阻止拜登的计划。

（编辑：何晓玙）