Abortion Access Remains Important to Majority of Currently Enrolled College Students

• 72% of currently enrolled college students say reproductive health laws are at least somewhat important to their decision to stay enrolled in school.
• The majority of these students say they would prefer to attend a school where there is greater access to reproductive health services.
• This latest data mirrors earlier BestColleges findings that more than one-third of students would be making enrollment decisions with the overturning of Roe v. Wade in mind.
• Access to reproductive health services will be another challenge for schools facing enrollment declines and looking to attract and retain new students.

Access to legal abortion is continuing to impact students' future enrollment plans.

A new survey from Gallup in partnership with the Lumina Foundation found that for nearly three-quarters (72%) of currently enrolled college students, the reproductive health laws and services in the state where their school is located are at least somewhat important to their decision to stay enrolled until graduation.

Among U.S. adults who are not currently enrolled in school, 60% say reproductive health laws are at least somewhat important to their decision to enroll at all.

Percentage of Students Who Say Reproductive Health Laws Are at Least Somewhat Important to Enroll/Stay Enrolled

Currently enrolled women (76%) and Democrats (80%) are most likely to say they consider reproductive health laws important to their re-enrollment decisions. Still, large percentages of men (68%), independents (71%), and Republicans (62%) say the same.

The overwhelming majority of current students who say reproductive health laws are important would prefer to attend school in a state with greater access to reproductive health services (81%). Similarly, 85% of unenrolled adults would also prefer to attend school in a state with less restrictive abortion laws.

This isn't the first time current and prospective students have expressed that reproductive health laws will have an impact on their school plans.

In a 2022 BestColleges survey, more than one-third of respondents reported that the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade impacted their decision to attend certain schools or remain enrolled at institutions in certain states. More than 1 in 3 respondents also reported that they would have attended school elsewhere had the overturning occurred before they made their college choice.

Further, more than half of respondents (57%) reported that they desired to attend school in a state that legally protects the right to abortion.

This latest data from Gallup comes as institutions continue to face sweeping declines in enrollment. From fall 2012 to fall 2022, college student enrollment dropped by about 1.9 million students, or by almost 10%.

Now, institutions in states without legal access to abortion will be tasked with finding new ways to attract and retain students who may consider enrolling elsewhere.