This gap between the American public and students’ experience reveals a college value disconnect highlighted in a new Lumina Foundation and Gallup , The College Reality Check, based on responses from about 4,000 undergraduates and 6,000 graduates.

Let’s start with the public mood.

łŇ˛ą±ô±ôłÜ±č’s higher education confidence measure shows a steep slide from 2015, when 57% of U.S. adults said they had “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in colleges and universities, to 36% in 2024. Even with a modest 2025 rebound to about 42%, confidence remains well below the 2015 level.

Yet, here’s what college students say about their day-to-day reality.

The Lumina–Gallup study reports that seven in 10 students say the quality of the education they receive is either “excellent” or “very good,” while 69% feel they belong on campus. Roughly nine in 10 students say their college degree is worth the investment.

Other findings reinforce this pattern. For example, 93% of current associate- and bachelor-degree students say they are at least “very confident” or “confident” that their degree is teaching them career-relevant skills. And 88% believe it will help them secure a job after graduation.

Here are four likely reasons that explain this disconnect.   

First, the surveys are asking two related but different questions: The public is answering questions about the system: Is college affordable? Is it politically biased? Is it worth the debt? Are taxpayers getting value for money?

But students are answering questions about their experience: Do professors know their material? Am I learning? Do I feel respected? Will this help me get a job?

Students can report that courses are strong, professors are committed and the campus is welcoming. But parents worry about the tuition bill. And voters question whether universities are accountable.

Cost and affordability bridge the disconnect: Even students who like college don’t necessarily believe it’s priced fairly. The Lumina–Gallup report finds that only 25% of students say four-year colleges charge fair prices, while a majority say they don’t — though community colleges fare better. The report comments, “students broadly agree that the cost of college is not only unaffordable but even unfair to many hoping to pursue a degree.”

So, students may be satisfied with what they’re learning, while simultaneously believing the bill is too high. The experience ledger and the cost and affordability ledger are not the same. This ambivalence can translate at the public level into declining confidence.

There’s also a behavioral dynamic: When people invest heavily in a decision, they’re less likely to describe it as a mistake. Economists call this the or . Psychologists describe a related phenomenon, , which leads us to align our beliefs with the choices we have made.

College fits this pattern. It isn’t a small purchase but a formative life decision. Students — and families — invest not only tuition dollars but also years of effort and identity in becoming college-educated. It shouldn’t be surprising that many students hesitate to describe that investment as a mistake.

So students distinguish between “college is worth it to me” and “college is fairly priced.” Many believe their education will pay off in career opportunity and personal development, even while acknowledging concerns about cost.

That is less a case of denial than a reflection of ambivalence.

Finally, public opinion is often shaped by the examples that come most easily to mind, what behavioral economists call the . In the case of higher education, those examples are often negative.

Stories of graduates with heavy debt and low wages travel far. Campus controversies dominate cable news and social media. Viral anecdotes about ideological excess or administrative bloat quickly become shorthand for the entire sector.

The typical college experience, however, is far less dramatic. Students attend lectures, complete assignments, form friendships, pursue internships and eventually enter the workforce. Those everyday experiences rarely generate headlines.

The result is reputational drift, a condition where higher education is judged by its most visible outliers rather than by its typical outcomes.

Closing the disconnect between the public viewpoint and the student viewpoint will require clearer evidence about outcomes and visible progress on affordability and opportunity.

If higher education leaders want to close this gap, slogans won’t suffice. What’s needed is clearer signals about value and stronger evidence about outcomes. Here are four suggestions for how to do this.

First, transparency. Institutions should provide clearer information about program-level outcomes such as completion rates, debt levels,and post-graduation earnings, not just institutional averages. Families increasingly want to know what happens in specific majors, not simply the reputation of the college.

Second, cost discipline. Students may value their education, but many doubt that the price reflects its value. Both student and public skepticism will persist unless institutions and policymakers demonstrate credible progress on cost and affordability.

Third, opportunity. Colleges must strengthen the link between education and early-career opportunity through internships, apprenticeships, employer partnerships and the development of the knowledge and skills that translate into workplace opportunity.

Finally, perspective. Policymakers and institutional leaders alike must resist caricature. The national conversation about higher education often swings between two extremes: College is broken or college is indispensable. The reality is more complicated. Most students report positive experiences, while many families remain anxious about cost and value.

For most enrolled students, college is not an ideological battleground or a financial scam. It is a demanding and often rewarding educational experience that they believe will help them build a future.

The public’s declining confidence signals something different. It signals a demand for affordability, accountability, and clearer evidence that higher education delivers value.

Both signals matter. The challenge is to bring them closer together.

If colleges can reduce cost risk, strengthen labor-market relevance, and communicate results more transparently, the reputation of higher education may eventually catch up with the reality many students already report.

Until then, the college disconnect will remain, and may even grow. This outcome isn’t likely to serve students or the nation.

The report from and the surveyed more than 14,000 respondents in the fall of 2023 — including about 6,000 enrolled college students, 5,000 students who left college and 3,000 adults who never enrolled.

More than 40 percent of Black and Latino students considered leaving compared to 30 percent of white students — with stress, mental health and cost leading the reasons why.

“The fact that stress and mental health concerns continue to be the number one concern for Black and Latino students is alarming,” said Dr. Courtney Brown, vice president of impact and planning at the Lumina Foundation. “It’s something we need to pay attention to because it’s almost like a cry for help for [postsecondary] institutions to do something about this.” 

Brown said Black and Latino adults’ enthusiasm for enrolling in a traditional four-year college has waned in comparison to certificate and associate degree pathways.

Most recent enrollment gains were carried by community colleges with a vocational program focus compared to those with a transfer focus.

“Black and Latino adults recognize the cost is high and their time is limited,” said Brown. “So if they can invest in something like a certificate or associate degree that gets them into the workforce as fast as possible it makes more sense.”

Here are four key takeaways from the report:

1. Black and Latino students are more likely to leave postsecondary programs than their white peers.

More than 40 percent of Black and Latino students were likely to consider leaving college compared to about 30 percent of white students.

Black students experienced slight improvement compared to 2022 but their likelihood of leaving remained higher than 2021 and 2020.

Latino students also saw improvement compared to 2022 returning them to similar levels in 2020.

2. Emotional stress, mental health and cost are consistent reasons across racial groups for why current students considered leaving their postsecondary programs.

More than 50 percent of students said stress was their biggest reason to consider leaving college — followed by mental health and cost by more than 40 and 30 percent respectively. 

Brown said Black and Latino students are more likely than white students to balance coursework with a part or full time job in addition to taking care of family members.

“All of these students greatly value getting a degree and understand how important it is, but all these things accelerate their stress level,” Brown said. 

She added how the competing priorities in their lives influence their desire to leave their postsecondary education to join the workforce and earn income faster.

“Black and Latino students often don’t have the money to actually enroll or stay enrolled,” Brown said. “So it becomes hard for them when they can get a job but the opportunity is lost because they’re in class.”

“It’s short-sighted and they end up losing that opportunity cost because with a degree they would be able to get a better job in the long-term,” she added.

3. Black and Latino adults who have considered enrolling in a postsecondary program are largely interested in certificate and associate pathways.

Nearly six in 10 unenrolled adults have considered enrolling in a postsecondary program in the past two years.

But, Black and Latino adults are more likely to consider a certificate or associate program compared to a slightly smaller number who have considered a bachelor’s degree. 

Brown said postsecondary institutions can help Black and Latino students who have difficulty working towards a bachelor’s degree by providing resources such as healthcare, mental health services and childcare facilities.

“A bachelor’s degree is a lot more involved and it’s going to take a few years minimum if you’re going full time,” Brown said. “So providing these services will give them a leg up to completion.”

4. Financial aid and scholarships hold larger importance to Black and Latino adults than their white peers.

Nearly 60 percent of Black and Latino adults said financial aid and scholarships are important to get them to enroll in a postsecondary program in the next year compared to about 50 percent of white adults.

Also, more than 40 percent of Black and Latino adults said emergency aid would influence their enrollment compared to about 30 percent of white adults.

“I hope this data becomes a call to action for [postsecondary] institutions,” Brown said. “Their attainment rate is very low because our system has failed them again and again, so we can and must do better.”