College demographics are statistics collected on students who have attended or are currently attending specific colleges. This information is analyzed and categorized based on specific characteristics. This type of demographic can include ethnicity, hometown, family income levels, and scholarship information, as well as academic details like majors and minors, high school grade point average, and college grade point average. Specific school demographics, such as enrollment numbers, drop-out rates, graduation rates, and other school-specific numbers, can also be included in this data. College demographics can range from hair and eye color to annual college enrollment numbers across an entire state or country.
Some college demographics are used to assess the potential of certain industries or to market to potential customers in the future. Target marketing has become a popular method of advertising that relies on demographic data. This data is gathered and then used to market to potential college students who match the collected demographics. This type of marketing is based on the assumption that the students most likely to be interested in attending the college are similar to the majority of the current students.
Understanding the demographics of a college’s student body allows the administration to tailor many on-campus resources and classes to meet the needs of the student body. It makes no sense to build on-campus dorms if there are a large number of students attending a particular college within a reasonable commute distance. If many students live too far away to commute, on-campus dorms would be a good idea because the majority of students would be able to use them.
College demographics are used some industries to forecast future job demand. When a large number of students enroll in a particular major, the industry associated with that major will experience an influx of job applicants when these students graduate. Certain industries that are in desperate need of new graduates will occasionally offer scholarships or grants to qualified students. Following that, these students may be required to work for the company or industry that provided the scholarship or grant.
College demographics are a useful tool that can aid in on-campus resource marketing as well as industry advancements in business. Demographics have long been useful in sociology and other behavioral sciences research. The reports can reveal a lot, including current and future trends that can be useful to many institutions.