For our data analysis, we focused on student admissions in the Southwestern region of the United States, as this area exhibited a higher poverty rate compared to the rest of the country. We compared admission counts before and after COVID-19 to analyze the impact of the pandemic on student enrollment.
Below are some images showing the number of students before and after COVID-19. Note that the star icon represents one student, and each student remains anonymous for privacy reasons
Before Covid (2015-2019)
After Covid (2020-2024)
Overall, it appears that there are fewer students from Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Arizona after COVID-19. There are numerous factors that could be contributing to this trend, so it is not safe to conclude that COVID-19 was the primary reason for the decline in student admissions from this region to Carleton College.
In conclusion, correlation does not equal causation; however, it is interesting to observe that many students admitted to Carleton College regularly come from similar counties, as a significant number are from the same areas.
To see the full map visualization of before and after COVID go to the “Map” tab