Why read this: Hampshire College, a small US school, will close in 2026. This short article uses Hampshire as an example of a much bigger problem: about 100 US colleges have closed since the pandemic, and hundreds more may follow. Students will learn three clear reasons why — too much debt, big cuts to tuition prices, and fewer young people of college age. The story matters for any reader who is thinking about university, because it shows that not all colleges are equally safe.
What to notice: Notice how the article moves from one college (Hampshire) to a wider trend, and then to three causes: debt, tuition discounts, and the demographic cliff. Watch the numbers — 100 closed, 442 at risk, 50 percent and 75 percent discounts, 70 percent dropping to 60 percent — and try to match each number to the cause it supports. Also notice the comparison between small regional colleges and big rich schools like Harvard: not every college is in danger.
Skills practised: Readers practise following a cause-and-effect text with several reasons. They also practise reading numbers inside sentences and linking each statistic to the right idea. New vocabulary covers higher-education and money topics — institutional debt, student loan debt, discount rate, federal aid, demographic cliff, and competitive edge. Comparing two groups (small colleges vs. big universities; students vs. towns) gives practice with B1-level compare-and-contrast thinking.
Why small US colleges are closing
Hampshire College will shut down in 2026. It may be a warning sign for many other small colleges in the United States.
Tap any green word in the article to see its meaning.
Higher educationeducation: Facts, skills and ideas that have been learned, either formally or informally. — 学识；所学知识 in the United States is in trouble. Lastlast: Most recent — 最近的 week, Hampshire College — a small privateprivate: Belonging to, concerning, or accessible only to an individual person or a specific group — 私人的；非公开的 school in Massachusetts — said it will closeclose: to (physical) To remove a gap — 关闭；合拢 after the fall 2026 semestersemester: Half of a school year or academic year such as fall or spring semester — 学期. There are about 4,000 colleges in the country. Around 100 have closed since the Covid-19 pandemicpandemic: A pandemic disease; a disease that affects a wide geographical area and a large proportion of the population — 大流行病；（疾病的）大范围流行, and many more may shut down in the next ten years.
Some experts ask if Hampshire is a canary in the coal mine: an early warning sign of a much bigger problem — 矿井金丝雀（早期预警） for higher education. Big public universities and rich private schools like Harvard and Yale are still safe. But smaller regional colleges: small colleges that mostly serve students from one local area — 地方性大学 face real danger. If they close, students in those areasarea: The extent, scope, or range of an object or concept — 范围，领域 may lose the chance to study at all.
Hampshire had been in trouble for more than six years, since before the pandemic. It was kept afloat: kept barely surviving (a metaphor: kept above water) — 勉强维持 by loyalloyal: Giving or showing firm and constant support to someone or something. — 忠诚的；忠实的 formerformer: Having previously been a particular thing; of an earlier time. — 以前的；前任的 students who gave money. But the college had fewer than 800 students at the end. It also had 21 million dollars in debtdebt: A sum of money that is owed to someone. — 债务；欠款. Its endowmentendowment: Something with which a person or thing is endowed — 天赋 — its savingssaving: An economy or reduction of money, time, or resources; money set aside for future use. — 节省；储蓄 — was very small.
Debt is a key part of this story. Most people think of student loan debt: money students owe for the money they borrowed to pay tuition — 学生贷款债务, the money students borrow to pay for college. But there is also institutional debt: money the college itself has borrowed (not the students) — 机构债务 — money the colleges themselves have borrowed. Paying back this debt takes a huge share of each year's budgetbudget: An estimate of income and expenditure for a set period; the amount of money available for a purpose. — 预算；经费, leaving less money to teach students.
Colleges also lose money in another way. To attractattract: To cause someone to like something or feel interested in it, or to draw towards. — 吸引；引起……的兴趣 students, they cut the price of tuitiontuition: teaching or instruction, especially at a university; the fees charged for this — 学费；教学；辅导. Almost no one pays the full price shown on the website. The average discount rate: the average percentage by which colleges cut tuition for students — 学费折扣率 at US colleges is now more than 50 percent. At Hampshire, the discount was over 75 percent. Imagine a shop that gives back three quarters of the price of every item — it could not stay open for longlong: Lasting for a great amount of time — 长久的.
Many colleges only survivedsurvive: to continue to live after a dangerous event or difficult situation — 幸存；存活 this long because they got federal aid: money from the US national government to support schools or students — 联邦资助 from the government during the pandemic. Without it, they would have closed sooner. A new study says 442 private colleges — about one in four — are now at riskrisk: A possible adverse event or outcome — 风险. The next problem is the demographic cliff: a sudden sharp drop in the number of young people of college age — 人口悬崖. After the 2008 financialfinancial: Relating to money or how money is managed — 金融的；财务的 crisiscrisis: A time of intense difficulty or danger; a turning point. — 危机, fewer babies were born. Eighteen years later, in 2026, there are simplysimply: in an easy or plain way; just; only — 简单地；仅仅 fewer young people who could go to college.
Eveneven: Exactly, just, fully — 正好 among the young people who do exist, fewer want to go. In 2016, about 70 percent of high school graduatesgraduate: a person who has completed a university degree — 毕业生 went to college. Today it is just over 60 percent — a big drop. College costs too much, and many people doubtdoubt: To be undecided about; to lack confidence in; to disbelieve, to question — 怀疑 the valuevalue: how much something is worth in money or importance — 价值；重要性. To make money, some small colleges had recruitedrecruit: To find new people to join an organisation, company, or the armed forces. — 招募；招聘 international students: students from outside the United States — 国际学生, who pay full price. But last year, visasvisa: An endorsement on a passport indicating that the holder is allowed to enter, leave, or stay in a country. — 签证 for new international students fell by 36 percent.
What happens to students when their college closes? Often, nothing good. Half of them transfertransfer: To move from one place, person, or position to another. — 转移；转让；调动 to a new school, and half give up on a degree. The next college may not accept all their old classes as transfer credits: course units that count from one college toward a degree at another — 转学学分. When a college closes, the town sufferssuffer: to experience pain, difficulty, or an unpleasant situation — 遭受；忍受 too. Many small colleges are in ruralrural: Relating to or characteristic of the countryside rather than the town. — 农村的；乡村的 areas. They bring jobs, young people, and add-on spending: extra money students spend in town beyond their tuition — 附带消费 — money students spend on food, rentrent: An amount of money that you pay regularly to use a room, house, etc. that belongs to someone else. — 租金；房租, and shops nearbynearby: Not far away; close at hand. — 附近的；邻近的.
America has long had a competitive edge: an advantage that lets you do better than your rivals — 竞争优势 because of its educatededucate: To teach someone, especially over a long period of time at a school or university. — 教育；培养 workers. But fewer college graduates means a weaker future. Not everyone needs to go to college, but somebody does — and right now, fewer and fewer do.
Higher educationeducation: Facts, skills and ideas that have been learned, either formally or informally. — 学识；所学知识 in the United States is in trouble. Lastlast: Most recent — 最近的 week, Hampshire College — a small privateprivate: Belonging to, concerning, or accessible only to an individual person or a specific group — 私人的；非公开的 school in Massachusetts — said it will closeclose: to (physical) To remove a gap — 关闭；合拢 after the fall 2026 semestersemester: Half of a school year or academic year such as fall or spring semester — 学期. There are about 4,000 colleges in the country. Around 100 have closed since the Covid-19 pandemicpandemic: A pandemic disease; a disease that affects a wide geographical area and a large proportion of the population — 大流行病；（疾病的）大范围流行, and many more may shut down in the next ten years.
Some experts ask if Hampshire is a canary in the coal mine: an early warning sign of a much bigger problem — 矿井金丝雀（早期预警） for higher education. Big public universities and rich private schools like Harvard and Yale are still safe. But smaller regional colleges: small colleges that mostly serve students from one local area — 地方性大学 face real danger. If they close, students in those areasarea: The extent, scope, or range of an object or concept — 范围，领域 may lose the chance to study at all.
Hampshire had been in trouble for more than six years, since before the pandemic. It was kept afloat: kept barely surviving (a metaphor: kept above water) — 勉强维持 by loyalloyal: Giving or showing firm and constant support to someone or something. — 忠诚的；忠实的 formerformer: Having previously been a particular thing; of an earlier time. — 以前的；前任的 students who gave money. But the college had fewer than 800 students at the end. It also had 21 million dollars in debtdebt: A sum of money that is owed to someone. — 债务；欠款. Its endowmentendowment: Something with which a person or thing is endowed — 天赋 — its savingssaving: An economy or reduction of money, time, or resources; money set aside for future use. — 节省；储蓄 — was very small.
Debt is a key part of this story. Most people think of student loan debt: money students owe for the money they borrowed to pay tuition — 学生贷款债务, the money students borrow to pay for college. But there is also institutional debt: money the college itself has borrowed (not the students) — 机构债务 — money the colleges themselves have borrowed. Paying back this debt takes a huge share of each year's budgetbudget: An estimate of income and expenditure for a set period; the amount of money available for a purpose. — 预算；经费, leaving less money to teach students.
Colleges also lose money in another way. To attractattract: To cause someone to like something or feel interested in it, or to draw towards. — 吸引；引起……的兴趣 students, they cut the price of tuitiontuition: teaching or instruction, especially at a university; the fees charged for this — 学费；教学；辅导. Almost no one pays the full price shown on the website. The average discount rate: the average percentage by which colleges cut tuition for students — 学费折扣率 at US colleges is now more than 50 percent. At Hampshire, the discount was over 75 percent. Imagine a shop that gives back three quarters of the price of every item — it could not stay open for longlong: Lasting for a great amount of time — 长久的.
Many colleges only survivedsurvive: to continue to live after a dangerous event or difficult situation — 幸存；存活 this long because they got federal aid: money from the US national government to support schools or students — 联邦资助 from the government during the pandemic. Without it, they would have closed sooner. A new study says 442 private colleges — about one in four — are now at riskrisk: A possible adverse event or outcome — 风险. The next problem is the demographic cliff: a sudden sharp drop in the number of young people of college age — 人口悬崖. After the 2008 financialfinancial: Relating to money or how money is managed — 金融的；财务的 crisiscrisis: A time of intense difficulty or danger; a turning point. — 危机, fewer babies were born. Eighteen years later, in 2026, there are simplysimply: in an easy or plain way; just; only — 简单地；仅仅 fewer young people who could go to college.
Eveneven: Exactly, just, fully — 正好 among the young people who do exist, fewer want to go. In 2016, about 70 percent of high school graduatesgraduate: a person who has completed a university degree — 毕业生 went to college. Today it is just over 60 percent — a big drop. College costs too much, and many people doubtdoubt: To be undecided about; to lack confidence in; to disbelieve, to question — 怀疑 the valuevalue: how much something is worth in money or importance — 价值；重要性. To make money, some small colleges had recruitedrecruit: To find new people to join an organisation, company, or the armed forces. — 招募；招聘 international students: students from outside the United States — 国际学生, who pay full price. But last year, visasvisa: An endorsement on a passport indicating that the holder is allowed to enter, leave, or stay in a country. — 签证 for new international students fell by 36 percent.
What happens to students when their college closes? Often, nothing good. Half of them transfertransfer: To move from one place, person, or position to another. — 转移；转让；调动 to a new school, and half give up on a degree. The next college may not accept all their old classes as transfer credits: course units that count from one college toward a degree at another — 转学学分. When a college closes, the town sufferssuffer: to experience pain, difficulty, or an unpleasant situation — 遭受；忍受 too. Many small colleges are in ruralrural: Relating to or characteristic of the countryside rather than the town. — 农村的；乡村的 areas. They bring jobs, young people, and add-on spending: extra money students spend in town beyond their tuition — 附带消费 — money students spend on food, rentrent: An amount of money that you pay regularly to use a room, house, etc. that belongs to someone else. — 租金；房租, and shops nearbynearby: Not far away; close at hand. — 附近的；邻近的.
America has long had a competitive edge: an advantage that lets you do better than your rivals — 竞争优势 because of its educatededucate: To teach someone, especially over a long period of time at a school or university. — 教育；培养 workers. But fewer college graduates means a weaker future. Not everyone needs to go to college, but somebody does — and right now, fewer and fewer do.
Questions
Check your understanding
- 01
What is the main difference between student loan debt and institutional debt?
- 02
Why does the article say 2026 is an important year for college enrollment?
- 03
Why does the article compare colleges to a shop that gives back 75 percent of every sale?
- 04
Explain why the article says small regional colleges are in more danger than big universities like Harvard or Yale.
Suggested length: ~70 words
- 05
Compare what happens to students and what happens to small towns when a college closes.
Suggested length: ~70 words
Questions
Check your understanding
- 01
What is the main difference between student loan debt and institutional debt?
- 02
Why does the article say 2026 is an important year for college enrollment?
- 03
Why does the article compare colleges to a shop that gives back 75 percent of every sale?
- 04
Explain why the article says small regional colleges are in more danger than big universities like Harvard or Yale.
Suggested length: ~70 words
- 05
Compare what happens to students and what happens to small towns when a college closes.
Suggested length: ~70 words