The Middle Of Every Market Disappears First

Sixteen nonprofit colleges closed in 2025, and one consulting firm projects up to 370 more could close or merge within a decade. Private colleges are now discounting tuition by a record 57 percent, and new federal caps on student loans took effect July 1st. Soren Kaplan breaks down why this isn't a story about weak schools failing. It's a story about position. Higher education is splitting into elite brands with pricing power and low-cost providers with scale, and the middle position between them is collapsing. Leaders take away three moves: pick an end of the barbell instead of straddling the middle, track discounting before it becomes a permanent drag on pricing power, and route resources toward the end of the market customers are actually moving to. Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU3e5k8HJeOGEa7AGA97kvVjtpi6uqG0t Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033iseLQje3RnPGqUlh2I8?si=cb19276a3c68459d Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leapfrogging-the-headlines-with-soren-kaplan/id1896880297 Learn more about Soren's work at sorenkaplan.com.