An article at IHE about a poll that indicates that many students are not sure they'll be able to go to college, mostly for financial reasons:
https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2020/12/03/more-third-prospective-college-students-are-reconsidering-higher
Most students surveyed said that they believed that having a degree was "extremely valuable." But over a third of them said that they were nonetheless less likely to pursue one due to the pandemic. Sounds like an awful lot of people see the pandemic ruining their prospects.
The article includes this paragraph about enrollment:
"The findings of the survey are largely consistent with this year's enrollment patterns. According to the latest data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, overall enrollment is down 3.3 percent. But freshman enrollment is down 13 percent. Community college freshman enrollment is showing a 19 percent decline."