Photo: Lincoln Agnew

Thousands of students are confronting fiscal, family, and academic concerns as they decide which college—if any—makes the most sense this fall.

With so many families facing a sudden loss of income, some students who were planning to attend out-of-state or private institutions are taking another look at less-expensive public regional colleges. That could mean an influx of students looking to transfer, putting more pressure on enrollment-hungry institutions to fix a long-broken system.

What can be done to make colleges—and society—more equitable? A new book by Anthony P. Carnevale, Jeff Strohl, and Peter Schmidt of the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce offers some big ideas for change and reform.