All signs indicate that high school graduation rates will continue to drop due to low birth rates, leading to a potential higher education meltdown that is likely to affect all academic institutions, big and small, in the years after 2024. Higher education is facing a new and potentially grave obstacle. For several decades, there have been plenty of students for colleges and universities to attract. As the decline continues with the dramatic downturn in birth rates and the drop in high school graduates, colleges and universities are now forced to compete for students more strategically. The new normal for colleges and universities is to consider how to increase their market share. Market share is often increased through a well-designed and sophisticated marketing plan, whereby colleges must literally attract and steal students from their competitors. The survival of the fittest is the next iteration of the new normal. The fittest will be the college or university that has a strong attraction engine and, more importantly, knows how to retain its students, which will result in a bigger gain of market share.