Going to university or college right out of high school appears to be losing its appeal.

According to new figures, there are fewer new high school graduates starting at Ontario campuses this fall: 2.9 percent fewer at universities and 3.5 percent fewer at community colleges.

Schools with a focus on the arts were among the hardest hit, from the Ontario College of Art and Design University in Toronto to humanities-heavy Wilfrid Laurier in Waterloo and the University of Windsor, plus schools far away from the GTA such as Lakehead in Thunder Bay and Nipissing in North Bay.

It’s a slide demographic experts have warned about; noting enrolment should slip until after 2020, when the grandchildren of the boomers begin to arrive on campus.

The drop in high school enrolment was buffered by a rise from students who’ve been out of high school for at least a year on “gap years” or mature students returning to beef up their resumes.