That makes more sense 

I remember thinking that ucla was a lot smaller in 1970 vs today. 
Even vs 1990 


That's probably right. I'll retreat to the 70's, as that's probably more widely applicable across the nation. On the eastern side of the country, most of these schools' enrollment plateaued after the GI bill, but the West Coast was still growing rapidly.

Undisciplined

But what about large state colleges like university of California system?

I think enrollment has increased since 1950 or whatever year 

I will do some research 

Edit:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/184260/educational-attainment-in-the-us/

https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/about-us/information-center/historical-enrollment

I don’t have access to a computer right now. This site has a lot of relevant data , I think 


Bell_curve

econ

Back to School—A Critique of the College Model

Don't hold me to that precise year or cutoff, but for many decades it has been true for big established universities.

There are thousands of small colleges. I think there were upwards of 8k at the peak and a few thousand have closed.