paucity of students

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "paucity of students" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe a situation where there are very few students present or enrolled in a particular context, such as a class or program. Example: "The university faced challenges this semester due to a significant paucity of students in the engineering program."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

1 human-written examples

The paucity of students from poor and working-class backgrounds at the nation's selective colleges should be a national scandal.

The New York Times

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

59 human-written examples

(Years later, visiting art colleges in the US, he commented on the abundance of resources and corresponding paucity of the students' creativity, observing that he would supply them with nothing more than a knife and a potato).

The Guardian - Arts

In contrast, wealthy colleges such as Washington & Lee (where only 7.8percentt of its students are Pell Grant recipients), Claremont McKenna (11.2 percent), and Swarthmore (14.3percentt) should be embarrassed by the paucity of low-income students on their campuses.

Huffington Post

In it, he alluded to Jefferson's views on the importance of educating poor and rich alike, and he decried the paucity of low-income students on college campuses.

The New York Times

A1 EDUCATION Harvard Raises Earnings Cap Harvard University, which two years ago focused attention on the paucity of low-income students in the Ivy League with its announcement that it would not ask parents who earned less than $40,000 to contribute money for their children's education, said that it would raise that ceiling to $60,000 for new students.

The New York Times

Harvard University, which two years ago focused attention on the paucity of low-income students in the Ivy League with its announcement that it would not ask parents who earned less than $40,000 a year to contribute money for their children's education, said yesterday that it would raise that ceiling to $60,000 for students entering this fall.

The New York Times

But she was aware of the paucity of other black students while touring the Westwood campus Friday during a weekend event for African Americans who had been admitted.

Los Angeles Times

However, in comparison to other areas of medical education, there is a relative paucity of research surrounding student time spent observing surgery.

BMC Medical Education

The general paucity of data on student activities during school closures, however, remains a major barrier to understanding the potential effect of closures as a disease mitigation measure and underscores the need for further research (18, 23 – 23 ).

Emerging Infectious Diseases

There is a paucity of research focusing on students' perceptions and concerns prior to their first placement experience.

Nurse Education in Practice

While research literature is rich with information exploring clinical competence and assessment in nursing programmes, there is a paucity of information on nursing students' performances in clinical assessment when their capacity to provide quality care is less evident.

Collegian

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using "paucity of students", ensure the context clearly indicates where the lack of students is occurring (e.g., "paucity of students in STEM fields", "paucity of students at rural schools").

Common error

While "paucity" is a valid word, be mindful of your audience. In less formal contexts, consider using simpler alternatives like "lack" or "shortage" to avoid sounding pretentious.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "paucity of students" functions as a noun phrase, acting as the subject or object of a sentence to denote a lack or scarcity regarding student numbers. This is evident in examples where it describes problems or concerns related to low enrollment.

Expression frequency: Common

Frequent in

Science

43%

News & Media

40%

Formal & Business

17%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "paucity of students" is a grammatically sound and frequently used expression that denotes a scarcity or lack of students in a particular setting. As confirmed by Ludwig, it's suitable for describing situations in both academic and journalistic contexts. While "paucity" itself carries a slightly formal tone, alternatives like "lack of students" or "shortage of students" may be preferable in less formal situations. Its usage is most prevalent in scientific and news-related contexts, highlighting its relevance in discussing educational challenges and research gaps. When employing this phrase, ensuring a clear context is crucial to specify where the lack of students is most apparent.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

lack of students

Replaces "paucity" with the more common term "lack", offering a simpler and more direct alternative.

scarcity of students

Substitutes "paucity" with "scarcity", emphasizing the limited availability of students.

shortage of students

Emphasizes an insufficient number of students, often implying a need or demand that is not being met.

dearth of students

Replaces "paucity" with "dearth", a more formal term that also indicates a scarcity or lack.

insufficient number of students

Uses a more descriptive phrase to convey the idea of a quantity of students being inadequate.

limited student enrollment

Focuses on the enrollment numbers, suggesting that the number of students enrolled is not as high as desired.

low student population

Highlights the size of the student body, indicating that it is smaller than expected or desired.

reduced student presence

Indicates that fewer students are participating or attending than in the past.

underrepresentation of students

Highlights the fact that certain groups of students are not present in proportion to their share of the population

inadequate student body

Suggests the number of students is below the level needed or accepted

FAQs

What does "paucity of students" mean?

The phrase "paucity of students" refers to a situation where there is a scarcity or lack of students in a particular setting, such as a school, program, or field of study. It implies that the number of students is lower than expected or desired.

What can I say instead of "paucity of students"?

You can use alternatives like "lack of students", "shortage of students", or "scarcity of students" depending on the context. These options are often more common and easier to understand.

Is "paucity of students" formal or informal?

The phrase "paucity of students" is considered relatively formal. In more casual settings, it's generally better to opt for simpler phrasing like "lack of students" or "few students".

How can I use "paucity of students" in a sentence?

You can use "paucity of students" in a sentence like this: "The university faced challenges this year due to a "paucity of students" enrolling in humanities programs." You can also say: "There is a "paucity of students" attending the optional review sessions".