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No-one decides what character a player plays, except the player. The GM can of course bar some PCs, as can the group as a whole. But your players have no business ordering the new guy/gal to pick up where the previous player left off.
I wonder are they against new players in general, or this one in particular. You should find that out.
If its the latter, then I guess you'll have to tell the replacement guy that it won't work, sorry. If its the first then figure out why? Are you a tightnit group that's been playing in the same constelation for years and they like it?
If they're really against it, you shouldn't force the issue as it will only cause trouble.
You can always say "No I don't want to give him that character, so if (guy that went to college) comes back to visit he can play his char again"
You should also know that games can be run quite fine with just 3 players too. so you don't "need" another one if the group really is against it.
Looks like you'll have to talk to them and find out what the problem is. There are too many unknowns in the situation. Yes, you could go on with three players, but its not as fun as four or five.
The problem is that it's always difficult for any new person to come into the group if you've been playing with the same people a long time. Even though you make different characters, the faces of those those characters, that being your friends around the table, remains a constant. There will be a great degree of unassuredness your players may have for the new arrival, especially if they don't know him/her.
Ultimately, it has to be a group decision, and people can not be afarid to have feelings hurt. If the new person arrives, and after four sessions or so your other group members aren't happy, then you have say to the new person that its not working out. It is better to lose one new person, than lose two more people.
There is no way the new person should use the old persons character. That in itself is saying to the new player that your other players prefer the other person that left. For them it will be like a doppleganger has taken his/her place.
As for what to do with the character of the person leaving, a simple urgent mission is all it will take for the character to leave the group, while opening the door for a possible return in the future, either as an NPC, or when your friend returns on holidays from college and can't wait to roll dice again.
And lastly, if the new person does not work out then three players works absolutely fine as I can attest to. You are the DM, so there is nothing stopping you from taking away a naga or two, or dropping a bosses hit points to make an encounter less challenging. And of course, you could always make a character yourself to help the party.
Chears man, and good rolling.
I think answer builds on what Quatar raises: will the person going to college want to come back in the holidays and join in again, i.e. do they have a continuing investment in the character. If so, I think I'd be inclined to say, "It's his character and if he doesn't want to give it to someone else that's the end of it."
If you get past that hurdle, though, there may be a middle ground, of having the new player play the old character during an initial period while you all decide whether the new player is a good fit.
In the past we've had someone drop out and normally suggest that a new player takes over their character temporarily. This gives the new player and the existing group the chance to get feel for each other, and whether this is going to work, before spending time making a new character. It also means is the new player is new to the system, the other players are familiar with what the character has done before and can offer advice (as long as they aren't overwhelming).
When we've tried this in the past the new player has often brought something new to the character and wanted to keep them. It is important, however, that the existing players understand that the new player may play the character in a slightly different way (like casting someone new to be James Bond: still the same character and role, but, you know, different).
If the new player stays and wants to move to a new character, because you can defer the change to a point where it makes sense in the story (rather than having it dictated by real-world events) it's relatively easy to give the old character a suitable ending to their story arc and introduce the new character.