Information Services - Statistical Reports
Plans of High School Graduates: Class of 2001
Trends over Time
The percentage of graduates planning to attend college has increased over the past twenty years, from 54 percent in 1981, to 67 percent in 1991, and to over 75 percent of all graduates in 2001 (Table 2). Between 1981 and 2001, the percentage of graduates planning to attend a two-year college increased from 15 percent to 22 percent, and the percentage planning to attend a four-year college rose from 38 percent to 54 percent. Over that same time period, the percentage of high school graduates intending to enroll in a private college increased from 24 to 34 percent, and the percentage intending to enroll in a public college increased from 29 percent to 42 percent (Figure 2).
While the percentage of graduates planning to attend a private two-year college has remained mostly steady since 1976, the percentage planning to attend public two-year colleges has grown considerably from 11 to 19 percent (Figure 3). The percentage of graduates planning to attend public four-year colleges has shown a general increase over the past 25 years. From 1976 to 2001, the percentage of graduates planning to attend a private four-year college has shown the highest increase, from 18 to 31 percent.
As the percentage of graduates planning to attend college has increased, the percentage of graduates planning to work, attend some other post-secondary institution, or enter the military has decreased (Figure 4). The percentage of graduates planning to work fell from 31 percent in 1981 to 14 percent in 2001. The percentage of graduates planning to attend a non-college, post-secondary institution decreased from six to two percent, and the percentage planning to enter the military decreased from four to two percent over the same time period.
| Class | Number of Graduates | Percentage of Graduates by Plans | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public College | Private College | Other Post- Secondary | Military | Work | Other | Data Not Available | ||||
| 2-Year | 4-Year | 2-Year | 4-Year | |||||||
| 2001 | 54,391 | 18.5 | 23.1 | 3.1 | 30.5 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 14.1 | 2.9 | 3.3 |
| 2000 | 52,950 | 17.6 | 23.0 | 3.2 | 30.6 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 15.0 | 2.7 | 3.2 |
| 1999 | 51,465 | 17.4 | 22.3 | 3.2 | 30.5 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 16.0 | 3.2 | 2.6 |
| 1998 | 50,452 | 15.5 | 22.5 | 3.0 | 30.7 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 16.2 | 3.6 | 3.9 |
| 1997 | 49,008 | 15.2 | 22.8 | 3.3 | 30.6 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 16.8 | 3.4 | 2.6 |
| 1996 | 47,994 | 14.1 | 23.4 | 3.9 | 30.8 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 16.2 | 3.7 | 2.4 |
| 1995 | 47,679 | 13.8 | 23.0 | 4.5 | 29.9 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 17.4 | 3.8 | 2.3 |
| 1994 | 47,453 | 14.1 | 22.7 | 4.5 | 29.2 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 17.0 | 4.2 | 2.7 |
| 1993 | 48,394 | 14.2 | 21.7 | 5.0 | 28.5 | 2.8 | 3.2 | 17.4 | 4.4 | 2.9 |
| 1992 | 50,323 | 14.8 | 21.4 | 4.7 | 27.5 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 17.9 | 4.1 | 2.8 |
| 1991 | 50,216 | 14.9 | 22.7 | 4.6 | 24.6 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 19.2 | 3.6 | 3.2 |
| 1990 | 51,496 | 15.1 | 20.7 | 5.2 | 24.3 | 3.8 | 3.0 | 21.6 | 3.9 | 2.3 |
| 1989 | 57,328 | 14.5 | 21.0 | 5.3 | 23.2 | 3.7 | 2.9 | 23.6 | 3.7 | 2.2 |
| 1988 | 59,515 | 13.5 | 21.4 | 4.9 | 23.7 | 3.9 | 3.1 | 24.5 | 2.8 | 2.4 |
| 1987 | 59,552 | 12.4 | 20.7 | 5.0 | 22.4 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 24.9 | 3.7 | 3.5 |
| 1986 | 61,261 | 10.9 | 20.5 | 5.2 | 21.9 | 4.6 | 3.5 | 27.9 | 3.2 | 2.4 |
| 1985 | 63,411 | 10.5 | 19.8 | 5.0 | 21.7 | 4.7 | 4.0 | 28.0 | 4.5 | 1.9 |
| 1984 | 65,885 | 10.3 | 18.5 | 4.9 | 22.0 | 4.7 | 4.1 | 28.6 | 4.3 | 2.6 |
| 1983 | 71,225 | 10.7 | 18.3 | 4.9 | 20.4 | 5.4 | 4.6 | 28.9 | 4.5 | 2.6 |
| 1982 | 74,299 | 10.9 | 18.1 | 4.8 | 20.3 | 5.5 | 4.3 | 29.7 | 4.1 | 2.5 |
| 1981 | 74,876 | 10.9 | 18.7 | 4.4 | 19.5 | 5.3 | 4.0 | 30.4 | 4.7 | 2.1 |
| 1980 | 73,802 | 10.1 | 18.2 | 4.4 | 20.3 | 5.7 | 4.0 | 31.1 | 4.0 | 2.3 |
| 1979 | 76,391 | 10.2 | 17.2 | 4.3 | 19.5 | 5.4 | 3.5 | 32.8 | 4.7 | 2.4 |
| 1978 | 78,348 | 10.2 | 17.2 | 4.0 | 19.3 | 5.2 | 3.8 | 32.2 | 5.0 | 3.1 |
| 1977 | 72,393 | 11.0 | 16.5 | 4.2 | 19.3 | 5.5 | 4.2 | 31.8 | 4.8 | 2.7 |
| 1976 | 75,386 | 10.7 | 15.6 | 4.5 | 18.4 | 5.7 | 4.0 | 30.8 | 6.6 | 3.7 |
| 1975 | 78,408 | 11.1 | 16.4 | 4.2 | 17.5 | 5.6 | 4.0 | 30.9 | 6.1 | 4.3 |