May 04, 2004 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

2003 high school graduates and college enrollment

Of the 2.7 million youth who graduated from high school in 2003, about 1.7 million (63.9 percent) were attending college in October.

College enrollment of year 2003 high school graduates, by sex, race and Hispanic origin
[Chart data—TXT]

Young women continued to be more likely than young men to enter colleges or universities after high school—66.5 percent versus 61.2 percent.

The enrollment rate for Asian high school graduates (84.1 percent) was much higher than for white graduates (65.0 percent). Black and Hispanic graduates were about equally likely to be college students in the fall—58.3 and 58.6 percent, respectively.

This information is from a supplement to the October 2003 Current Population Survey. Additional information is available from "College Enrollment and Work Activity of 2003 High School Graduates" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 04-749.

Of interest

Spotlight on Statistics: National Hispanic Heritage Month

In this Spotlight, we take a look at the Hispanic labor force—including labor force participation, employment and unemployment, educational attainment, geographic location, country of birth, earnings, consumer expenditures, time use, workplace injuries, and employment projections. . Read more »