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Plans of High School Graduates: Class of 2002

Trends over Time
The percentage of graduates
planning to attend college has
increased over the past twenty
years, from 54 percent in 1982,
to 68 percent in 1992, and to
over 72 percent of all graduates
in 2002 (Table 2). Between
1982 and 2002, the percentage
of graduates planning to attend a
two-year college increased from
16 percent to 20 percent, and the percentage planning to attend a four-year college rose from 38
percent to 52 percent. Over that same time period, the percentage of high school graduates
intending to enroll in a private college increased from 25 to 32 percent, and the percentage
intending to enroll in a public college increased from 29 percent to 41 percent (Figure 2).

	While the percentage of graduates
	planning to attend a private twoyear
	college has slightly decreased
	since 1977 (from four percent in
	1977 to less than three percent in
	2002), the percentage planning to
	attend public two-year colleges
	has grown from 11 to 18 percent
	(Figure 3). The percentage of

* Some totals and percentages may not sum equally due to rounding.

Table 2. Plans of High School Graduates: 1975-2002

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
2002	56,930	17.8	23.0	2.6	29.4	1.7	2.3	12.8	1.0	9.4
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

graduates planning to attend public four-year colleges has shown a general increase over the past
25 years. From 1977 to 2002, the percentage of graduates planning to attend a private four-year
college has shown the highest increase, from 19 to 29 percent. However, this increase occurred
primarily between 1977 to 1992, and has remained relatively stable over the past 10 years.
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 32 percent in 1977
to 13 percent in 2002. 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.

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