Tell me the percentage of those with a college degree
Did you know that 50% of the United States population, 25 years or age of older, have at least some college education? That according to a U.S. Census Bureau (USCB) report from 2000. That same study found:
- U.S. citizens with a high school diploma is 86%
- 43.6% graduated with an associates diploma.
- 27.5% have a bachelor’s degree
- 10.1% have at least some advanced degree education.
- Lastly 6% of all U.S. citizens have a master’s degree. This according to 2005 figures, separate from the 2000 reporting.
Getting a Master’s degree, which is a 1 to 2 year program, can only be possible after passing the requirements set in place by the program admissions. Most programs require graduating with a bachelor’s degree with maintaining a high GPA during your time studying for your undergraduate degree. Other programs also require field or on-the-job experience.
Are More High School Graduates Pursuing College Degrees?
In 1970, just 30% of high school graduates went onto college. Today we see that 70% of high school graduates make the decision to attend college. Current reporting also shows that the, District of Columbia and the state of Massachusetts have the most number of citizens with a bachelors degree. At the same time states such as Arkansas and West Virginia have the lower number in this same category.
What Factor does Race Play in Graduation Rates?
Some are asking themselves, why a college degree? Why not just opt for a high school degree and call it a day? According to 2007 reports, 72% of Asians had a high school diploma and 32% had a bachelor’s degree at least. When comparing the numbers to other races, just 58% of blacks and 42% of Hispanics have a high school diploma. When we compare these figures to non-Hispanic population we see that 88% (although some reports argue 94%) have at least a high school diploma. It’s clear that race does play a factor here even though you can argue that systemic problems play a huge factor in these percentages.
What we also find when we look at the data is that 1 in 4 people in the U.S. population complete enough school to get a bachelor’s degree. Of that, just 1 in 10 complete enough to get an advanced degree. Of course, many of these numbers have improved year over year as new census data has come out.
Many people with no less than a high school or equivalent degree, hold out hope that the job market will find work for them. As the cost of going to college rises and more and more students struggling with debt, high school students will ponder making the jump to college and if they do may opt for fast diplomas.
What College Degree Holders Think These Days
Most citizens in the United States think their education is at risk. They believe what they have is never good enough. College has become a necessity for some and a pipe dream for others, impossible to realize and achieve for others. A more well to do percentage of the population feels like college education is necessary, while others know they can never afford it and don’t even consider it.
Some families consider college as a right of passage that is expected through generations. Even so, in recent years, members in these families have even considered forging unique educational paths. Regardless of how they get there, most want to see themselves, their children and future generations to succeed and they believe the only answer to that is a higher education.
