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11.1.2005

Recent Changes in the Entry of Hispanic and White Youth into College

by Rick Fry

Report Materials

Download PDF Complete Report

Press Release

Other Resources

In addition to longstanding concerns over high school completion, policymakers are increasingly focused on disparities in outcomes between Hispanic and white college students (President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans, 2003; Council of Economic Advisers, 2000; RAND, 2001). Young Hispanic undergraduates are half as likely as their white peers on campus to finish a bachelor's degree, a disparity at least as large as the disparity in finishing high school. Many factors contribute to producing this disparity. This study focuses on one: changes in college enrollment patterns.

This report shows that although Hispanics continue to increase their sheer numbers in college, they are likely falling further behind whites in the pursuit of completing the bachelor's degree. In several key states, white enrollment increases occurred exclusively at four-year colleges and universities. Hispanic enrollment gains occurred at both two-year and four-year colleges. As a result, increases in the number of Latinos pursuing postsecondary education have not produced a reduction in the four-year college enrollment gap between Latinos and whites. Relative to whites, a smaller share of Latinos are obtaining a college education at a four-year college or university, diminishing their likelihood of completing a bachelor's degree. In effect, Hispanics are chasing a target that is accelerating ahead of them.

This study considers seven states with large Latino populations--California, New York, Arizona, New Jersey, Florida, Texas and Illinois--for the period between 1996 and 2001.

Other Resources

National Center for Postsecondary Improvement (NCPI)
Funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) and housed at Stanford University, the NCPI is an not-for-profit, non-partisan organization that is dedicated to research, dissemination, and outreach activities for the improvement of higher education in the United States

Enrollment in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2003; Graduation Rates 1997 & 2000 Cohorts; and Financial Statistics, Fiscal Year 2003
This report presents findings from the Spring 2004 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Web-based data collection. Data were requested from over 6,600 postsecondary institutions participating in Title IV federal student financial aid programs. The tables in this publication present enrollment data for fall 2003, financial statistics for fiscal year 2003, and student financial aid data for academic year 2002-2003. Also included are graduation rate data for the 1997 and 2000 student cohorts.

Declining by Degrees-Higher Education at Risk
This documentary follows 30 students from diverse backgrounds on their journey through higher education, exposing the struggles and disappointment that so many students face.

How Latino Students Pay for College: Patterns of Financial Aid in 2003-2004
The study reveals that, while Latino participation in higher education has increased in the last decade, the disparity in financial aid received has remained unchanged since 1995-96.