The college crowd: United States, 1998

Educational attainment in the United States has been steadily improving. Almost one-fourth of U.S. adults age 25 or more has received a bachelor's degree or better--26.5 percent of men and 22.4 percent of women. Because of shifting demographic trends, enrollment of traditional college-age students was somewhat sluggish earlier in the 1990s but is now starting to increase once again. In 1998 an estimated 14.6 million students were enrolled in college-level classes across the United States. The proportion of the college population comprised of students 35 years of age or more has more than doubled since 1972, rising from 8.6 percent to just over 18 percent. College education costs generally continue to increase faster than inflation. To meet these costs many students work and are stretching out the time required to earn their degrees. Only about 40 percent of all students receive their bachelor's degree within four years of graduation from high school. The number of college graduates is exceeding the number of college-level jobs being created and from a purely economic viewpoint may warrant some students to consider alternative career paths and training.