65.6% of Grads Go to College
Nearly two-thirds of students who graduated from U.S. high schools last year attended college in the fall, but that percentage was down from the record-breaking 1997 class, the Labor Department has reported.
Of the 2.8 million students who graduated from high school in 1998, about 1.8 million, or 65.6%, were attending college in October. In 1997, a record 67% of graduates went on to college. The college enrollment rate of female high school graduates, 69.1%, continued to exceed that of the men, 62.4%.
“Young women are particularly getting the message,” Labor Secretary Alexis M. Herman said.
She noted the rise of the unemployment rate for the students who dropped out of high school, to 28% in 1998 from 20% in 1997.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
