Today's Students come from all walks of life, taking charge of their own educational journey.
The educational journeys of today’s students are as diverse
as their backgrounds and lived experiences.
-
Diverse in age, race, and income level
33% are older than 251, 42% are not white alone, and the increasingly first-generation and low-income student population experience challenges with basic needs insecurity.
42%
Identify as a race other than white
-
Commuting from off-campus housing
Just 16% of undergraduates live on campus, with their peers commuting to campus, engaging in schooling online, or both.
16%
live on campus
-
Balancing enrollment and employment
38% are enrolled part-time, and students who are enrolled part-time are typically working more hours per week than their full-time peers.
38%
are enrolled part-time
-
Responsible for family affairs beyond the classroom
22% of undergraduates are parents, responsible for their own success — as well as the livelihood of their families.
22%
are parents
How do Today’s Students differ from yesterday’s?
Two-Year Enrollment
First-Generation
Undergraduate students attend a two-year college
1980
Today
Reference
nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d20/tables/dt20_303.70.asp
First-generation students
1980
Today
Reference
heri.ucla.edu/PDFs/pubs/TFS/Special/Monographs/FirstInMyFamily.pdf (p. 16)
Race
Pell Grants
Students identify as a race other than white
1980
Today
Pell Grant recipients
1980
Today
Parenting Students
KEY - year (number of student parents) percentage of the undergraduate population
2004 (3.7M)
2012 (4.8M)
2016 (3.8M)
Please note that the data listed here should not be directly compared to those listed above as the years are not aligned.
Although there was a rapid increase in enrollment between 2004 and 2012, the numbers have since declined.
Aya Waller-Bey
Georgetown University
Aya is a first-generation college student who navigated the federal student aid process, which presented several challenges due to her family’s circumstances.
Bri Sislo-Schutta
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Bri’s firsthand experience as a student enrolled in college during COVID-19 amplifies the unique needs of today’s students and how the pandemic affected student populations differently
Michaela Martin
University of LaVerne in California
Michaela is a parent and law school student whose advocacy work revealed a dearth of data on parenting students in her state.
Drayton Jackson
Olympic College
Drayton is a parenting student who had to delay his educational goals to work due to financial uncertainties caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
How do Today’s Students attend college?
Institution Types
0%
of undergraduate students attend a two-year college
0%
of undergraduate students attend a public college or universityLearning Modality
0%
of undergraduate students have taken at least one online course
0%
of undergraduate students were exclusively enrolled in distance education during the peak of the pandemic
0%
of students transfer to at least one different institution in their postsecondary careerTransfer Students
-
Students lose, on average, one semester's worth of coursework when they transfer colleges.
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Those at two-year colleges are the most likely to transfer at least once.
-
The most common transfer type is from a public two-year institution to a public four-year institution.
What Challenges Do Today’s Students Face?
Basic Needs Insecurity
Additional Identities
First-Generation
Student-Veterans
0%
At postsecondary institutions are veteransSexual Orientation
0%
Identify as a sexual oreientation other than heterosexualGender Identity
0%
Identify as transgender or gender nonconformingAdditional Statistics
Especially in the wake of COVID-19, today's students share one common theme: overcoming barriers and hardships of their own on their way to higher learning.
Mental Health
- 35% have at least moderate anxiety
- 14% reported worsening mental health during and after the pandemic
Immigration
- 454K undocumented students are enrolled in higher education
- 216K undocumented students are DACA*-eligible
Financial Status
51% of undergraduate students are financially independent
Completion
62% complete a degree or credential within six years of enrolling
Get the entire resource: Today’s Students 101
State Profiles
State profiles feature key data points, visual infographics, and brief explanations of all 50 states, and are a quick and easy resource for policymakers, analysts and media.