Education Statistics
According the 2000 U.S. Census Bureau (USCB), more than 50% of the
U.S. population aged 25 years and
older have completed at least some college. 84.5% have a high
school diploma, 43.6% have received an associates diplomas or higher. 27.5%
have a bachelor’s degree or higher. 10.1% have an advanced degree, which
would be a master’s, professional or doctorate diplomas. Around 6% of
U.S. citizens have achieved a
master’s degree according to the 2005 figures.
A Master's
degree (a 1 to 2 year program) can only be sought after passing the program
admissions requirements. Most require acquiring a bachelor’s degree with a high
GPA, but some require field experience.
Today, 70% of high school graduates go on to college, that’s up from 40% in
1970. Currently, Washington
D.C. and Massachusetts have the
highest percentage of people that have at least a bachelors degree, while
Arkansas and
West Virginia
come in with the lowest percentage rate. The U.S. average
overall is approximately 27%. In 2007, 72% of older Asians had at least a
high school diploma and 32% had at least a bachelor’s degree, but only 58% of
blacks and 42% of Hispanics had high school diplomas. Of the the older,
non-Hispanic population, 21% hold at least a bachelor’s degree.
The aforementioned information tells us that more than 1 in 4 people of the
U.S. population complete enough
school to receive a bachelor’s degree. 1 in 10 than complete an advanced
degree. All of these percentages have increased since the previous census.
While some jobs don’t require someone to have a bachelor’s degree, many more
want at least that in today’s job market. As student debt rises and more
and more people opt out of going to college, the numbers are sure to change,
with 6 people out of 10 worrying that they will not qualify for college at all
and wishing for fast diplomas.
What People Are Thinking
More U.S. citizens feel that their
educations are at risk. College has
become an empty dream for many who feel it is financially out of their
league. Much of the middle class feels that a college education is a must
have, but are unsure how they will even manage to afford it. It’s become
very important to families to have their children go to college in recent years,
but have started to seek out other educational paths. Most only hope to see
their child succeed in life, and they believe a higher education to be the
answer to that.