Pew: Hispanics Overtake Whites In College Enrollment

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Hispanic high school graduates enrolled in college at a higher rate than whites for the first time ever, according to U.S. Census data analyzed by the Pew Research Center.

Sixty-nine percent of Hispanic graduates enrolled in college in fall of 2012, compared to 67 percent of white high school graduates who did so. Pew suggests that the 2007 economic recession may be one reason that explains the shift in Hispanic enrollment.

It is possible that the rise in high school completion and college enrollment by Latino youths has been driven, at least in part, by their declining fortunes in the job market. Since the onset of the recession at the end of 2007, unemployment among Latinos ages 16 to 24 has gone up by seven percentage points, compared with a five percentage point rise among white youths. With jobs harder to find, more Latino youths may have chosen to stay in school longer.

Despite the historic mark, Hispanic students are less likely to enroll in a four-year college, less likely to attend college full-time and less likely to finish their degree, Pew notes.

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