Half of entering college students aspire to a master’s degree or higher, led by students of color

Above: findings from Noel-Levitz’s 2014 National Freshman Attitudes Report indicate that 52.6 percent of today’s entering college freshmen planned to pursue a master’s or a professional degree as they began college, led by Asian freshmen, at 61.5 percent, African-American freshmen, at 59.6 percent, and Hispanic or Latino freshmen, at 49.9 percent.

With some modest fluctuations, these percentages have generally held steady over the past five years for freshmen as a whole, though there are clear differences by sector and by student categories. For example, freshmen at four-year public and private institutions were, on average, twice as likely as freshmen at two-year public institutions to aspire to these advanced degrees. In addition, there is evidence that females are more likely than males to aspire to advanced degrees, traditional-age freshmen are more likely than adult freshmen to aspire to advanced degrees, and non-first-generation freshmen are more likely to aspire to advanced degrees than first-generation freshmen.

While half of all freshmen aspire to master’s or professional degrees, the reality is that less than half of entering freshmen nationally will complete even an undergraduate degree, according to the latest degree completion data from ACT. Many students of color, in particular, face obstacles. This is borne out, for example, in the latest Department of Education completion data for four-year institutions by race/ethnicity.

Are you working on graduate enrollment, student success, or campus diversity issues?

Noel-Levitz offers consulting and resources to help strengthen enrollment and diversity at the undergraduate and graduate levels. We can also help you improve student success and completion rates for students overall or for particular groups of students. If you are looking for help in any of these areas, contact us for a complimentary consultation by phone at 1-800-876-1117 or email.