More Hispanics in College

The number of Hispanics enrolled in college rose 15% between 2006 and 2007.

Hispanics accounted for 11.5% of the overall college student population in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Their report, released March 4, was based on the October 2007 School Enrollment Supplement (SES) to the Current Population Survey (CPS).

According to the new numbers, 11.5% of college students are Hispanic, less than one percent are Asian, 13.3% are Black, and White non-Hispanic students account for 66.2% of college enrollment. (Numbers do not add up to 100 percent).

With the increase in Hispanic college enrollment, educational attainment among this group more closely parallels Hispanic representation within the American population, which was around 14.7% between 2005 and 2007, according to the Census Bureau’s three-year estimate.

According to the Census Bureau, full-time college students were most likely to be white, female, between 20 and 24 years old, unemployed and attending a public college.

Part-time college students were most likely to be white, female, employed full-time, and attending a public college. However, while likely to be over 19 years of age, these students were relatively evenly disbursed among age groups:

25% of part-time students were between 20 and 24 years of age,
33% were between 25 and 34 years of age,
and 36% were over 35 years of age.

Part-time students were almost twice as likely to be female (63%).

Bethany Stotts is a staff writer at Accuracy in Academia.

Bethany Stotts