There were approximately 18.58 million college students in the U.S. in 2022, with around 13.49 million enrolled in public colleges and a further 5.09 million students enrolled in private colleges. The figures are projected to remain relatively constant over the next few years.

What is the most expensive college in the U.S.? The overall number of higher education institutions in the U.S. totals around 4,000, and California is the state with the most. One important factor that students – and their parents – must consider before choosing a college is cost. With annual expenses totaling almost 78,000 U.S. dollars, Harvey Mudd College in California was the most expensive college for the 2021-2022 academic year. There are three major costs of college: tuition, room, and board. The difference in on-campus and off-campus accommodation costs is often negligible, but they can change greatly depending on the college town.

The differences between public and private colleges Public colleges, also called state colleges, are mostly funded by state governments. Private colleges, on the other hand, are not funded by the government but by private donors and endowments. Typically, private institutions are  much more expensive. Public colleges tend to offer different tuition fees for students based on whether they live in-state or out-of-state, while private colleges have the same tuition cost for every student.

Graduation Rate (expressed as a percentage)

Commencing 2000 to 2001, Graduation Rates are based on tracking individual students, where, for example, the 2022 to 2023 KPI Graduation Rate is based on students who started 1-year programs in 2020 to 2021, 2-year programs in 2018 to 2019, 3-year programs in 2016 to 2017 and 4-year programs in 2015 to 2016, and who had graduated by 2021 to 2022.

KPI Graduation Rates include changes resulting from the KPI Review and Adjustment process (where required).

The data here is from the report entitled Trends in Enrollment, Credit Attainment, and Remediation at Connecticut Public Universities and Community Colleges: Results from P20WIN for the High School Graduating Classes of 2010 through 2016.

The report answers three questions: 1. Enrollment: What percentage of the graduating class enrolled in a Connecticut public university or community college (UCONN, the four Connecticut State Universities, and 12 Connecticut community colleges) within 16 months of graduation? 2. Credit Attainment: What percentage of those who enrolled in a Connecticut public university or community college within 16 months of graduation earned at least one year’s worth of credits (24 or more) within two years of enrollment? 3. Remediation: What percentage of those who enrolled in one of the four Connecticut State Universities or one of the 12 community colleges within 16 months of graduation took a remedial course within two years of enrollment?

Notes on the data: School Credit: % Earning 24 Credits is a subset of the % Enrolled in 16 Months. School Remediation: % Enrolled in Remediation is a subset of the % Enrolled in 16 Months.

In 2020, ** percent of high school graduates from families in the lowest income quartile in the United States enrolled in college. This was a decrease of *** percent from the previous year.

Of those aged 20 to 21 years of age in the United States, 52.8 percent were enrolled in higher education as of 2020, a considerable increase when compared to 31.9 percent in 1970. For those aged 18 to 19, 49 percent were enrolled in higher education in 2020.

In the academic year 2024, the enrollment rate in universities and junior colleges reached around **** percent for male students and **** percent for female students in Japan. The share of young women attending higher education institutions increased more than ******* in the past 60 years. The overall direct enrollment rate after high school graduation was ** percent.

The variable examined is graduation status after four years of high school. Early and summer graduates are considered graduates after four years. The "other" rate includes students who dropped out of high school, enrolled in a GED program, transferred to post-secondary education, or have unknown status. Special education students in school after four years but subsequently graduated are not included in the "still enrolled" rate due to Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) restrictions. The subgroups reported are gender, race/ethnicity, English language learners, special education students, and students eligible for free or reduced-price meals (FRPM). The data replace the rate of students enrolled in 12th grade in September who graduated the following June. Connecticut State Department of Education (SDE) collects data longitudinally by four-year cohorts. SDE reports and CTdata.org carries graduation rates of four-year cohorts annually.

Increase the high school graduation rate (Historical Cohort) from 84.7% in 2013 to 86.2% by 2018.

The U.S. Department of Education’s graduation rate, which is reported through the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), is a nationally recognized and commonly used metric in higher education. Graduation rate is calculated as the percentage of first‐time, full‐time, degree/certificate seeking students that complete a CCC program within 150% of the estimated time it takes to complete the program.

This dataset shows all school level performance data used to create CPS School Report Cards for the 2011-2012 school year. Metrics are described as follows (also available for download at http://bit.ly/uhbzah): NDA indicates "No Data Available." SAFETY ICON: Student Perception/Safety category from 5 Essentials survey // SAFETY SCORE: Student Perception/Safety score from 5 Essentials survey // FAMILY INVOLVEMENT ICON: Involved Families category from 5 Essentials survey // FAMILY INVOLVEMENT SCORE: Involved Families score from 5 Essentials survey // ENVIRONMENT ICON: Supportive Environment category from 5 Essentials survey // ENVIRONMENT SCORE: Supportive Environment score from 5 Essentials survey // INSTRUCTION ICON: Ambitious Instruction category from 5 Essentials survey // INSTRUCTION SCORE: Ambitious Instruction score from 5 Essentials survey // LEADERS ICON: Effective Leaders category from 5 Essentials survey // LEADERS SCORE: Effective Leaders score from 5 Essentials survey // TEACHERS ICON: Collaborative Teachers category from 5 Essentials survey // TEACHERS SCORE: Collaborative Teachers score from 5 Essentials survey // PARENT ENGAGEMENT ICON: Parent Perception/Engagement category from parent survey // PARENT ENGAGEMENT SCORE: Parent Perception/Engagement score from parent survey // AVERAGE STUDENT ATTENDANCE: Average daily student attendance // RATE OF MISCONDUCTS (PER 100 STUDENTS): # of misconducts per 100 students//AVERAGE TEACHER ATTENDANCE: Average daily teacher attendance // INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAM COMPLIANCE RATE: % of IEPs and 504 plans completed by due date // PK-2 LITERACY: % of students at benchmark on DIBELS or IDEL // PK-2 MATH: % of students at benchmark on mClass // GR3-5 GRADE LEVEL MATH: % of students at grade level, math, grades 3-5 // GR3-5 GRADE LEVEL READ: % of students at grade level, reading, grades 3-5 // GR3-5 KEEP PACE READ: % of students meeting growth targets, reading, grades 3-5 // GR3-5 KEEP PACE MATH: % of students meeting growth targets, math, grades 3-5 // GR6-8 GRADE LEVEL MATH: % of students at grade level, math, grades 6-8 // GR6-8 GRADE LEVEL READ: % of students at grade level, reading, grades 6-8 // GR6-8 KEEP PACE MATH: % of students meeting growth targets, math, grades 6-8 // GR6-8 KEEP PACE READ: % of students meeting growth targets, reading, grades 6-8 // GR-8 EXPLORE MATH: % of students at college readiness benchmark, math // GR-8 EXPLORE READ: % of students at college readiness benchmark, reading // ISAT EXCEEDING MATH: % of students exceeding on ISAT, math // ISAT EXCEEDING READ: % of students exceeding on ISAT, reading // ISAT VALUE ADD MATH: ISAT value-add value, math // ISAT VALUE ADD READ: ISAT value-add value, reading // ISAT VALUE ADD COLOR MATH: ISAT value-add color, math // ISAT VALUE ADD COLOR READ: ISAT value-add color, reading // STUDENTS TAKING ALGEBRA: % of students taking algebra // STUDENTS PASSING ALGEBRA: % of students passing algebra // 9TH GRADE EXPLORE (2009): Average EXPLORE score, 9th graders who tested in fall 2009 // 9TH GRADE EXPLORE (2010): Average EXPLORE score, 9th graders who tested in fall 2010 // 10TH GRADE PLAN (2009): Average PLAN score, 10th graders who tested in fall 2009 // 10TH GRADE PLAN (2010): Average PLAN score, 10th graders who tested in fall 2010 // NET CHANGE EXPLORE AND PLAN: Difference between Grade 9 Explore (2009) and Grade 10 Plan (2010) // 11TH GRADE AVERAGE ACT (2011): Average ACT score, 11th graders who tested in fall 2011 // NET CHANGE PLAN AND ACT: Difference between Grade 10 Plan (2009) and Grade 11 ACT (2011) // COLLEGE ELIGIBILITY: % of graduates eligible for a selective four-year college // GRADUATION RATE: % of students who have graduated within five years // COLLEGE/ ENROLLMENT RATE: % of students enrolled in college // COLLEGE ENROLLMENT (NUMBER OF STUDENTS): Total school enrollment // FRESHMAN ON TRACK RATE: Freshmen On-Track rate // RCDTS: Region County District Type Schools Code

This statistic shows the share of 18 to 19 year olds in different states across the United States who were enrolled in college or other higher education programs as of 2010. In California 52.1 percent of 18 to 19 year olds were enrolled in college in 2010.

As of 2022, the average acceptance rate for four-year, not-for-profit colleges in the United States was ** percent, meaning these schools offered admission to ** percent of first-year applicants on average. In comparison, the average acceptance rate for public colleges was higher, at ** percent, while the acceptance rate for private colleges averaged only around ** percent.

Analysis of ‘College Enrollment, Credit Attainment and Remediation of High School Graduates Statewide’ provided by Analyst-2 (analyst-2.ai), based on source dataset retrieved from https://catalog.data.gov/dataset/1330b4da-ad0c-4909-b8b6-47ba0fa956aa on 26 January 2022.

--- Dataset description provided by original source is as follows ---

The data here is from the report entitled Trends in Enrollment, Credit Attainment, and Remediation at Connecticut Public Universities and Community Colleges: Results from P20WIN for the High School Graduating Classes of 2010 through 2016.

The report answers three questions: 1. Enrollment: What percentage of the graduating class enrolled in a Connecticut public university or community college (UCONN, the four Connecticut State Universities, and 12 Connecticut community colleges) within 16 months of graduation? 2. Credit Attainment: What percentage of those who enrolled in a Connecticut public university or community college within 16 months of graduation earned at least one year’s worth of credits (24 or more) within two years of enrollment? 3. Remediation: What percentage of those who enrolled in one of the four Connecticut State Universities or one of the 12 community colleges within 16 months of graduation took a remedial course within two years of enrollment?

Notes on the data: CT Remed: % Enrolled in Remediation is a subset of the % Enrolled in 16 Months.

--- Original source retains full ownership of the source dataset ---

This indicator includes the high school graduation rates by district for the following districts with high schools within Champaign County: Champaign Community Unit School District #4, Fisher Community Unit School District #1, Mahomet-Seymour Community Unit School District #3, Rantoul Township High School District #193, St. Joseph-Ogden Community High School District #305, Tolono Community Unit School District #7, and Urbana School District #116.

Between 2010 and 2024, the graduation rates of the different districts fluctuated independently of each other, with no trend prevalent across the board. The Illinois Report Card states that there is a possible data impact on the 2020 and 2021 graduation rates due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This could explain the uncharacteristically low graduation rate in Tolono District #7 in 2021 compared to previous years. However, the graduation rate in Champaign Unit #4 and Urbana District #116 increased from 2019 to 2021, and the graduation rate in St. Joseph-Ogden District #305 was the same in 2019 and 2021.

The average graduation rate across all Champaign County high schools increased from 87.7% in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic to 88.1% in 2023 when the pandemic emergency ended. This rate increased again in 2024 to 89.2%. High school graduation rates are an apt measure of pre-college academic achievement in the county, and provide context for the other indicators in the education category.

This data, along with a variety of other school district data, is available on the Illinois Report Card, an Illinois State Board of Education and Northern Illinois University website.

Sources: Illinois Report Card. (2023-2024). Champaign CUSD 4. Illinois State Board of Education. (Accessed 6 December 2024). Illinois Report Card. (2023-2024). Fisher CUSD 1. Illinois State Board of Education. (Accessed 6 December 2024). Illinois Report Card. (2023-2024). Mahomet-Seymour CUSD 3. Illinois State Board of Education. (Accessed 6 December 2024). Illinois Report Card. (2023-2024). Rantoul Township HSD 193. Illinois State Board of Education. (Accessed 6 December 2024). Illinois Report Card. (2023-2024). St. Joseph Ogden CHSD 305. Illinois State Board of Education. (Accessed 6 December 2024). Illinois Report Card. (2023-2024). Tolono CUSD 7. Illinois State Board of Education. (Accessed 6 December 2024). Illinois Report Card. (2023-2024). Urbana SD 116. Illinois State Board of Education. (Accessed 6 December 2024).

This dataset tracks annual graduation rate from 2018 to 2022 for College Place High School vs. Washington and College Place School District

This dataset shows all school level performance data used to create CPS School Report Cards for the 2011-2012 school year. Metrics are described as follows (also available for download at http://bit.ly/uhbzah): NDA indicates "No Data Available." SAFETY ICON: Student Perception/Safety category from 5 Essentials survey // SAFETY SCORE: Student Perception/Safety score from 5 Essentials survey // FAMILY INVOLVEMENT ICON: Involved Families category from 5 Essentials survey // FAMILY INVOLVEMENT SCORE: Involved Families score from 5 Essentials survey // ENVIRONMENT ICON: Supportive Environment category from 5 Essentials survey // ENVIRONMENT SCORE: Supportive Environment score from 5 Essentials survey // INSTRUCTION ICON: Ambitious Instruction category from 5 Essentials survey // INSTRUCTION SCORE: Ambitious Instruction score from 5 Essentials survey // LEADERS ICON: Effective Leaders category from 5 Essentials survey // LEADERS SCORE: Effective Leaders score from 5 Essentials survey // TEACHERS ICON: Collaborative Teachers category from 5 Essentials survey // TEACHERS SCORE: Collaborative Teachers score from 5 Essentials survey // PARENT ENGAGEMENT ICON: Parent Perception/Engagement category from parent survey // PARENT ENGAGEMENT SCORE: Parent Perception/Engagement score from parent survey // AVERAGE STUDENT ATTENDANCE: Average daily student attendance // RATE OF MISCONDUCTS (PER 100 STUDENTS): # of misconducts per 100 students//AVERAGE TEACHER ATTENDANCE: Average daily teacher attendance // INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAM COMPLIANCE RATE: % of IEPs and 504 plans completed by due date // PK-2 LITERACY: % of students at benchmark on DIBELS or IDEL // PK-2 MATH: % of students at benchmark on mClass // GR3-5 GRADE LEVEL MATH: % of students at grade level, math, grades 3-5 // GR3-5 GRADE LEVEL READ: % of students at grade level, reading, grades 3-5 // GR3-5 KEEP PACE READ: % of students meeting growth targets, reading, grades 3-5 // GR3-5 KEEP PACE MATH: % of students meeting growth targets, math, grades 3-5 // GR6-8 GRADE LEVEL MATH: % of students at grade level, math, grades 6-8 // GR6-8 GRADE LEVEL READ: % of students at grade level, reading, grades 6-8 // GR6-8 KEEP PACE MATH: % of students meeting growth targets, math, grades 6-8 // GR6-8 KEEP PACE READ: % of students meeting growth targets, reading, grades 6-8 // GR-8 EXPLORE MATH: % of students at college readiness benchmark, math // GR-8 EXPLORE READ: % of students at college readiness benchmark, reading // ISAT EXCEEDING MATH: % of students exceeding on ISAT, math // ISAT EXCEEDING READ: % of students exceeding on ISAT, reading // ISAT VALUE ADD MATH: ISAT value-add value, math // ISAT VALUE ADD READ: ISAT value-add value, reading // ISAT VALUE ADD COLOR MATH: ISAT value-add color, math // ISAT VALUE ADD COLOR READ: ISAT value-add color, reading // STUDENTS TAKING ALGEBRA: % of students taking algebra // STUDENTS PASSING ALGEBRA: % of students passing algebra // 9TH GRADE EXPLORE (2009): Average EXPLORE score, 9th graders who tested in fall 2009 // 9TH GRADE EXPLORE (2010): Average EXPLORE score, 9th graders who tested in fall 2010 // 10TH GRADE PLAN (2009): Average PLAN score, 10th graders who tested in fall 2009 // 10TH GRADE PLAN (2010): Average PLAN score, 10th graders who tested in fall 2010 // NET CHANGE EXPLORE AND PLAN: Difference between Grade 9 Explore (2009) and Grade 10 Plan (2010) // 11TH GRADE AVERAGE ACT (2011): Average ACT score, 11th graders who tested in fall 2011 // NET CHANGE PLAN AND ACT: Difference between Grade 10 Plan (2009) and Grade 11 ACT (2011) // COLLEGE ELIGIBILITY: % of graduates eligible for a selective four-year college // GRADUATION RATE: % of students who have graduated within five years // COLLEGE/ ENROLLMENT RATE: % of students enrolled in college // COLLEGE ENROLLMENT (NUMBER OF STUDENTS): Total school enrollment // FRESHMAN ON TRACK RATE: Freshmen On-Track rate

On-time and extended-time graduation rates by gender, collected very year by the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) for the true cohort high school graduation rate data collection.

This statistic shows the graduation rate of students, who was admitted in 2007, attending four-year degree-granting institutions as distinguished by the acceptance rate of the respective institution. In colleges that had open admission, the graduation rate stood at 34 percent of all students who were enrolled in 2007.

This dataset tracks annual graduation rate from 2011 to 2022 for College Park High School vs. Texas and Conroe Independent School District

This dataset shows all school level performance data used to create CPS School Report Cards for the 2011-2012 school year. Metrics are described as follows (also available for download at http://bit.ly/uhbzah): NDA indicates "No Data Available." SAFETY ICON: Student Perception/Safety category from 5 Essentials survey // SAFETY SCORE: Student Perception/Safety score from 5 Essentials survey // FAMILY INVOLVEMENT ICON: Involved Families category from 5 Essentials survey // FAMILY INVOLVEMENT SCORE: Involved Families score from 5 Essentials survey // ENVIRONMENT ICON: Supportive Environment category from 5 Essentials survey // ENVIRONMENT SCORE: Supportive Environment score from 5 Essentials survey // INSTRUCTION ICON: Ambitious Instruction category from 5 Essentials survey // INSTRUCTION SCORE: Ambitious Instruction score from 5 Essentials survey // LEADERS ICON: Effective Leaders category from 5 Essentials survey // LEADERS SCORE: Effective Leaders score from 5 Essentials survey // TEACHERS ICON: Collaborative Teachers category from 5 Essentials survey // TEACHERS SCORE: Collaborative Teachers score from 5 Essentials survey // PARENT ENGAGEMENT ICON: Parent Perception/Engagement category from parent survey // PARENT ENGAGEMENT SCORE: Parent Perception/Engagement score from parent survey // AVERAGE STUDENT ATTENDANCE: Average daily student attendance // RATE OF MISCONDUCTS (PER 100 STUDENTS): # of misconducts per 100 students//AVERAGE TEACHER ATTENDANCE: Average daily teacher attendance // INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAM COMPLIANCE RATE: % of IEPs and 504 plans completed by due date // PK-2 LITERACY: % of students at benchmark on DIBELS or IDEL // PK-2 MATH: % of students at benchmark on mClass // GR3-5 GRADE LEVEL MATH: % of students at grade level, math, grades 3-5 // GR3-5 GRADE LEVEL READ: % of students at grade level, reading, grades 3-5 // GR3-5 KEEP PACE READ: % of students meeting growth targets, reading, grades 3-5 // GR3-5 KEEP PACE MATH: % of students meeting growth targets, math, grades 3-5 // GR6-8 GRADE LEVEL MATH: % of students at grade level, math, grades 6-8 // GR6-8 GRADE LEVEL READ: % of students at grade level, reading, grades 6-8 // GR6-8 KEEP PACE MATH: % of students meeting growth targets, math, grades 6-8 // GR6-8 KEEP PACE READ: % of students meeting growth targets, reading, grades 6-8 // GR-8 EXPLORE MATH: % of students at college readiness benchmark, math // GR-8 EXPLORE READ: % of students at college readiness benchmark, reading // ISAT EXCEEDING MATH: % of students exceeding on ISAT, math // ISAT EXCEEDING READ: % of students exceeding on ISAT, reading // ISAT VALUE ADD MATH: ISAT value-add value, math // ISAT VALUE ADD READ: ISAT value-add value, reading // ISAT VALUE ADD COLOR MATH: ISAT value-add color, math // ISAT VALUE ADD COLOR READ: ISAT value-add color, reading // STUDENTS TAKING ALGEBRA: % of students taking algebra // STUDENTS PASSING ALGEBRA: % of students passing algebra // 9TH GRADE EXPLORE (2009): Average EXPLORE score, 9th graders who tested in fall 2009 // 9TH GRADE EXPLORE (2010): Average EXPLORE score, 9th graders who tested in fall 2010 // 10TH GRADE PLAN (2009): Average PLAN score, 10th graders who tested in fall 2009 // 10TH GRADE PLAN (2010): Average PLAN score, 10th graders who tested in fall 2010 // NET CHANGE EXPLORE AND PLAN: Difference between Grade 9 Explore (2009) and Grade 10 Plan (2010) // 11TH GRADE AVERAGE ACT (2011): Average ACT score, 11th graders who tested in fall 2011 // NET CHANGE PLAN AND ACT: Difference between Grade 10 Plan (2009) and Grade 11 ACT (2011) // COLLEGE ELIGIBILITY: % of graduates eligible for a selective four-year college // GRADUATION RATE: % of students who have graduated within five years // COLLEGE/ ENROLLMENT RATE: % of students enrolled in college // COLLEGE ENROLLMENT (NUMBER OF STUDENTS): Total school enrollment // FRESHMAN ON TRACK RATE: Freshmen On-Track rate // RCDTS: Region County District Type Schools Code