Hispanic college attendance jumps by 24 percent in one year
College attendance among Hispanics skyrocketed between 2009 and 2010, according to a new report by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center. The number of Hispanics aged 18 to 24 enrolled in college jumped by 24 percent during the one-year time period, while the numbers fell for non-Hispanic whites during the same timespan.
The number of college-aged Hispanics in college grew by 349,000 over the year, while the figure fell by 320,000 for non-Hispanic whites. Asians saw the number of 18- to 24-year-olds grow by 43,000 and African Americans saw a steeper increase in college attendance, with the number bumping up by 88,000.
“As a result of these shifts, young Hispanics for the first time outnumbered young blacks on campus, even though young black college enrollment has also grown steadily for decades and it, too, has surged in recent years,” reads a report on the study by Richard Fry, a senior research associate for Pew Hispanic Research. “In 2010, 38% of all 18- to 24-year-old blacks were enrolled in college, up from 13% in 1967 and 32% in 2008.”
Pew attributes the college attendance spike among Hispanics to population growth and “educational strides.” Overall, college attendance in the Hispanic community continues to grow over time, rising by 13 percent in 1972, 27 percent in 2009, and 32 percent in 2010.
