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Tables: Postsecondary/College


Table P135. Percentage distribution of credential-seeking undergraduates within each credential goal and curriculum area, by parents' highest level of education: 2011–12
Credential goal and curriculum area Number of students     Parents' highest level of education1
      No college        
    Total Less than high school   High school diploma or equivalent   No college, total   Some college, no bachelor's degree   Bachelor's degree or higher  
                             
All credential-seeking
   undergraduates
22,288,000     100.0 7.2   31.7   38.8   22.9   38.2  
                             
Subbaccalaureate credential 11,596,000     100.0 9.2   37.2   46.5   24.8   28.7  
                             
Occupational education 8,449,000     100.0 9.9   38.0   47.8   24.7   27.4  
Academic education 2,919,000     100.0 7.4   35.7   43.0   25.0   32.0  
Undeclared 229,000     100.0 10.5   30.2   40.7   26.5   32.8  
                             
Certificate 1,851,000     100.0 10.7   41.8   52.5   21.2   26.2  
                             
Occupational education 1,747,000     100.0 10.9   41.8   52.8   21.5   25.7  
Academic education 77,000     100.0 6.8   40.4   47.2   19.1   33.7  
Undeclared 27,000     100.0 7.2   43.5   50.7   7.7   41.5  
                             
Associate's degree 9,745,000     100.0 9.0   36.4   45.4   25.5   29.1  
                             
Occupational education 6,701,000     100.0 9.6   37.0   46.6   25.5   27.9  
Academic education 2,842,000     100.0 7.4   35.5   42.9   25.2   31.9  
Undeclared 201,000     100.0 10.9   28.6   39.4   28.8   31.7  
                             
Bachelor's degree 10,691,000     100.0 5.0   25.8   30.8   20.9   48.3  
! Interpret with caution. The coefficient of variation for this estimate is between 30 and 50.
1 Estimates exclude the 3.6 percent of undergraduate students who did not know their parents' highest level of education.
NOTE: Data include the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. Increases in the number or proportion of students with occupational and academic majors from 2008 to 2012, and decreases in undeclared majors, may be caused in part by a methodological change. In 2012, but not in 2008, students with an undeclared major were asked their intended major; those with an intended major were coded as having a major field of study rather than as undeclared.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2011–12 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:12).