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Postsecondary Education

Immediate College Enrollment Rate

Last Updated: May 2023
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In 2021, a lower percentage of male high school completers immediately enrolled in college (55 percent) compared to female high school completers (70 percent). This was driven by a lower percentage of male students than of female students who immediately enrolled in 4-year institutions (36 vs. 51 percent).
Of the 2.7 million high school completers1 who graduated in the first 9 months of 2021, some 1.7 million (or 62 percent) were enrolled in college in October 2021. This annual percentage of high school completers who are enrolled in 2- or 4-year institutions within the specified time frame is known as the immediate college enrollment rate. The overall immediate college enrollment rate in 2021 was lower than the rate in 2010 (68 percent). Specifically, although immediate college enrollment rates showed no consistent trend over the first two-thirds of this period (2010 to 2018), they declined over the latter third (from 2018 to 2021). There was no measurable difference in the overall immediate college enrollment rate in 2021 compared to 2020.

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Time series
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All available findings Level of institution Level of institution*Race/ethnicity Level of institution*Sex Race/ethnicity
Figure 1. Immediate college enrollment rate of high school completers, by level of institution: 2010 through 2021
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A confidence interval is a range of values that describes the uncertainty surrounding an estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, confidence intervals are calculated as the estimate +/- the margin of error, based on a 95 percent level of confidence. This means that there is 95 percent certainty that the range includes the true or actual value of the statistic.
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NOTE: To estimate the margin of error, the standard error is scaled based on the desired level of confidence in the estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, margins of error are produced based on a 95 percent level of confidence. Margin of error is calculated as 1.96*standard error. Immediate college enrollment rate is defined as the annual percentage of high school completers who are enrolled in 2- or 4-year institutions in the October immediately following high school completion. High school completers include 16- to 24-year-olds who graduated with a high school diploma as well as those who completed a GED or other high school equivalency credential.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), October Supplement, 2010 through 2021. See Digest of Education Statistics 2022, table 302.10.

In every year from 2010 to 2021, higher percentages of high school completers immediately enrolled in 4-year institutions than in 2-year institutions. In 2021, about 43 percent of high school completers immediately enrolled in 4-year institutions and 19 percent immediately enrolled in 2-year institutions. The immediate college enrollment rate for 4-year institutions in 2021 was not measurably different from the rate in 2010. However, the rate for 2-year institutions decreased between 2010 (27 percent) and 2021. [Level of institution ]
Immediate College Enrollment Rates by Student Demographics
Figure 2. Immediate college enrollment rate of high school completers, by sex: 2010 through 2021
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Users can select any combination of available years and categories in any figure format (i.e., bar or table). The initial selection of years and categories may not be optimal in different views.
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A confidence interval is a range of values that describes the uncertainty surrounding an estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, confidence intervals are calculated as the estimate +/- the margin of error, based on a 95 percent level of confidence. This means that there is 95 percent certainty that the range includes the true or actual value of the statistic.
Confidence Interval
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Users can select years at irregular intervals. However, as a result, the distance between the data points will not be proportional to the number of years between them.
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NOTE: To estimate the margin of error, the standard error is scaled based on the desired level of confidence in the estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, margins of error are produced based on a 95 percent level of confidence. Margin of error is calculated as 1.96*standard error. Immediate college enrollment rate is defined as the annual percentage of high school completers who are enrolled in 2- or 4-year institutions in the October immediately following high school completion. High school completers include 16- to 24-year-olds who graduated with a high school diploma as well as those who completed a GED or other high school equivalency credential.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), October Supplement, 2010 through 2021. See Digest of Education Statistics 2022, table 302.10.

Immediate college enrollment rates differ by sex. In 2021, the overall rate for male students2 who immediately enrolled in college (55 percent) was lower than the rate for female students (70 percent). This was driven by a lower percentage of male students than of female students who immediately enrolled in 4-year institutions (36 vs. 51 percent). The percentages of male students and female students who immediately enrolled in 2-year institutions did not measurably differ. Patterns of enrollment over time differed between male and female students. While the immediate college enrollment rate for male students was lower in 2021 than in 2010 (55 vs. 63 percent), the rates for female students in these two years were not measurably different from each other. [Level of institution*Sex]
Figure 3. Immediate college enrollment rate of high school completers, using 3-year moving averages, by race/ethnicity: 2010 through 2021
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Users can select any combination of available years and categories in any figure format (i.e., bar or table). The initial selection of years and categories may not be optimal in different views.
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A confidence interval is a range of values that describes the uncertainty surrounding an estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, confidence intervals are calculated as the estimate +/- the margin of error, based on a 95 percent level of confidence. This means that there is 95 percent certainty that the range includes the true or actual value of the statistic.
Confidence Interval
Line | Line Breakout | Bar | Table
Users can select years at irregular intervals. However, as a result, the distance between the data points will not be proportional to the number of years between them.
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Embed this figure

NOTE: To estimate the margin of error, the standard error is scaled based on the desired level of confidence in the estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, margins of error are produced based on a 95 percent level of confidence. Margin of error is calculated as 1.96*standard error. Immediate college enrollment rate is defined as the annual percentage of high school completers who are enrolled in 2- or 4-year institutions in the October immediately following high school completion. High school completers include 16- to 24-year-olds who graduated with a high school diploma as well as those who completed a GED or other high school equivalency credential. Due to some short-term data fluctuations associated with small sample sizes, percentages for racial/ethnic groups shown were calculated based on 3-year moving averages, with the following exception: the percentages for 2021 were calculated based on a 2-year moving average (an average of 2020 and 2021). A 3-year moving average is a weighted average of the year indicated, the year immediately preceding, and the year immediately following. Other racial/ethnic groups are not shown separately. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), October Supplement, 2010 through 2021. See Digest of Education Statistics 2022, table 302.20.

Immediate college enrollment rates also differ by student race/ethnicity. In 2021, the immediate college enrollment rate for Asian students (84 percent) was higher than the rates for White (64 percent), Black (58 percent), and Hispanic (57 percent) students.3 This pattern held throughout the period from 2010 to 2021. In 2021, the rate for White students was also higher than the rate for Hispanic students. In about half of the years throughout the period between 2010 to 2021, however, there were no measurable differences between White and Hispanic students. In contrast, the enrollment rate for White students was higher than the rate for Black students for most of the period, but was not measurably different in 2021. [Race/ethnicity ]
Compared to 2010, the immediate college enrollment rate in 2021 was
  • not measurably different for Asian students;
  • not measurably different for Black students;
  • not measurably different for Hispanic students; and
  • lower for White students (64 percent in 2021 vs. 70 percent in 2010).
[Race/ethnicity ]
Figure 4. Immediate college enrollment rate of high school completers, by level of institution and race/ethnicity: 2021
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Users can select any combination of available years and categories in any figure format (i.e., bar or table). The initial selection of years and categories may not be optimal in different views.
Bar | Table
A confidence interval is a range of values that describes the uncertainty surrounding an estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, confidence intervals are calculated as the estimate +/- the margin of error, based on a 95 percent level of confidence. This means that there is 95 percent certainty that the range includes the true or actual value of the statistic.
Confidence Interval
Bar | Table
Users can select years at irregular intervals. However, as a result, the distance between the data points will not be proportional to the number of years between them.
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Embed this figure

!Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.

NOTE: To estimate the margin of error, the standard error is scaled based on the desired level of confidence in the estimate. Throughout the Condition of Education, margins of error are produced based on a 95 percent level of confidence. Margin of error is calculated as 1.96*standard error. Immediate college enrollment rate is defined as the annual percentage of high school completers who are enrolled in 2- or 4-year institutions in the October immediately following high school completion. High school completers include 16- to 24-year-olds who graduated with a high school diploma as well as those who completed a GED or other high school equivalency credential. Other racial/ethnic groups are not shown separately. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded data.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), October Supplement, 2010 through 2021. See Digest of Education Statistics 2022, table 302.20.

In 2021, similar to the pattern observed for high school completers overall, higher percentages of students immediately enrolled in 4-year institutions than immediately enrolled in 2-year institutions for
  • Asian students (76 vs. 9 percent);
  • White students (43 vs. 19 percent);
  • Black students (42 vs. 17 percent); and
  • Hispanic students (40 vs. 19 percent).4
Asian students had higher immediate enrollment rates in 4-year institutions than White, Black, and Hispanic students. [Level of institution*Race/ethnicity]

1 In this indicator, “high school completers” refers to individuals ages 16 to 24 who graduated from high school or completed a GED or other high school equivalency credential. In 2021, about 94 percent of those who completed high school in the first 9 months of 2021 were between 16 and 24 years old.

2 The terms “high school completers” and “students” are used interchangeably throughout the indicator.

3 Due to some short-term data fluctuations associated with small sample sizes, estimates for the racial/ethnic groups discussed here were calculated based on 3-year moving averages, with the following exception: the percentages for 2021 were calculated based on a 2-year moving average (an average of 2020 and 2021). Other racial/ethnic groups are not discussed separately. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity.

4 Estimates in this paragraph reflect annual data rather than 3-year moving averages.

Supplemental Information

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College Participation Rates [Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Groups]
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Snapshot: College Participation Rates for Racial/Ethnic Subgroups [Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Groups]
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Table 302.10 (Digest 2022): Recent high school completers and their enrollment in college, by sex and level of institution: 1960 through 2021;
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Table 302.20 (Digest 2022): Percentage of recent high school completers enrolled in college, by race/ethnicity and level of institution: 1960 through 2021
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College Enrollment Gap High school completer Postsecondary institutions (basic classification by level) Racial/ethnic group
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Suggested Citation

National Center for Education Statistics. (2023). Immediate College Enrollment Rate. Condition of Education. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved [date], from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cpa.
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