Table 11. Percentage distribution of 2002 high school sophomores reporting main reason for attending their first postsecondary institution, by selected student, family, and high school characteristics: 2006

Education Longitudinal
Study of 2002 (ELS:2002)

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	Reasons for attending first postsecondary institution¹
Characteristic	Program of study	Reputation	Cost	Location	Personal or family reasons	Another reason
Total	25.0	12.4	20.6	24.1	8.1	9.7

Sex
Female	23.2	12.3	21.4	25.8	8.9	8.5
Male	25.9	12.9	19.6	22.9	7.4	11.3

Race/ethnicity²
White, non-Hispanic	24.1	14.1	21.0	23.7	7.9	9.2
Black, non-Hispanic	26.6	8.6	19.2	23.5	9.5	12.5
Hispanic	22.9	9.6	19.1	29.6	8.3	10.5
Asian, non-Hispanic	25.2	12.6	21.0	22.2	10.0	9.1
All other races, non-Hispanic	26.2	10.3	20.5	26.4	7.4	9.1

Family income in 2001
$0-20,000	25.4	7.9	17.7	27.7	11.6	9.8
$20,001-50,000	24.7	9.1	22.2	26.8	7.6	9.7
$50,001-100,000	24.6	12.9	22.3	22.1	7.9	10.3
$100,001 or more	25.8	21.3	15.2	21.2	7.6	8.9

Native language³
English	24.5	13.1	20.5	24.1	8.1	9.8
Non-English	24.0	9.2	20.7	27.2	8.9	10.1

Parental education⁴
High school or less	25.1	8.3	20.1	27.9	8.9	9.8
Some college	24.8	9.1	22.9	26.7	6.8	9.8
Bachelor's degree	24.2	15.0	20.3	21.7	8.3	10.5
Graduate/professional degree	23.7	19.7	17.1	20.9	9.6	9.0

High school sector
Public	25.1	11.8	20.7	24.5	8.0	9.9
Catholic	23.9	18.3	19.5	20.2	8.8	9.2
Other Private	22.2	18.3	18.6	21.3	10.6	8.9

¹ Respondents could give only one main reason.
² Black, non-Hispanic includes African American. Hispanic includes Latino. All other races, non-Hispanic includes American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and Two or more races.
³ The first language the student learned to speak.
⁴ Parental education is the highest level of education attained by either the student’s mother or father (including guardians); or, if data are available for only one parent or guardian, the educational attainment of that parent (or guardian).
NOTE: Totals are weighted by F2QWT and other estimates are weighted by F2BYWT. Details may not sum to 100 percent due to rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, "Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS: 2002) Second Follow-up, 2006."

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