Thursday, October 29, 2009

More young Americans than ever are in college — especially community college, according to a new report.

A study of Census data by the Pew Research Center, released Thursday, shows the share of Americans age 18-to-24 attending college hit a record high in October 2008 at just under 40%. But enrollment in 4-year colleges was flat; virtually all of the increase of 300,000 students nationally over the previous year came at 2-year schools.

The study's authors say the economy is pushing more students to choose community colleges, which are usually less expensive. There are also more students graduating from high school.

Community colleges almost certainly saw large increases again this year, though final figures are not yet available.