More teens lean toward alternative postsecondary options
Briana Mendez-Padilla
June 5, 2025
Just 45% of students in grades 7-12 see a two- or four-year college as their most likely next step, a new survey found.
Dive Brief:
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Teens’ postsecondary plans are shifting, with just 45% of students in grades 7-12 seeing a two- or four-year college as their most likely next step in 2024, according to a new survey from national nonprofit American Student Assistance. That’s down from 73% in 2018.
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Over the same period, interest in nondegree education pathways like vocational schools, apprenticeships and technical boot camp programs more than tripled, from 12% in 2018 to 38% in 2024, the ASA survey found.
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Regardless of their goals after high school, the results show that students mainly view postsecondary education as the path to a good job, the report’s authors wrote.
