99% of New Jobs
Since the 2008 recession, 99% of new jobs have required some postsecondary education, according to the Center for Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University. Those with only a high school diploma or less have been left behind.
Job Stability
Studies show that today’s young workers (ages 25-32) with a college degree are experiencing greater job stability than those with only a high school diploma. Their unemployment rate is 3.8% compared to 12.2% for those with only a high school education.
High School Grads Earn $1M Less Than College Grads
Even earning a two-year degree would boost lifetime earnings by an average of $423,000; a bachelor’s degree an average of $1 million.
The Aspiration and Attainment Gap
Research shows that when asked in middle or high school, 95% of students in low-income communities say they want to go to college. But currently, only 10% of low-income students earn a degree by age 25–a rate that is barely above the college graduation rate for similar students nearly a half-century ago.
1 to 491
The recommended counselor-to-student ratio is 1 to 250, according to the American School Counselor Association, but the national average is 1 to 491, and researchers estimate that in some high schools in low-income neighborhoods, the ratio is as high as 1 to 1,000. College access programs cannot fill the gap, reaching only a small fraction of the students who most need their services.
Information provided by College Summit and the Center for Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University.
