The Gender Gap in College Participation Rates

New data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows a significant gender gap in the number of high school graduates who go on to college. For students who graduated from high school in 2012, more than 71 percent of women were enrolled in college by October 2012. For male high school graduates in 2012, only 61.3 percent were enrolled in college the next fall.

Some 40.9 percent of women high school graduates in 2012 had enrolled in a four-year college by October 2012. For their male counterparts, 34.5 percent were enrolled in a four-year college.