The Pew Research Center has found a significant increase in college enrollment from 2007 to 2008. It attributes this increase to primarily to a surge in minority enrollment. The enrollment of first-time, full-time, first-year college students increased 15 percent for Hispanics, 8 percent for blacks, 6 percent for Asians, and 3 percent for whites.
This increase is only apparent with data from postsecondary institutions on first-time, full-time, first-year college students. Other data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on the broader category of 18- to 24-year olds enrolled in college finds a decline in college enrollment for blacks. It is possible that the numbers for first-year students are up while the total enrollment numbers are down.
Minorities and the Recession-Era College Enrollment Boom
College Enrollment Hits All-Time High, Fueled by Community College Surge
