2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10
2,386 2,498 2,696 2,659 2,834
1,670 1,823 1,964 1,984 2,204
716 675 732 675 630
2,228 2,339 2,510 2,497 2,638
Total Full-Time Part-Time Undergraduate
Pell Grant Data*
| 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | |
| Recipient Total | 1,153 | 1,219 | 1,327 | 1,255 | 1,560 |
| Total $ | $3,190,012.00 | $3,442,377.00 | $3,916,745.00 | $4,274,884.00 | $6,600,800.00 |
| Avg Award | $2,767 | $2,824 | $2,952 | $3,406 | $4,231 |
*Source: American Association of Colleges and Universities
The share of jobs requiring postsecondary education increased from 28 to 59 percent from 1973 to 2008. Over the next decade, this number is expected to increase to 63 percent.
The U.S. needs to produce 22 million new college degrees by 2018, but is projected to fall 3 million short of that number.
On average, someone with a high school diploma can expect to earn $1.3 million over their lifetime. In contract, a person with a Bachelor's degree will earn, on average, $2.3 million over a lifetime.
The income gap between college degree holders and those with only high school degrees is widening.
In 2002, a bachelor's degree holder could expect to earn 75 percent more over a lifetime. Today, that number is 84 percent.
Unemployment Rates in 2010:
o Less than a High School Diploma: 14.9 percent
o High School Graduates: 10.3 percent
Some college, no degree: 9.2 percent
o Associate's degree: 7 percent
o Bachelor's degree: 4.7 percent
Sources: All data other than average debt of graduates data from Federal Student Aid (FSA) Data Center; National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) IPEDS. Average debt of graduates data from The Institute for College Access & Success, College InSight, http://www.college-insight.org. Student debt data are licensed from Peterson's Undergraduate Financial Aid and Undergraduate Databases, (c) 2011 Peterson's, a Nelnet company, all rights reserved. All data may be reproduced, with attribution, subject to restrictions under the Creative Commons license.