Postsecondary education expectations and attainment of rural and nonrural students

This study used data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 to examine the postsecondary education expectations, attainment, and realization of expectations as well as reasons for not expecting to pursue postsecondary education among Midwest Region. Among the findings: • Approximately 90 percent of both rural and nonrural students expected to attend college, but the percentage who expected to attain a master’s degree or higher was higher among nonrural students than among rural students. • The reason that both rural and nonrural students reported most frequently for not expecting to pursue education beyond high school was financial concerns. • Rural and nonrural students had similar levels of postsecondary educational attainment by 2012, eight years after expected high school graduation. • Almost two-thirds of both rural and nonrural students had fallen short of their grade 10 education expectations by 2012.