A Descriptive Summary

of 1999–2000

Bachelor’s Degree

Recipients 1 Year Later

With an Analysis of Time to

Degree

Statistical Analysis Reports

U.S. Department of Education

Institute of Education Sciences

NCES 2003–165
THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
U.S. Department of Education

Institute of Education Sciences

NCES 2003–165

A Descriptive Summary

of 1999–2000

Bachelor’s Degree

Recipients 1 Year Later

With an Analysis of Time to

Degree

Statistical Analysis Report

August 2003

Ellen M. Bradburn

Rachael Berger

Xiaojie Li

Katharin Peter

Kathryn Rooney

MPR Associates, Inc.

James Griffith

Project Officer

National Center for

Education Statistics
U.S. Department of Education

Rod Paige

Secretary

Institute of Education Sciences

Grover J. Whitehurst

Director

National Center for Education Statistics

Val Plisko

Associate Commissioner

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Suggested Citation

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. A Descriptive Summary of 1999–2000

Bachelor’s Degree Recipients 1 Year Later, With an Analysis of Time to Degree, NCES 2003–165, by Ellen M.

Bradburn, Rachael Berger, Xiaojie Li, Katharin Peter, and Kathryn Rooney. Project Officer: James Griffith.

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iii

Executive Summary

The number of bachelor’s degrees awarded

annually has increased over the past few decades,

reaching 1.2 million in 1999–2000 (U.S.

Department of Education 2002).1 In addition, the

length of time students took to complete a

bachelor’s degree after high school completion

increased from the 1970s to the early 1990s

(McCormick and Horn 1996; Tinto 1993). Did

this trend in the time between high school and

bachelor’s degree completion continue throughout

the 1990s? The 2000/01 Baccalaureate and

Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01),

which surveys a nationally representative sample

of undergraduates who completed a bachelor’s

degree between July 1, 1999, and June 30, 2000,

affords the opportunity to address this question.

This report provides a basic demographic

profile of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients

and examines the institutional paths they took to

complete the baccalaureate. It also describes the

amount of time it took them to do so, assessed

from both the time they completed high school

and the time they entered postsecondary

education. Estimates of time to degree are also

compared with those for 1992–93 bachelor’s

degree recipients. A table compendium provides

more detailed information about the demographic

characteristics, undergraduate experiences, and

current activities of these college graduates as of

2001.

 

1This number includes multiple degrees awarded to the same

students.

Profile of 1999–2000 Bachelor’s

Degree Recipients

The percentage of bachelor’s degrees awarded

to women increased steadily from the mid-1980s

(U.S. Department of Education 2001). A majority

of 1999–2000 college graduates were women (57

percent). The bachelor’s degree recipients came

from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds. About

three-quarters (74 percent) were White; 8 percent

were Black or African American; 9 percent were

Hispanic or Latino; and 6 percent were Asian.

One percent or fewer were Native Hawaiian or

other Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaska

Native, some other race, or more than one race.

About half (49 percent) of the students who

completed a bachelor’s degree in 1999–2000 did

so by age 22. However, 9 percent were ages 30–39

during their last year of college, and 7 percent

were age 40 or older.

Among 1999–2000 college graduates, 28

percent had parents who did not attend college,

including 4 percent whose parents did not

complete high school and 24 percent whose

parents completed high school but did not attend

college. In addition, one-quarter (25 percent) had

at least one parent who completed a bachelor’s

degree, 16 percent had a parent with a master’s

degree, and 11 percent had a parent with a

doctoral or professional degree.
Executive Summary

iv

The Institutional Path to a

Bachelor’s Degree

The undergraduate enrollment path that

students follow is an important precursor to

examine when investigating time to degree. Many

factors influence students’ first entry into

postsecondary education, and some students do

not expect or plan to complete a bachelor’s degree

when they first attend college (Berkner, He, and

Forrest Cataldi 2002). Students who begin at

certain types of institutions, such as community

colleges, have to transfer to complete the

bachelor’s degree; as a result, their path to

completion may take longer. This section and

subsequent sections of the report are restricted to

first-time bachelor’s degree recipients—those who

had not already completed a bachelor’s degree

before earning one in 1999–2000.

Among 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree

recipients, one-half began postsecondary

enrollment at public 4-year institutions: 15 percent

at nondoctorate-granting institutions, and 35

percent at doctorate-granting institutions (figure

A). An additional one-fifth (20 percent) began at

public 2-year colleges. Fifteen percent began

college at private not-for-profit 4-year

nondoctorate-granting institutions, and 12 percent

at private not-for-profit doctorate-granting

institutions. Relatively few students began at

private for-profit institutions or other institutions

(1 percent each).

College graduates whose parents had more

education were more likely than those whose

parents had less education to have begun at private

not-for-profit 4-year institutions. On the other

hand, parents’ educational attainment was

inversely related to the likelihood of beginning at

a public 2-year institution or a private for-profit

institution. In addition, younger students were

more likely than older students to have first

enrolled at public or private not-for-profit

doctorate-granting 4-year institutions and were

less likely to have begun at public 2-year

institutions.

Figure A. Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients according to first 

Figure A. institution type

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study

(B&B:2000/01).

Other

1%

Private not-for-profit 

doctorate-granting

Private for-profit

1%

Public 2-year

Public 4-year

nondoctorate-granting

Public doctorate-granting

Private not-for-profit 4-

year nondoctorate-granting

12%

35%

20%

15%

15%
Executive Summary

v

The majority of bachelor’s degree recipients in

1999–2000 completed the degree at public

institutions (figure B). Overall, 65 percent

graduated from public institutions, and one-third

(33 percent) graduated from private not-for-profit

institutions. The remainder, 1.5 percent, received

a bachelor’s degree from private for-profit

institutions. A larger proportion completed a

degree at public doctorate-granting institutions

than at public nondoctorate-granting institutions,

but the reverse was true among graduates of

private not-for-profit institutions.

Time to Degree

Some students’ paths to the bachelor’s degree

involved more stops along the way than those of

other students. Forty-one percent of first-time

bachelor’s degree recipients in 1999–2000

reported having enrolled in only one

undergraduate institution. An additional 35

percent of all graduates attended two institutions,

16 percent attended three institutions, and 8

percent attended at least four institutions during

their undergraduate years. About one-fifth of

1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients

had obtained a certificate or an associate’s degree

prior to completing the bachelor’s degree (2

percent had a certificate, and 17 percent had an

associate’s degree). In addition, many students

took at least 4 months off from postsecondary

enrollment before completing the degree. While a

majority (64 percent) of 1999–2000 first-time

bachelor’s degree recipients did not stop out, 11

percent took off 4–11 months, 6 percent took off

12–23 months, 4 percent took off 24–35 months,

and 16 percent interrupted their enrollment for at

least 36 months.

Most students who decide to enroll in college

do so within 1 year of completing high school

(U.S. Department of Education 2001). For those

who delay entering college, however, the time to

bachelor’s degree completion might be reflected

more accurately in the time between entering

postsecondary education and completing a

bachelor’s degree. This report examined three

time periods: the time between high school

Figure B. Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients according to degree-granting

Figure B. institution type

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study

(B&B:2000/01).

Private for-profit

2%

Public

nondoctorategranting

Public

doctorate-granting

Private

not-for-profit

nondoctorategranting

20%

46%

19%

Private not-for-profit

doctorate-granting

14%
Executive Summary

vi

completion and postsecondary entry, the time

between high school completion and bachelor’s

degree completion, and the time between

postsecondary entry and bachelor’s degree

completion.

A majority (83 percent) of first-time bachelor’s

degree recipients in 1999–2000 enrolled in college

less than 1 year after they had completed high

school.2 Six percent took 1–2 years to enroll in

college, and another 5 percent took 2–5 years to

do so. Another 6 percent did not enroll in

postsecondary education until at least 5 years after

they had completed high school. Compared with

1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients, 1999–2000

college graduates were less likely to enroll in

college within 1 year of finishing high school (83

vs. 90 percent).

When considering the total time that elapsed

between completing high school and finishing the

bachelor’s degree, one-third (33 percent) of firsttime bachelor’s degree recipients in 1999–2000

completed a bachelor’s degree within 4 years of

their high school graduation.3 Another 23 percent

took 4–5 years, 11 percent took 5–6 years, and 15

percent took 6–10 years to do so. About one-fifth

(19 percent) took even longer after high school to

finish college.

Taking into account the delayed entry of many

students and examining only the time between

postsecondary entry and bachelor’s degree

completion, about two-fifths (39 percent) of

 

2For ease of reading, “less than 1 year” refers to

postsecondary enrollment in 11 months or less; “1–2 years”

refers to enrollment in 12–23 months; “2–5 years” refers to

enrollment in 24–59 months; and “at least 5 years” refers to

enrollment in 60 months or more after high school

completion.

3“Within 4 years” refers to completion of the bachelor’s

degree in 48 months or less after high school completion; “4–

5 years” refers to 49–60 months; “5–6 years” refers to 61–72

months; and “6–10 years” refers to 73–120 months.

1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients

took 4 years or less to complete a bachelor’s

degree, and 72 percent finished in 6 years or less

(figure C).4 Fourteen percent took more than 10

years to do so. However, compared with 1992–93

bachelor’s degree completers, the 1999–2000

cohort was more likely to complete the degree in 4

years or less (39 vs. 35 percent) and less likely to

take 4–5 years between postsecondary entry and

graduation (24 vs. 28 percent).

A final component of the analysis was

restricted to first-time bachelor’s degree recipients

who had not interrupted their postsecondary

enrollment longer than 6 months. The average

time between postsecondary entry and bachelor’s

degree completion for these graduates was 4 years

and 7 months (55 months),5 and it was longer for

graduates of public institutions (57 months) than

for graduates of private not-for-profit institutions

(51 months).

A number of other factors were related to the

average amount of time between postsecondary

entry and degree completion. Parents’ educational

attainment was inversely related to students’ time

to degree: as parents’ education increased,

students’ average time to complete a degree

decreased. In addition, there was an inverse

relationship between students’ cumulative gradepoint average and the time it took them to finish a

degree. This relationship was found both overall

and for graduates of public institutions, but no

difference was detected for graduates of private

not-for-profit institutions. Delaying enrollment in

 

4The phrase “4 years or less” refers to completion of the

bachelor’s degree in 48 months or less from postsecondary

entry; “4–5 years” refers to completion in 49–60 months; “up

to 6 years” or “6 years or less” refers to completion in 72

months or less; and “more than 10 years” refers to completion

in more than 120 months.

5The mean for all 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients

was 6 years and 9 months (81 months), with a median of 4

years and 7 months (55 months).
Executive Summary

vii

postsecondary education after completing high

school was also associated with the time it took

students to complete a bachelor’s degree once

they enrolled: students who delayed entry took

longer to complete a degree once enrolled. Finally,

those who enrolled in more institutions took

longer to complete a degree, even when graduates

who had extended enrollment interruptions

between institutions were excluded. For example,

graduates who attended only one institution

completed the degree in an average of 4 years and

3 months (51 months), while those who attended

two institutions took about 8 months longer, on

average (59 months).

Postbaccalaureate Activities

 The table compendium of this report provides

information about many other aspects of the lives

of 1999–2000 graduates after college. Many

graduates had families and independent

households by spring of 2001. While about twothirds (66 percent) had never been married, 30

percent were married as of 2001. In addition, 9

percent had one child, and another 10 percent had

two or more children. Approximately one-quarter

(24 percent) owned their own homes, and 16

percent were living with their parents. Most

graduates (69 percent) resided in the same state

where they had received a bachelor’s degree.

While 57 percent lived less than 50 miles from the

Figure C. Percentage distribution of 1992–93 and 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients according to time

Figure C. between postsecondary entry and bachelor’s degree completion 

NOTE: “Within 4 years” refers to 48 months or less between postsecondary entry and bachelor’s degree completion; “4–5 years” refers to 

49–60 months; “5–6 years” refers to 61–72 months; “6–10 years” refers to 73–120 months; and “more than 10 years” refers to more than 

120 months after postsecondary entry. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study

(B&B:2000/01).

35

28

11 12 14

39

24

10

14 14

0

20

40

60

80

100

Within 4 years 4–5 years 5–6 years 6–10 years More than 10 years

Time between postsecondary entry and bachelor’s degree completion

Percent

1992–93 1999–2000
Executive Summary

viii

high schools they had attended, 15 percent lived

500 miles or more away.

A majority (87 percent) of 1999–2000

bachelor’s degree recipients were working in

2001: about three-quarters (77 percent) were

working full time and another 11 percent were

working part time. Five percent were unemployed.

Among those who were employed, business and

education were the most common occupations:

one-quarter (25 percent) worked in business and

management, while 18 percent were educators

(including K–12 teachers and other instructors).

Overall, graduates earned, on average, $33,100,

with a median annual salary of $29,800. A

majority (71 percent) of those who were employed

considered their current job to be the start of their

career. Twenty-two percent of graduates had an

occupational license, and 11 percent had a

professional certification.

Some 1999–2000 graduates carried debt

burden from their undergraduate education. Sixtytwo percent of graduates had borrowed to help pay

for their undergraduate education. Among these,

the average amount borrowed was $17,800, of

which an average of $15,100 was still owed as of

2001.

About one-fifth (22 percent) of all bachelor’s

degree recipients had enrolled in a graduate or

advanced degree program since completing the

bachelor’s degree. As of 2001, 14 percent were

currently enrolled full time in some kind of degree

or certificate program, including both

undergraduate and graduate programs. Of those

who had enrolled in graduate school, 74 percent

were enrolled in a master’s degree program. Onehalf (50 percent) of 1999–2000 college graduates

had not yet applied to graduate school but planned

to attend in the future.

Beyond employment and enrollment, 1999–

2000 bachelor’s degree recipients were also active

members of their communities. Forty-three

percent reported doing community service in the

year since completing college, with 8 percent

reporting tutoring or educational work with kids,

and 11 percent reporting other volunteering with

kids.
ix

Foreword

This report profiles students who received a bachelor’s degree from U.S. postsecondary

institutions in academic year 1999–2000. It is based on data from the 2000/01 Baccalaureate and

Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01), a spring 2001 follow-up of bachelor’s degree

recipients from the 1999–2000 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:2000). This

is the second Baccalaureate and Beyond cohort that has been surveyed by the National Center for

Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education. The first study examined 1992–93

bachelor’s degree recipients from the 1992–93 NPSAS, with follow-ups in 1994 and 1997. A

third follow-up for that cohort began in spring 2003.

The report begins by analyzing the basic demographic characteristics of 1999–2000

bachelor’s degree recipients and examining the time these college graduates took to complete a

bachelor’s degree. In particular, it explores the relationship of institution type, attendance at

multiple institutions, and stopping out during undergraduate education to the overall time

between postsecondary entry and degree completion. It also examines whether the time to degree

has changed since the 1992–93 cohort of college graduates. The essay is followed by a

compendium of tables that provides a comprehensive overview of the demographic and family

characteristics, undergraduate experiences, employment and community service, and graduate

enrollment experiences of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients.

The estimates presented in the report were produced using the NCES Data Analysis System

(DAS), a microcomputer application that allows users to specify and generate tables for the

B&B:2000/01 study. The DAS produces the design-adjusted standard errors necessary for testing

the statistical significance of differences in the estimates. For more information about the DAS,

readers should consult appendix B of this report.
x

Acknowledgments

The authors extend their thanks to all those individuals who contributed to the production

and review of this report. At MPR Associates, the report was edited and produced by Barbara

Kridl, Patti Gildersleeve, Andrea Livingston, Wes Nations, Francesca Tussing, and Sarah

Shebanek. Stephen Lew provided considerable programming and research assistance. Anna

Sikora and Emily Forrest Cataldi also provided helpful research assistance. We also appreciate

the advice and support of Lutz Berkner and Vicky Dingler.

We are also grateful for the helpful input provided by those at NCES who reviewed the

report. The report was begun under the direction of Andrew G. Malizio as program director, who

provided considerable feedback on earlier drafts. We appreciate the thoughtful reviews of James

Griffith, Paula Knepper, and Dennis Carroll. Karen O’Conor carefully reviewed and adjudicated

the report. Helpful reviews and overall assistance with continuity during the course of the project

were provided by Tracy Hunt-White, also of NCES. Other reviewers in the U.S. Department of

Education included Dan Goldenberg of the Office of the Under Secretary, David Bergeron of the

Office of Postsecondary Education, Carolyn S. Lee of the Office of Vocational and Adult

Education, Ann Mullen of the Institute of Education Sciences, and Katie Freeman of NCES. We

appreciate their input. We also received helpful comments from Jacqueline E. King of the

American Council on Education and Ruth Atchison of the Education Statistics Services Institute.
xi

Table of Contents

Page

Executive Summary .................................................................................................................. iii

Foreword.................................................................................................................................... ix

Acknowledgments...................................................................................................................... x

List of Tables ............................................................................................................................. xii

List of Figures............................................................................................................................ xvii

Introduction............................................................................................................................... 1

Purpose and Organization of Report ..................................................................................... 1

Data ....................................................................................................................................... 2

A Profile of 1999–2000 College Graduates ............................................................................. 3

Demographic Characteristics ................................................................................................ 3

Academic Characteristics...................................................................................................... 7

The Institutional Path to a Bachelor’s Degree........................................................................ 13

Time to Degree........................................................................................................................... 19

Time to Bachelor’s Degree Completion................................................................................ 19

Factors Related to Time to Degree........................................................................................ 26

Summary and Conclusions....................................................................................................... 37

References.................................................................................................................................. 39

Table Compendium................................................................................................................... 41

Section I: Demographic and Family Characteristics ............................................................. 43

Section II: Undergraduate Experiences ................................................................................. 83

Section III: Employment and Community Service................................................................ 119

Section IV: Debt Burden and Graduate Enrollment.............................................................. 141

Appendix A—Glossary ............................................................................................................. 161

Appendix B—Technical Notes and Methodology .................................................................. 173
xii

List of Tables

ESSAY TABLES

Table Page

1 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to

gender and race/ethnicity, by age and gender.................................................................. 4

2 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to age at

bachelor’s degree completion, by gender, race/ethnicity, and parents’ educational

attainment........................................................................................................................ 6

3 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to

parents’ educational attainment, by age, gender, and race/ethnicity ............................... 8

4 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to

undergraduate major, by student demographic and academic characteristics................. 9

5 Grade-point average overall and in major field of study for 1999–2000 bachelor’s

degree recipients, by student demographic and academic characteristics....................... 11

6 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients

according to first institution type, by student demographic and academic

characteristics .................................................................................................................. 14

7 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients

according to degree-granting institution type, by student academic and enrollment

characteristics .................................................................................................................. 17

8 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients

according to time between high school graduation and postsecondary entry, by first

institution type and degree-granting institution type....................................................... 21

9 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients

according to time between high school graduation and degree completion, by first

institution type and degree-granting institution type....................................................... 23

10 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients

according to time between postsecondary entry and degree completion, by first

institution type and degree-granting institution type....................................................... 25
List of Tables

xiii

Table Page

11 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients

according to time between postsecondary entry and degree completion, by number of

institutions attended and total number of months stopped out........................................ 28

12 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients with less

than 6 months of stopout according to time between postsecondary entry and degree

completion, by student demographic, academic, and enrollment characteristics............ 30

13 Among 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients with less than 6 months of

stopout between institutions, average number of months between postsecondary entry

and degree completion, by degree-granting institution type and student demographic,

academic, and enrollment characteristics........................................................................ 33

COMPENDIUM TABLES

Section I: Demographic and Family Characteristics

I.1 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to

gender, by selected student and institution characteristics.............................................. 47

I.2 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to

race/ethnicity, by selected student and institution characteristics ................................... 49

I.3 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to

citizenship status, and percentage fluent in a non-English language, by selected

student and institution characteristics ............................................................................. 53

I.4 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to

parents’ educational attainment, by selected student and institution characteristics....... 56

I.5 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to age at

postsecondary entry, by selected student and institution characteristics......................... 59

I.6 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to age

when received bachelor’s degree, by selected student and institution characteristics .... 62

I.7 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to

marital status, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001 ......................... 65

I.8 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to

number of children, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001................ 68
List of Tables

xiv

Table Page

I.9 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to

housing type, and percentage living with parents, by selected student and institution

characteristics: 2001........................................................................................................ 71

I.10 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to region

of current residence, and percentage living in same state as bachelor’s degree-granting

institution, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001 .............................. 74

I.11 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to

distance from high school to current residence, by selected student and institution

characteristics: 2001........................................................................................................ 77

I.12 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to

military status, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001........................ 80

Section II: Undergraduate Experiences

II.1 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to

undergraduate major, by selected student and institution characteristics........................ 86

II.2 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to

cumulative undergraduate grade-point average, by selected student and institution

characteristics .................................................................................................................. 89

II.3 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to gradepoint average in undergraduate major, by selected student and institution

characteristics .................................................................................................................. 91

II.4 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to first

institution type, by selected student and institution characteristics................................. 93

II.5 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to total

number of months stopped out, by selected student and institution characteristics........ 96

II.6 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to

number of institutions attended, by selected student and institution characteristics:

2001................................................................................................................................. 99

II.7 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to prior

attainment, by selected student and institution characteristics........................................ 101

II.8 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to

degree-granting institution type, by selected student and institution characteristics....... 103
List of Tables

xv

Table Page

II.9 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients

according to time between high school graduation and postsecondary entry, by

selected student and institution characteristics................................................................ 107

II.10 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients

according to time between high school graduation and degree completion, by selected

student and institution characteristics ............................................................................. 110

II.11 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients

according to time between postsecondary entry and degree completion, by selected

student and institution characteristics ............................................................................. 113

II.12 Among 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients, average and median number of

months between postsecondary entry and degree completion, by type of degreegranting institution and selected student and institution characteristics ......................... 115

Section III: Employment and Community Service

III.1 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to their

employment status and the corresponding unemployment rate, by selected student and

institution characteristics: 2001....................................................................................... 122

III.2 Percentage distribution of employed 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients

according to occupation, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001 ........ 124

III.3 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to

annual salary, and average and median annual salary, by selected student and

institution characteristics: 2001....................................................................................... 127

III.4 Percentage of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients who were not working, months

since last worked for pay, and percentage received unemployment compensation, by

selected student and institution characteristics: 2001 ..................................................... 130

III.5 Percentage distribution of employed 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients

according to whether job is start of career and whether job is related to undergraduate

major, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001 ..................................... 132

III.6 Among employed 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients who do not consider their

current job to be the start of their career, percentage distribution according to reason

for having this job, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001 ................. 134

III.7 Percentage of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients who have an occupational

license or a professional certification, by selected student and institution

characteristics: 2001........................................................................................................ 137
List of Tables

xvi

Table Page

III.8 Percentage of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients who did various types of

community service in the last year, by selected student and institution characteristics:

2001................................................................................................................................. 139

Section IV: Debt Burden and Graduate Enrollment

IV.1 Percentage of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients who borrowed for their

undergraduate education, and among those the amount borrowed and the amount still

owed, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001...................................... 143

IV.2 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to

postbaccalaureate program enrollment status, by selected student and institution

characteristics: 2001........................................................................................................ 145

IV.3 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to their

highest postbaccalaureate program enrollment since receiving a bachelor’s degree, by

selected student and institution characteristics: 2001 ..................................................... 148

IV.4 Among the 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients who had enrolled in graduate

school since receiving their bachelor’s degree, percentage distribution according to

highest degree program, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001 ......... 151

IV.5 Among the 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients enrolled in graduate school since

receiving their bachelor’s degree, percentage distribution according to graduate field

of study, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001.................................. 154

IV.6 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to

graduate school path location, by selected student and institution characteristics:

2001................................................................................................................................. 158

APPENDIX TABLES

B1 Lowest weighted item response rates for variables used in this report: 2001

Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01) .................................... 174

B2 Standard errors for table 13: Among 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree

recipients with less than 6 months of stopout between institutions, average number of

months between postsecondary entry and degree completion, by degree-granting

institution type and student demographic, academic, and enrollment characteristics..... 177
xvii

List of Figures

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FIGURES

Figure Page

A Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients

according to first institution type..................................................................................... iv

B Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients

according to degree-granting institution type.................................................................. v

C Percentage distribution of 1992–93 and 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree

recipients according to time between postsecondary entry and bachelor’s degree

completion....................................................................................................................... vii

ESSAY FIGURES

1 Percentage of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients who were female, by

race/ethnicity ................................................................................................................... 5

2 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to age

and parents’ educational attainment................................................................................ 7

3 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients

according to highest prior attainment, by first institution type........................................ 16

4 Percentage distribution of 1992–93 and 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree

recipients according to time between high school graduation and postsecondary

entry................................................................................................................................. 20

5 Percentage distribution of 1992–93 and 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree

recipients according to time between high school graduation and bachelor’s degree

completion....................................................................................................................... 22

6 Percentage distribution of 1992–93 and 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree

recipients according to time between postsecondary entry and bachelor’s degree

completion....................................................................................................................... 24

7 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients

according to the number of institutions attended, by first institution type...................... 27
List of Figures

xviii

Figure Page

8 Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients

according to number of months stopped out, by number of institutions attended .......... 29
1

Introduction

The number of bachelor’s degrees awarded annually has increased over the past three

decades, climbing from nearly 800,000 in 1969–70 to over 1.2 million in 1999–20001 (U.S.

Department of Education 2002). As of the early 1990s, the average number of years between

high school graduation and completion of a bachelor’s degree had been increasing (Tinto 1993).

For example, the percentage of bachelor’s degree completers graduating within 4 years after high

school declined from 45 percent to 31 percent between 1977 and 1990 (McCormick and Horn

1996; U.S. Department of Education 1993). At the same time, the percentage of students taking

more than 6 years after high school graduation to complete a bachelor’s degree increased from 25

percent to 32 percent (McCormick and Horn 1996; U.S. Department of Education 1993).

Time required to complete a bachelor’s degree continues to be of particular interest to

students, parents, policymakers, and administrators. McCormick and Horn (1996) suggested

several costs associated with extending the time to complete a bachelor’s degree. Costs for

individuals may involve paying additional tuition or giving up earnings while enrolled.

Institutions may incur greater support or other costs for students who complete a bachelor’s

degree in more than 4 years than for students who complete the degree within 4 years. Finally,

society may also face costs due to the longer period needed to obtain returns on the investment of

public funds in undergraduate education. This report investigates the time to degree completion

for bachelor’s degree recipients in 1999–2000.

Purpose and Organization of Report

Using data from the 2000/01 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study

(B&B:2000/01), this report updates the information on time to degree completion described by

McCormick and Horn (1996) for 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients. The report begins with a

brief profile of the demographic and academic characteristics of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree

recipients. Next, it describes the types of institutions in which this cohort began and completed

their undergraduate education. The final section analyzes the amount of time that 1999–2000

college graduates2 took to complete the bachelor’s degree and compares their results with those

 

1This figure includes multiple degrees awarded to the same students.

2For ease of presentation, the terms “bachelor’s degree recipients” and “college graduates” are used interchangeably in this

report.
Introduction

2

of 1992–93 graduates to determine whether the time to degree has increased during the 1990s.

The analytic portion of the publication is followed by a detailed compendium of tables and

bulleted findings divided into four sections:

• Demographic and family characteristics;

• Undergraduate experiences;

• Employment and community service; and

• Debt burden and graduate enrollment.

Data

The estimates and statistics reported in the tables and figures of this report are based on

data from the 2000/01 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01), a spring

2001 follow-up of bachelor’s degree recipients from the 1999–2000 National Postsecondary

Student Aid Study (NPSAS:2000). The B&B:2000/01 data provide a comprehensive picture of

the 1999–2000 cohort of college graduates, including degree recipients who have been enrolled

sporadically over their lives as well as those who entered college right after completing high

school. The data set contains comprehensive data on enrollment, attendance, and student

demographic characteristics and provides a unique opportunity to understand the immediate

transitions of college graduates into work, graduate school, or other endeavors.

The B&B:2000/01 data contain all the components of the NPSAS:2000 data (including

institutional data, financial aid records, national loan files, and student interviews), as well as

additional information from a second student interview conducted in 2001. Variables presented

throughout the report are defined in the glossary (appendix A). Most of these variables are from

the 2001 follow-up student interview, in which about 10,000 students who received a bachelor’s

degree in the 1999–2000 academic year were interviewed. For more information about the data,

consult the methodology report for the B&B:2000/01 study (U.S. Department of Education

2003).
3

A Profile of 1999–2000 College Graduates

In order to put time to degree into context, this profile of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree

recipients focuses first on their demographic and academic characteristics as well as the

relationships among these characteristics. Demographic characteristics include gender,

race/ethnicity, age at degree completion, and parents’ educational attainment. Academic

characteristics include undergraduate major and grade-point average (GPA).

Demographic Characteristics

The proportion of bachelor’s degrees awarded to women has increased steadily since the

mid-1980s (U.S. Department of Education 2001). A majority of 1999–2000 college graduates

were women (57 percent; table 1). In particular, there were more women than men among the

youngest graduates (age 22 or younger) and among the oldest graduates (age 30 or older). A

larger proportion of Black graduates than White or Asian graduates were female (65 vs. 56 and

54 percent, respectively; figure 1).3

About three-quarters (74 percent) of college graduates were White; 8 percent were Black or

African American; 9 percent were Hispanic or Latino; and 6 percent were Asian (table 1). One

percent or fewer were Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaska

Native, some other race, or more than one race. A larger percentage of men than women were

White (75 vs. 72 percent) and a smaller percentage were Black (6 vs. 9 percent). Also, graduates

age 22 or younger were generally more likely than older graduates to be White and generally less

likely to be Black.

Many bachelor’s degree recipients are still of traditional college age. About half (49

percent) of the students who completed a bachelor’s degree in 1999–2000 did so by age 22 (table

2 and figure 2). However, 9 percent were age 30–39 during their last year of college, and 7

percent were age 40 or older. Parents’ educational attainment was related to the age at which

 

3Respondents were asked to identify whether they were of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and also to identify one or more racial

groups to which they belonged. Those who indicated that they were Hispanic or Latino are grouped together for this report,

regardless of the racial group(s) they also selected. Other groups (such as Asians and Whites) refer only to those who selected

that racial group and did not also report that they were of Hispanic or Latino origin. For brevity, however, “White” is used to

refer to White, non-Hispanics; “Black” for Black, non-Hispanics; and so forth.
Table 1.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to gender and race/ethnicity, by age an

Black/ 

African American Native 

White, American, Indian/ Hawaiian

Student non- non- Hispanic Alaskan Pacific demographic characteristics Male Female Hispanic Hispanic or Latino Asian Native Islande

 Total 42.6 57.4 73.7 8.0 8.6 5.8 0.6 0.7 Age as of 12/31/99 22 or younger 39.7 60.3 78.0 5.9 6.7 5.8 0.2 0.4  23–24 51.7 48.3 70.7 9.2 9.8 6.4 0.9 0.7  25–29 45.7 54.3 65.3 7.5 13.6 8.5 0.8 1.3  30–39 41.5 58.5 71.2 11.9 7.9 3.6 1.1 1.2  40 or older 33.2 66.8 72.2 14.4 9.3 1.4 0.9 0.2 Gender Male 100.0 0.0 75.3 6.5 7.8 6.2 0.6 0.7  Female 0.0 100.0 72.5 9.1 9.1 5.5 0.6 0.6 

1Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

NOTE: Estimates based on B&B:2000/01 will differ from IPEDS data on bachelor’s degree recipients for the 1999–2000 year because B&B:2000/01 is based 

self-reported their race, while IPEDS data are collected from a census of institutions, which report race from institution records. Detail may not sum to totals bSOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

Gender 

Race/ethnicity
A Profile of 1999–2000 College Graduates

5

Figure 1.—Percentage of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients who were female, by race/ethnicity

1

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

58

53

52

59

54

61

65

56

0 20 40 60 80 100

 More than one race

 Other race

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific

Islander

 American Indian/Alaska

Native

 Asian

 Hispanic or Latino

 Black/African American,

non-Hispanic

 White, non-Hispanic

Percent

1

graduates completed a bachelor’s degree. In general, the higher the parents’ education, the more

likely graduates were to be 22 or younger and the less likely they were to be 40 or older.

Many aspects of education are associated with parental educational attainment (Choy 2001;

Warburton, Bugarin, and Nuñez 2001). Among 1999–2000 college graduates, 28 percent had

parents who did not attend college: 4 percent had parents who did not complete high school, and

24 percent had parents who completed high school but did not attend college (table 3 and figure

2). In addition, one-quarter (25 percent) had at least one parent who completed a bachelor’s

degree, 16 percent had a parent with a master’s degree, and 11 percent had a parent with a

doctoral or professional degree.4

 

4Information about the income or socioeconomic status of the family of origin was not available for a period prior to the final

year of college in this study; given the range of ages and life stages of graduates, income or socioeconomic status in the

graduation year is not very useful as an indicator of their background. Although it is a somewhat different measure of

background, parents’ education is less likely to have changed significantly.
A Profile of 1999–2000 College Graduates

6

A larger proportion of men than women had a parent who completed a master’s or

doctoral/professional degree. Hispanic graduates were more likely than White, Black, or Asian

graduates to have parents who did not complete high school (18 percent vs. 2, 10, and 5 percent,

respectively). White and Asian graduates were generally more likely than Black and Hispanic

graduates to have a parent who completed an advanced degree. Age was related to parents’

educational attainment: older graduates were more likely than younger graduates to have parents

with no education beyond high school, and they were less likely to have parents who completed a

bachelor’s degree or more.

Table 2.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to age at bachelor’s 

Table 1.—degree completion, by gender, race/ethnicity, and parents’ educational attainment 

22 or 40 

Student demographic characteristics younger 23–24 25–29 30–39 or older 

 Total 49.2 20.2 14.0 9.2 7.5 

Gender

 Male 45.8 24.5 15.0 8.9 5.8 

 Female 51.7 17.0 13.3 9.4 8.7 

Race/ethnicity

 White, non-Hispanic 52.1 19.4 12.4 8.9 7.3 

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 36.4 23.3 13.1 13.8 13.5 

 Hispanic or Latino 38.2 23.1 22.2 8.4 8.1 

 Asian 49.5 22.3 20.6 5.8 1.8 

 American Indian/Alaska Native 19.4 31.6 19.1 18.0 11.9 

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 32.6 20.5 27.6 17.1 2.2 

 Other race1 49.7 15.5 20.1 11.4 3.3 

 More than one race 56.8 18.1 11.1 8.4 5.6 

Parents’ educational attainment

 Less than high school 17.0 15.3 18.5 17.3 31.9 

 High school or equivalency 34.0 21.3 16.5 14.5 13.8 

 Some postsecondary education 50.6 19.7 13.5 10.2 6.1 

 Bachelor’s degree 58.8 19.5 12.4 6.2 3.2 

 Master’s degree or equivalent 63.6 19.5 9.9 4.9 2.1 

 Doctoral/professional degree 73.2 13.5 8.0 3.2 2.2 

1

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal 

Study (B&B:2000/01).

Age at bachelor’s degree completion
A Profile of 1999–2000 College Graduates

7

Academic Characteristics

The academic characteristics of college graduates are of interest because they describe a

pool of potential entrants into the labor force. Research shows that among full-time workers who

did not enroll in graduate school, college graduates who majored in applied fields such as

engineering, business, computer science, nursing, and other health fields earn higher than average

Figure 2.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to age and parents’

Figure 2.—educational attainment

1

Refers to age as of 12/31/99.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

Age

23–24

22 or 

younger

25–29

30–39

40 or older

8%

9%

14%

20%

49%

Parents’ educational attainment

Less than

high school

Doctoral/

professional

degree

Master’s

degree

or equivalent

High school

or equivalent

Bachelor’s

degree

Some

postsecondary

education

24%

20% 25%

16%

11%

4%

1
A Profile of 1999–2000 College Graduates

8

salaries (Horn and Zahn 2001). Graduates who majored in applied fields are also very likely to

work in jobs related to their majors.

What professions were the 1999–2000 college graduates prepared for? Business was more

popular than almost any other undergraduate major among 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree

recipients, with about one-fifth (21 percent) choosing this major (table 4). Almost one-fifth (18

percent) of college graduates had majored in the social sciences. Sixteen percent of the cohort

had majored in the humanities, and 9 percent or fewer graduates had completed other majors.

Gender differences in undergraduate major were consistent with historical patterns (U.S.

Department of Education 2001): men were more likely than women to have majored in business,

engineering, physical sciences, computer and information science, and vocational/technical

Table 3.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to parents’

Table 1.—educational attainment, by age, gender, and race/ethnicity 

Less than High Some post- Master’s Doctoral/ 

Student high school or secondary Bachelor’s degree or professional 

demographic characteristics school equivalency education degree equivalent degree 

 Total 4.3 24.1 19.8 24.5 16.4 10.9 

Age as of 12/31/99

 22 or younger 1.4 15.8 19.4 27.9 20.1 15.4 

 23–24 3.5 26.9 20.4 24.9 16.7 7.6 

 25–29 6.2 30.6 20.6 23.5 12.5 6.7 

 30–39 8.4 39.2 22.6 17.0 8.9 3.9 

 40 or older 19.0 45.7 16.6 10.7 4.8 3.2 

Gender

 Male 3.5 22.9 18.0 25.4 17.9 12.2 

 Female 4.9 25.0 21.2 23.9 15.2 9.8 

Race/ethnicity

 White, non-Hispanic 2.1 22.6 20.4 25.4 17.9 11.6 

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 9.9 32.6 23.5 20.4 10.4 3.2 

 Hispanic or Latino 18.2 32.7 18.1 16.0 7.8 7.1 

 Asian 5.5 23.0 10.2 29.8 14.9 16.7 

 American Indian/Alaska Native 4.3 31.3 7.0 20.4 27.3 9.7 

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 2.9 26.8 14.1 38.9 6.1 11.2 

 Other race1 4.8 18.4 18.4 27.3 22.0 9.1 

 More than one race 6.3 13.4 24.1 22.6 19.7 13.9 

1

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal

Study (B&B:2000/01).

Parents’ educational attainment
Table 4.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to undergraduate major, by student de

Table 4.—academic characteristics 

Business Other 

 and technical/ Social/ 

Student demographic manage- Engi- Vocational/ profes- behavioral Human- Life Ph

and academic characteristics ment Education neering Health technical sional sciences ities sciences sc

 Total 21.1 8.9 5.8 7.9 2.4 7.6 18.3 16.5 6.0 Gender

 Male 25.3 4.9 11.4 4.4 3.4 6.9 15.4 14.3 6.2  Female 17.9 11.8 1.7 10.5 1.6 8.1 20.5 18.0 5.8 Race/ethnicity White, non-Hispanic 21.1 9.7 5.5 8.2 2.4 7.9 17.1 17.1 5.8  Black/African American, non-Hispanic 22.8 8.9 4.0 9.2 4.4 7.8 22.0 11.2 5.5  Hispanic or Latino 19.0 9.2 5.7 5.8 2.0 6.3 22.4 19.7 4.7  Asian 23.8 0.9 12.5 5.9 0.6 4.7 16.1 13.8 8.9  American Indian/Alaska Native 10.8 8.7 8.5 5.3 0.7 8.1 30.2 9.8 8.9  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 15.9 1.2 1.4 15.5 0.5 10.5 27.8 16.6 8.6 

 Other race1 16.2 1.3 6.9 7.8 # 6.5 26.3 15.7 12.3  More than one race 23.9 3.7 5.3 7.5 2.0 8.9 28.1 9.4 4.6 Parents’ educational attainment High school or less 24.1 11.0 5.7 9.7 2.8 5.6 17.9 14.0 4.1  Some postsecondary education 19.6 10.1 4.7 8.9 3.3 7.1 19.6 16.6 5.2  Bachelor’s degree 22.8 7.8 6.2 6.9 2.4 9.1 17.1 15.3 7.1  Master’s degree or equivalent 18.7 7.4 6.3 5.5 2.5 8.1 20.3 18.3 6.6  Doctoral/professional degree 15.1 4.5 7.2 5.7 0.3 7.3 20.7 23.0 8.6 Cumulative undergraduate GPA Less than 2.50 27.2 5.0 5.3 5.2 2.4 10.4 22.5 13.1 5.1  2.50–2.99 22.2 8.0 8.1 7.1 2.9 9.2 19.2 13.3 5.1  3.00–3.49 20.9 10.2 5.2 9.3 2.3 7.2 17.0 15.4 6.7  3.50 or higher 18.7 9.7 4.8 8.2 2.0 5.8 17.2 20.6 6.1 

#Rounds to zero.

1Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

Undergraduate major
A Profile of 1999–2000 College Graduates

10

fields. Women were more likely than men to have majored in education, health, social sciences,

humanities, and other technical/professional fields. There also were some differences in

undergraduate major by race/ethnicity. Asian graduates were less likely than White, Black, or

Hispanic graduates to have majored in education (1 vs. 9–10 percent5), but were more likely to

have majored in engineering (13 vs. 4–6 percent).

At increased levels of parents’ educational attainment, graduates were less likely to have

majored in business and more likely to have majored in the humanities. Cumulative GPA also

was related to graduating in a number of majors. Students with higher GPAs were more likely

than those with lower GPAs to have majored in the humanities, physical sciences, or education,

and they were less likely to have majored in business.

Among 1999–2000 college graduates, their GPA in their undergraduate major was higher

than their cumulative undergraduate GPA overall (3.34 vs. 3.16 on a 4-point scale; table 5).

Previous research on 1992–93 college graduates found that women outperformed men in terms of

the grades they earned while in college (McCormick and Horn 1996). Consistent with this

finding, women’s average GPA (both cumulative and within the major) was higher than men’s

average GPA among 1999–2000 graduates.

Students who were older when they entered postsecondary education had higher GPAs than

younger students, on average. In addition, college graduates whose parents had a doctoral or

professional degree generally averaged higher grades both within their majors and overall than

those whose parents had less education.

 

5 When a comparison is made to multiple groups, the figures are sometimes summarized as a range from the lowest to highest

figures for the specific groups included in the comparison. In this instance, for example, 9 percent of Black graduates, 9 percent

of Hispanic graduates, and 10 percent of White graduates majored in education, for a range of 9–10 percent.
A Profile of 1999–2000 College Graduates

11

Table 5.—Grade-point average overall and in major field of study for 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree

Table 5.—recipients, by student demographic and academic characteristics 

Student demographic Cumulative GPA in 

and academic characteristics undergraduate GPA undergraduate major 

 Total 3.16 3.34 

Undergraduate major

 Business/management 3.11 3.29 

 Education 3.22 3.48 

 Engineering 3.11 3.18 

 Health 3.23 3.35 

 Other technical/professional 3.06 3.31 

 Social/behavioral sciences 3.11 3.33 

 Humanities 3.24 3.45 

 Life sciences 3.20 3.27 

 Physical sciences 3.28 3.28 

 Mathematics 3.34 3.34 

 Computer/information science 3.19 3.36 

 Vocational/technical 3.11 3.32 

Age at postsecondary entry 

 18 or younger 3.16 3.33 

 19–20 3.13 3.32 

 21–24 3.11 3.38 

 25 or older 3.32 3.51 

Cumulative undergraduate GPA 

 Less than 2.50 2.23 2.88 

 2.50–2.99 2.76 3.05 

 3.00–3.49 3.24 3.36 

 3.50 or higher 3.73 3.70 

Gender 

 Male 3.09 3.28 

 Female 3.21 3.39 

Race/ethnicity 

 White, non-Hispanic 3.20 3.37 

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 2.89 3.19 

 Hispanic or Latino 3.08 3.26 

 Asian 3.15 3.28 

 American Indian/Alaska Native 3.09 3.40 

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 3.05 3.12 

 Other race1 3.11 3.33 

 More than one race 3.25 3.49 

Parents’ educational attainment 

 High school or less 3.15 3.33

 Some postsecondary education 3.15 3.33

 Bachelor’s degree 3.16 3.33

 Master’s degree or equivalent 3.20 3.35

 Doctoral/professional degree 3.27 3.42

1

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study 

(B&B:2000/01).
THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
13

The Institutional Path to a Bachelor’s Degree

The undergraduate enrollment path that students follow, which may involve multiple

institutions, is an important precursor to investigating time to degree. Many factors influence

students’ first entry into postsecondary education, as the Beginning Postsecondary Students

(BPS) Longitudinal Studies have demonstrated. In fact, some students do not expect or plan to

complete a bachelor’s degree when they first go to college, including a small proportion of those

who enter 4-year institutions (Berkner, He, and Forrest Cataldi 2002). Because students who

began at certain types of institutions, such as community colleges, have had to transfer in order to

complete the bachelor’s degree, their path to completion may have been longer. Even those

students who began at 4-year institutions may have completed either a certificate or associate’s

degree while working toward the bachelor’s degree: 11–14 percent of those who completed a

bachelor’s degree in 1992–93 did so (McCormick and Horn 1996). This section examines where

the 1999–2000 college graduates began their postsecondary education and the background

characteristics that may have been related to that choice of first institution. It also examines how

prevalent prior attainment was in this population, and how these factors were related to the types

of institutions at which students completed a baccalaureate degree.

This section and subsequent sections of the report are restricted to first-time bachelor’s

degree recipients—those who had not already completed a bachelor’s degree prior to the one

earned in 1999–2000 (about 2 percent of the cohort had previously completed a bachelor’s

degree; see compendium table II.7). This procedure ensures that the effects of institutional paths

to the bachelor’s degree described here are not confused with the effects of other undergraduate

experiences.

Among 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients, one-half began postsecondary

education at public 4-year institutions, with 15 percent starting at nondoctorate-granting

institutions and 35 percent at doctorate-granting institutions (table 6). An additional one-fifth (20

percent) began at public 2-year institutions. Fifteen percent began college at private not-for-profit

4-year nondoctorate-granting institutions, and 12 percent at private not-for-profit doctorategranting institutions. Relatively few students began at private for-profit institutions or other

institutions (1 percent each).
The Institutional Path to a Bachelor’s Degree

14

Table 6.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients according to first 

Table 6.—institution type, by student demographic and academic characteristics 

First institution type

Private notPublic for-profit Private not4-year non- Public 4-year non- for-profit

Student demographic Public doctorate- doctorate- doctorate- doctorate- Private

and academic characteristics 2-year granting granting granting granting for-profit Other

 Total 20.0 14.8 35.4 15.2 12.3 1.5 0.8

Gender

 Male 20.3 13.2 36.7 15.1 12.8 1.1 0.8

 Female 19.9 16.1 34.5 15.2 11.8 1.7 0.9

Race/ethnicity

 White, non-Hispanic 19.5 14.5 35.4 17.2 11.4 1.0 1.0

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 14.9 18.8 38.1 11.1 12.3 4.2 0.5

 Hispanic or Latino 25.6 17.0 31.5 8.7 13.9 3.2 0.1

 Asian 21.6 9.0 43.4 4.8 19.3 1.4 0.5

 American Indian/Alaska Native 36.3 14.3 26.3 8.0 13.2 1.9 #

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 36.8 6.8 29.2 13.7 12.2 # 1.2

 Other race1 24.8 13.2 29.2 9.3 23.5 # #

 More than one race 22.3 24.0 24.8 12.7 15.1 1.1 #

Parents’ educational attainment

 High school or less 28.4 17.7 28.9 13.7 6.9 3.2 1.3

 Some postsecondary education 23.7 17.2 32.5 14.7 9.9 1.1 0.9

 Bachelor’s degree 17.1 14.1 38.4 14.9 14.3 0.7 0.5

 Master’s degree or equivalent 15.0 12.6 38.9 17.2 15.1 0.6 0.6

 Doctoral/professional degree 7.0 6.2 42.2 18.9 24.5 0.3 0.9

Age at postsecondary entry

 18 or younger 14.4 15.0 38.5 16.2 14.4 0.8 0.7

 19–20 21.4 14.9 35.6 14.9 10.7 1.8 0.8

 21–24 35.0 13.1 29.7 10.0 8.2 2.6 1.4

 25 or older 41.4 15.1 17.7 14.4 6.9 3.6 1.0

Combined SAT scores2

 No exam taken or no score reported 42.4 14.5 20.2 11.0 6.1 4.3 1.7

 Below 1000 19.7 20.3 37.4 13.8 7.3 0.8 0.9

 1000–1200 9.2 15.3 43.6 18.7 12.7 0.2 0.4

 Above 1200 3.7 7.5 43.4 17.8 27.4 0.1 0.3

#Rounds to zero.

1

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

2

Derived from institution- or student-reported SAT or ACT scores, where available. See the glossary for details.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study 

(B&B:2000/01).
The Institutional Path to a Bachelor’s Degree

15

Parents’ educational attainment was related to the type of institution at which these

students began their studies. College graduates whose parents had more education were more

likely than those whose parents had less education to have begun at private not-for-profit 4-year

nondoctorate- or doctorate-granting institutions. For example, while 7 percent of graduates

whose parents did not attend college began at private not-for-profit doctorate-granting

institutions, 25 percent of those whose parents had doctoral or professional degrees did so.

Conversely, bachelor’s degree recipients whose parents had less education were more likely than

those with more educated parents to have begun at public 2-year institutions. Twenty-eight

percent of college graduates whose parents did not attend college began at these colleges, while 7

percent of graduates whose parents held doctoral or professional degrees did so. In addition,

graduates whose parents had high levels of educational attainment were less likely to have begun

at a private for-profit institution.

The age at which college graduates began postsecondary education was also related to the

type of institution in which they first enrolled. Younger students were more likely than older

students to have enrolled at public or private not-for-profit doctorate-granting institutions, and

they were less likely to have entered postsecondary education at public 2-year institutions. About

two-fifths (38 percent) of graduates who began postsecondary enrollment at age 18 or younger

began at public doctorate-granting institutions, while 14 percent began at public 2-year

institutions. On the other hand, 18 percent of graduates who began postsecondary education at

age 25 or older began at public doctorate-granting institutions, but about two-fifths (41 percent)

began at public 2-year institutions.

About one-fifth of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients had obtained a

certificate or an associate’s degree prior to completing the bachelor’s degree (2 percent had

earned a certificate, and 17 percent had completed an associate’s degree; figure 3). Graduates

who began at public or private not-for-profit 4-year institutions were less likely than others to

have completed a credential prior to obtaining the bachelor’s degree. About one-half (49 percent)

of public 2-year entrants, two-fifths (43 percent) of private for-profit entrants, and 55 percent of

other (less-than-4-year) entrants had completed an associate’s degree prior to earning a

bachelor’s degree in 1999–2000. However, 5–10 percent of graduates who began at public or

private not-for-profit 4-year institutions had nevertheless completed an associate’s degree before

obtaining the baccalaureate degree.

More bachelor’s degree recipients in 1999–2000 graduated from public than from private

institutions (table 7). Overall, 65 percent of college graduates finished a bachelor’s degree at

public institutions, and one-third (33 percent) graduated from private not-for-profit institutions.

The remainder, 1.5 percent, received the bachelor’s degree from private for-profit institutions. A
The Institutional Path to a Bachelor’s Degree

16

larger proportion completed the bachelor’s degree at public doctorate-granting than at public

nondoctorate-granting institutions, but the reverse was true among graduates of private not-forprofit institutions.

The majority of graduates who began at public and private not-for-profit 4-year (doctorateand nondoctorate-granting) institutions graduated from the same type of institution at which they

began. About one-third (32 percent) of college graduates who began at private for-profit

institutions also completed the bachelor’s degree at for-profit institutions, a larger percentage

than among those who began in any other type of institution. Graduates who began at public 2-

year institutions were less likely than average to finish at private doctorate-granting institutions

(8 vs. 14 percent), and they were more likely than average to finish at public nondoctorateFigure 3.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients according to highest

Figure 3.—prior attainment, by first institution type

*The percentage of students in this category who had previously obtained a certificate rounds to less than 1 percent.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal

Study (B&B:2000/01).

81

93

48

42

6

43

55

48

89 90 95

9

1

0 1

1

2

3

3

10 9

49

17

5

0

20

40

60

80

100

Total Public

2-year

Public

4-year nondoctorategranting

Public

doctorategranting

Private notfor-profit

4-year nondoctorategranting

Private notfor-profit

doctorategranting*

Private

for-profit

Other

Type of first institution attended

Percent

Associate’s degree

Certificate

No prior attainment

88 89

94
The Institutional Path to a Bachelor’s Degree

17

Table 7.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients according to degreeTable 6.—granting institution type, by student academic and enrollment characteristics 

Public Private not-for-profit

Non- Doc- Non- DocStudent academic doctorate torate doctorate torate Private

and enrollment characteristics Total granting granting Total granting granting for-profit

 Total 65.3 19.5 45.8 33.1 19.1 14.0 1.5

First institution type

 Public 2-year 70.2 24.6 45.6 27.3 19.2 8.1 2.5

 Public 4-year nondoctorate-granting 90.3 77.5 12.7 8.3 5.4 2.9 1.5

 Public doctorate-granting 93.5 4.4 89.2 6.0 3.9 2.1 0.5

 Private not-for-profit 4-year nondoctorate-granting 14.7 5.2 9.5 84.8 81.5 3.3 0.6

 Private not-for-profit doctorate-granting 11.4 3.3 8.1 88.3 3.4 84.9 0.3

 Private for-profit 40.7 17.0 23.6 27.8 20.5 7.3 31.6

 Other 62.1 11.6 50.4 38.0 14.0 24.0 #

Undergraduate major

 Business/management 60.8 20.4 40.4 34.4 22.5 11.9 4.8

 Education 68.5 30.1 38.4 31.3 24.7 6.6 0.2

 Engineering 78.2 10.6 67.6 21.5 6.3 15.2 0.4

 Health 67.3 19.0 48.3 32.5 18.9 13.6 0.2

 Vocational/technical 70.6 30.4 40.2 29.5 20.9 8.6 #

 Other technical/professional 73.6 20.6 53.0 25.7 12.3 13.4 0.8

 Social/behavioral sciences 64.4 17.3 47.2 35.6 18.5 17.1 #

 Humanities 59.1 19.1 40.0 39.6 21.3 18.3 1.2

 Life sciences 69.2 14.5 54.7 30.8 17.1 13.7 #

 Physical sciences 66.7 17.1 49.6 33.3 18.5 14.8 #

 Mathematics 66.2 17.2 49.0 33.9 18.5 15.4 #

 Computer/information science 62.3 18.6 43.7 30.0 18.0 12.0 7.7

Combined SAT scores1

 No exam taken or no score reported 61.6 24.7 36.8 33.9 23.6 10.3 4.6

 Below 1000 74.6 25.2 49.4 25.0 16.1 9.0 0.4

 1000–1200 67.5 16.7 50.8 32.3 19.0 13.3 0.3

 Above 1200 56.1 8.3 47.8 43.8 16.3 27.6 0.1

Cumulative undergraduate GPA

 Less than 2.50 76.9 25.5 51.4 22.1 13.9 8.2 1.1

 2.50–2.99 74.0 22.3 51.8 25.4 14.3 11.0 0.6

 3.00–3.49 65.1 19.4 45.7 33.6 19.4 14.1 1.3

 3.50 or higher 54.5 15.6 38.9 42.7 24.5 18.2 2.8

Highest prior attainment

 No prior attainment 65.5 18.1 47.4 33.6 18.4 15.2 1.0

 Certificate 57.9 20.6 37.4 32.5 25.0 7.5 9.6

 Associate’s degree 65.3 26.2 39.1 31.2 22.3 8.9 3.6

#Rounds to zero.

1

Derived from institution- or student-reported SAT or ACT scores, where available. See the glossary for details.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study

(B&B:2000/01).
The Institutional Path to a Bachelor’s Degree

18

granting institutions (25 vs. 20 percent). First-time bachelor’s degree recipients who had

previously completed a certificate or associate’s degree were generally less likely than those with

no prior attainment to finish college at public or private not-for-profit doctoral institutions, but

they were more likely to finish at private for-profit institutions. Cumulative undergraduate GPA

was also related to the type of institution at which graduates completed a bachelor’s degree.

Students with higher GPAs were more likely than those with lower GPAs to finish at private notfor-profit doctoral or nondoctoral institutions and were less likely to do so at public doctoral or

nondoctoral institutions.
19

Time to Degree

As indicated earlier, the average number of years between high school graduation and

completion of a bachelor’s degree increased from the 1970s through the early 1990s (McCormick

and Horn 1996; Tinto 1993). However, the time between high school and college completion is

not sufficient as the only measure of time to degree because it does not take into account delayed

entry into and temporary withdrawals from postsecondary education (McCormick and Horn

1996). Instead, it represents a maximum estimate of time to baccalaureate completion. This span

of time can be broken down into the time between high school completion and postsecondary

entry, and the time between postsecondary entry and bachelor’s degree completion. Most

students who decide to enroll in college enroll immediately after completing high school, so the

first component of this time period is negligible for those students (U.S. Department of

Education 2001). For those who delay, however, the time to bachelor’s degree completion might

be reflected more accurately in the time between entering postsecondary education and

completing the bachelor’s degree. All three periods of time are described in this section of the

report.

Time to Bachelor’s Degree Completion

Most high school students enroll in college within 1 year of high school completion (U.S.

Department of Education 2001). A majority (83 percent) of first-time bachelor’s degree

recipients in 1999–2000 enrolled in college less than 1 year after they had completed high school

(figure 4).6 Six percent took 1–2 years to enroll in college, and another 5 percent took 2–5 years

to do so. Another 6 percent did not enroll in postsecondary education until at least 5 years after

they had completed high school. Compared with 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients, 1999–

2000 college graduates were less likely to enroll in college less than 1 year after finishing high

school (83 vs. 90 percent).

College graduates in 1999–2000 who began at public or private not-for-profit 4-year

institutions were more likely than those who began at public 2-year or private for-profit

 

6For ease of reading, the following phrases are used to describe the time between high school completion and postsecondary

entry: “less than 1 year” refers to postsecondary enrollment within 11 months or less; “1–2 years” refers to enrollment in 12–23

months; “2–5 years” refers to enrollment in 24–59 months; and “at least 5 years” refers to enrollment in 60 months or more after

high school completion.
Time to Degree

20

institutions to enroll in college less than 1 year after completing high school (table 8).7 The type

of institution from which graduates received a bachelor’s degree was also related to time between

high school completion and postsecondary entry. At both public and private not-for-profit

institutions, graduates of doctorate-granting institutions were more likely than graduates of

nondoctorate-granting institutions to have enrolled in college within 1 year of high school

completion. Graduates of private for-profit institutions were less likely than graduates of any

other type of institution to begin postsecondary education within this 1-year time frame (62 vs.

80–88 percent).

 

7While it appears that graduates who had first enrolled at public and private not-for-profit 4-year institutions were also more

likely than those who had started at other institutions to begin postsecondary education within this time frame, the standard error

for this group is large and the differences were not statistically significant.

Figure 4.—Percentage distribution of 1992–93 and 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients

Figure 4.—according to time between high school graduation and postsecondary entry 

NOTE: “Less than 1 year” refers to postsecondary enrollment within 11 months or less; “1–2 years” refers to enrollment in 

12–23 months; “2–5 years” refers to enrollment in 24–59 months; and “5 years or more” refers to enrollment in 60 months or 

more after high school completion. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

90

3 3 4

83

6 5 6

0

20

40

60

80

100

Less than 1 year 1–2 years 2–5 years 5 years or more

Time between high school graduation and postsecondary entry

Percent 1992–93 1999–2000
Time to Degree

21

Overall, first-time bachelor’s degree recipients in 1999–2000 varied in the number of

months that elapsed between completing high school and earning a bachelor’s degree (figure 5).

One-third (33 percent) completed a bachelor’s degree within 4 years of their high school

graduation.8 Another 23 percent took 4–5 years, 11 percent took 5–6 years, and 15 percent took

6–10 years to do so. About one-fifth (19 percent) took even longer after high school. Compared

with 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients, the 1999–2000 cohort was less likely to complete a

bachelor’s degree in 4–5 years (23 vs. 28 percent) and more likely to do so within 6–10 years (15

vs. 13 percent) of high school graduation.

 

8“Within 4 years” refers to completion of the bachelor’s degree in 48 months or less after high school completion; “4–5 years”

refers to 49–60 months; “5–6 years” refers to 61–72 months; “6–10 years” refers to 73–120 months; and “more than 10 years”

refers to more than 120 months after high school graduation.

Table 8.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients according to time 

Table 6.—between high school graduation and postsecondary entry, by first institution type and degreeTable 6.—granting institution type 

First institution type and Less than 1–2 2–5 5 years 

degree-granting institution type 1 year years years or more 

 Total 83.3 5.9 5.1 5.7 

First institution type

 Public 2-year 71.6 8.0 8.9 11.6 

 Public 4-year nondoctorate-granting 83.7 5.6 5.6 5.1 

 Public doctorate-granting 87.6 6.0 3.6 2.8 

 Private not-for-profit 4-year nondoctorate-granting 87.1 3.6 2.9 6.4 

 Private not-for-profit doctorate-granting 90.5 4.4 2.4 2.7 

 Private for-profit1 63.4 5.6 12.9 18.0 

 Other1 71.1 14.8 8.2 5.9 

Degree-granting institution type

 Public 83.6 6.2 5.3 5.0 

 Nondoctorate-granting 79.8 6.6 6.5 7.2 

 Doctorate-granting 85.2 6.1 4.7 4.0 

 Private not-for-profit 83.8 5.1 4.6 6.5 

 Nondoctorate-granting 80.8 5.5 5.2 8.5 

 Doctorate-granting 87.8 4.6 3.8 3.8 

 Private for-profit1 61.5 10.5 6.7 21.3 

1

This group contains 1–2 percent of the total population, and standard errors associated with these estimates are very large.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. See the glossary for exact definitions of the time span category ranges.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal

Study (B&B:2000/01).

Time between high school graduation and postsecondary entry
Time to Degree

22

Both the first and last institution at which college graduates were enrolled were related to

the total time that elapsed between completing high school and earning a bachelor’s degree (table

9). Graduates who had first enrolled at private not-for-profit 4-year institutions were more likely

than those who had first enrolled at all other types of institutions to complete the bachelor’s

degree within 4 years of high school graduation. For example, 60 percent of graduates who began

at private not-for-profit doctorate-granting institutions finished within 4 years, compared with 33

percent of those who began at public doctorate-granting institutions. Graduates who began at

public or private not-for-profit 4-year institutions were less likely than those who began at other

institutions to take more than 10 years to finish a bachelor’s degree. Among those who began at

4-year institutions, 11 to 19 percent of those who began at public institutions and 7 to 12 percent

of those who began at private not-for-profit institutions took this long to complete the bachelor’s

degree. In contrast, 37 percent of those who began at public 2-year institutions, 64 percent of

Figure 5.—Percentage distribution of 1992–93 and 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients

Figure 5.—according to time between high school graduation and bachelor’s degree completion 

NOTE: “Within 4 years” refers to completion of the bachelor’s degree in 48 months or less after high school completion; “4–5 

years” refers to 49–60 months; “5–6 years” refers to 61–72 months; “6–10 years” refers to 73–120 months; and “more than 10 

years” refers to more than 120 months after high school graduation. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

31 28

11 13

17

33

23

11

15

19

0

20

40

60

80

100

Within 4 years 4–5 years 5–6 years 6–10 years More than 10 years

Time between high school graduation and bachelor’s degree completion

Percent 1992–93 1999–2000
Time to Degree

23

those who began at private for-profit institutions, and 40 percent of those who began at other

institutions took more than 10 years.

Graduates of both doctoral and nondoctoral public institutions were less likely than

graduates of doctoral and nondoctoral private not-for-profit institutions to complete a bachelor’s

degree within 4 years of high school graduation (28 and 19 percent vs. 52 and 44 percent,

respectively). In addition, graduates of public doctoral and nondoctoral institutions were more

likely than graduates of other types of institutions to complete a bachelor’s degree 4–5 years after

high school graduation. Among graduates of both public and private not-for-profit institutions,

those at nondoctorate-granting institutions were more likely than those at doctorate-granting

institutions to take more than 10 years to finish a bachelor’s degree. However, graduates of

Table 9.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients according to time

Table 9.—between high school graduation and degree completion, by first institution type and degreeTable 9.—granting institution type 

More

First institution type and Within 4–5 5–6 than

degree-granting institution type Total 4 years years years 6–10 years 10 years

 Total 66.3 32.7 22.9 10.8 14.8 18.9

First institution type

 Public 2-year 37.6 8.6 13.7 15.3 25.7 36.7

 Public 4-year nondoctorate-granting 65.8 23.9 29.9 12.0 14.8 19.3

 Public doctorate-granting 75.6 33.4 30.2 12.0 13.2 11.2

 Private not-for-profit 4-year nondoctorate-granting 80.8 56.5 18.5 5.8 6.9 12.3

 Private not-for-profit doctorate-granting 84.5 60.3 18.3 6.0 8.2 7.3

 Private for-profit1 22.5 15.0 2.3 5.1 13.7 63.8

 Other1 27.8 2.5 14.3 11.0 32.5 39.8

Degree-granting institution type

 Public 66.0 25.5 26.9 13.6 16.7 17.3

 Nondoctorate-granting 57.8 19.0 25.0 13.9 17.9 24.3

 Doctorate-granting 69.6 28.3 27.7 13.5 16.1 14.3

 Private not-for-profit 69.1 47.7 15.8 5.5 11.0 20.0

 Nondoctorate-granting 63.1 44.5 14.1 4.5 10.5 26.5

 Doctorate-granting 77.3 52.2 18.2 6.9 11.6 11.1

 Private for-profit1 20.9 11.8 3.1 6.0 19.7 59.4

1

This group contains 1–2 percent of the total population, and standard errors associated with these estimates are very large.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. See the glossary for exact definitions of the time span category ranges.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal

Study (B&B:2000/01).

Within 6 years

Time between high school graduation and degree completion
Time to Degree

24

private for-profit institutions were more likely than graduates of all other institution types to take

this long (59 vs. 11–26 percent).

Differences in delay between high school completion and postsecondary entry may

contribute to these differences by institution type in total time between completing high school

and earning a bachelor’s degree. The time between postsecondary entry and bachelor’s degree

completion varied among 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients as well (figure 6). About twofifths (39 percent) of college graduates in this cohort completed a bachelor’s degree within 4

years of postsecondary entry.9 Fourteen percent took more than 10 years to do so. However,

 

9“Within 4 years” refers to 48 months or less between postsecondary entry and bachelor’s degree completion; “4–5 years” refers

to 49–60 months; “5–6 years” refers to 61–72 months; “within 6 years” refers to 72 months or less; “6–10 years” refers to 73–

120 months; and “more than 10 years” refers to more than 120 months after postsecondary entry.

Figure 6.—Percentage distribution of 1992–93 and 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients

Figure 6.—according to time between postsecondary entry and bachelor’s degree completion 

NOTE: “Within 4 years” refers to 48 months or less between postsecondary entry and bachelor’s degree completion; “4–5 years”

refers to 49–60 months; “5–6 years” refers to 61–72 months; “6–10 years” refers to 73–120 months; and “more than 10 years” 

refers to more than 120 months after postsecondary entry. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

35

28

11 12 14

39

24

10

14 14

0

20

40

60

80

100

Within 4 years 4–5 years 5–6 years 6–10 years More than 10 years

Time between postsecondary entry and bachelor’s degree completion

Percent 1992–93 1999–2000
Time to Degree

25

compared with 1992–93 bachelor’s degree completers, the 1999–2000 cohort was more likely to

complete the degree within 4 years of postsecondary entry and less likely to take 4–5 years to

graduate.

Looking only at the time after postsecondary entry, however, the relationship between first

institution type and time to bachelor’s degree completion resembled that for time between high

school and bachelor’s degree completion. Graduates who had first enrolled at private not-forprofit 4-year institutions were more likely than other graduates to complete the bachelor’s degree

within 4 years of postsecondary entry (table 10). For example, 64 percent of those who began at

private not-for-profit 4-year nondoctorate-granting institutions finished within 4 years, compared

with 30 percent of those who began at public 4-year nondoctorate-granting institutions. At the

Table 10.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients according to time

Table 10.—between postsecondary entry and degree completion, by first institution type and degree-granting

Table 10.—institution type

More

First institution type and Within 4–5 5–6 than

degree-granting institution type Total 4 years years years 6–10 years 10 years

 Total 72.0 38.7 23.5 9.9 13.6 14.4

First institution type

 Public 2-year 45.7 10.8 19.4 15.5 26.6 27.8

 Public 4-year nondoctorate-granting 72.2 30.1 31.8 10.3 12.7 15.2

 Public doctorate-granting 80.5 41.0 29.3 10.2 10.7 8.8

 Private not-for-profit 4-year nondoctorate-granting 86.0 63.9 17.8 4.3 6.2 7.9

 Private not-for-profit doctorate-granting 88.3 66.4 16.2 5.8 6.4 5.3

 Private for-profit1 33.4 16.2 7.9 9.3 21.5 45.1

 Other1 30.2 6.0 15.3 8.9 35.5 34.4

Degree-granting institution type

 Public 72.0 31.6 28.2 12.2 15.1 12.9

 Nondoctorate-granting 64.9 23.8 27.8 13.3 16.4 18.7

 Doctorate-granting 75.1 34.9 28.4 11.7 14.5 10.5

 Private not-for-profit 73.7 53.7 14.9 5.2 10.4 15.9

 Nondoctorate-granting 68.4 50.1 14.0 4.3 10.2 21.5

 Doctorate-granting 81.1 58.6 16.2 6.4 10.7 8.3

 Private for-profit1 34.4 12.9 8.8 12.7 21.7 43.9

1

This group contains 1–2 percent of the total population, and standard errors associated with these estimates are very large.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. See the glossary for exact definitions of the time span category ranges.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal

Study (B&B:2000/01).

Time between postsecondary entry and degree completion

Within 6 years
Time to Degree

26

other end of the spectrum, graduates who began at public or private not-for-profit 4-year

institutions were generally less likely than those who began elsewhere to take longer than 10

years to finish. The relationship between bachelor’s degree-granting institution type and time to

degree after postsecondary entry also mirrored the relationship between degree-granting

institution type and time to degree after high school.

Factors Related to Time to Degree

Previous research has shown that transferring from one postsecondary institution to another

may prolong the time it takes to complete a bachelor’s degree (McCormick 1997). Yet while

transferring may prolong the time to bachelor’s degree completion, it is also associated with a

decreased likelihood of early attrition from postsecondary education (Bradburn 2002). In addition

to transferring between one institution and another, students may enroll at multiple institutions

for other reasons. For example, students may elect to take one or more courses somewhere other

than their primary institution to accommodate scheduling or work conflicts, to pick up an extra

course not offered at the primary institution, or to reduce cost. This can be done concurrently or

during summers or other terms of nonenrollment.

How common was enrollment at multiple undergraduate institutions among 1999–2000

bachelor’s degree recipients? Forty-one percent of this cohort of college graduates reported

enrolling in only one undergraduate institution. Approximately one-half (52–53 percent) of

students who began at public 4-year institutions and 51–59 percent of their private not-for-profit

counterparts attended only one institution (figure 7). An additional 35 percent of all graduates

had attended two institutions, 16 percent had attended three institutions, and 8 percent had

attended at least four institutions during their undergraduate years.

As expected, the number of institutions attended was related to time from entering

postsecondary education to completing a bachelor’s degree (table 11). The more institutions

bachelor’s degree recipients had attended, the less likely they were to have completed the

bachelor’s degree within 4 years or within 4–5 years of their first enrollment. For example, 58

percent of students who attended only one undergraduate institution had completed a bachelor’s

degree within 4 years of first enrollment; in contrast, 10 percent of those who had enrolled in four

or more institutions had done so.

Many students also take time off from their studies (Horn 1998). Students who “stop out”

during their undergraduate enrollment leave college, but eventually return. This analysis

examined the prevalence of stopping out for spells of at least 4 months. This minimum length of

time for an interruption of undergraduate enrollment does not count summers as stopout periods
Time to Degree

27

because many students are not expected to enroll during the summer months. A majority (64

percent) of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients did not experience any stopouts

lasting 4 months or longer (figure 8). However, 11 percent took off 4–11 months, 6 percent took

off 12–23 months, 4 percent took off 24–35 months, and 16 percent interrupted their enrollment

for a period of at least 36 months. Those stopouts lasting at least 1 year were more common

among students who had attended multiple institutions. For example, 12 percent of graduates

who had attended only one institution stopped out, compared with 83 percent of graduates who

had attended four or more institutions.

Figure 7.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients according to the

Figure 7.—number of institutions attended, by first institution type 

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

35

29 28 28

26

45

16

28

11 14 13

11

20 27

8 11

21 15

59 53 52 51

0

41

14

0

6 4 7 8

0

20

40

60

80

100

Total Public

2-year

Public

4-year nondoctorategranting

Public

doctorategranting

Private notfor-profit

4-year nondoctorategranting

Private notfor-profit

doctorategranting

Private

for-profit

Other

Type of first institution attended

Percent

Four or more

Three

Two

One

60 57
Time to Degree

28

Because stopping out is an important component of time to degree that does not reflect

progress while enrolled, the remainder of the analysis is restricted to first-time bachelor’s degree

recipients who had stopped out for less than 6 months. This ensures that remaining factors

associated with time to degree are not due to the propensity of different groups of students to take

long or frequent absences from college (Horn 1998). Among this group of college graduates,

approximately one-half (53 percent) had completed the bachelor’s degree within 4 years of first

enrollment, and an additional 30 percent had done so within 4–5 years (table 12). Background

characteristics were related to the time students took between entering college and completing a

bachelor’s degree. Women were more likely than men to complete the degree within 4 years (56

vs. 48 percent). On the other hand, men were more likely to take 4–5 years (34 vs. 27 percent).

Graduates whose parents had more education were also more likely than those with less educated

parents to complete the degree within 4 years.

Among first-time bachelor’s degree recipients who had stopped out for less than 6 months,

those who had delayed initial enrollment longer after high school were less likely to complete the

bachelor’s degree within 4 years of initial enrollment, and they were more likely to take more

than 6 years to do so. Once enrolled, other academic characteristics were also associated with

Table 11.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients according to time

Table 11.—between postsecondary entry and degree completion, by number of institutions attended and total

Table 11.—number of months stopped out 

More

Number of institutions and Within 4–5 5–6 than

months stopped out Total 4 years years years 6–10 years 10 years

 Total 72.0 38.7 23.5 9.9 13.6 14.4

Number of institutions attended

 One 92.2 57.9 27.0 7.3 5.6 2.2

 Two 69.8 32.4 25.7 11.7 16.2 13.9

 Three 48.1 17.8 17.0 13.4 23.7 28.2

 Four or more 25.8 9.8 8.5 7.5 22.4 51.9

Months stopped out

 No stopouts lasting 4 months or more 92.5 53.8 29.4 9.4 5.7 1.8

 4–11 months 75.3 28.4 29.6 17.3 20.5 4.1

 12–23 months 46.7 9.4 15.7 21.6 44.9 8.4

 24–35 months 26.3 5.5 8.8 11.9 59.0 14.7

 36 months or more 7.4 3.7 2.4 1.4 17.7 74.9

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. See the glossary for exact definitions of the time span category ranges.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal

Study (B&B:2000/01).

Within 6 years

Time between postsecondary entry and degree completion
Time to Degree

29

time to degree. For example, undergraduate major was associated with completing a bachelor’s

degree within 4 years of first enrollment: graduates who had majored in social sciences,

humanities, life sciences, and physical sciences were more likely than education, engineering, or

health majors to finish the degree within this time period. Graduates with higher grades were

more likely than those with lower grades to complete a bachelor’s degree within 4 years of

postsecondary entry.

Even when looking only at students who did not stop out for 6 months or more during their

undergraduate enrollment, first and last institution type were associated with time to degree.

About three-quarters (76–78 percent) of bachelor’s degree recipients who began at private notfor-profit 4-year institutions completed the degree within 4 years of first enrollment, compared

with 40 to 50 percent of those who began at public 4-year institutions and one-fifth (20 percent)

of those who began at public 2-year institutions. Similarly, graduates of private not-for-profit

institutions were more likely than graduates of public or private for-profit institutions to

Figure 8.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients according to number

Figure 8.—of months stopped out, by number of institutions attended 

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

64

57

37

17

11

6

16

14

11

7

11

12

31

52

2

6

1

4 4

7

8

2

16

0

20

40

60

80

100

Total One Two Three Four or more

Number of institutions attended

Percent

36 months or more

24–35 months

12–23 months

4–11 months

No stopouts lasting 4

months or more

16

88
Time to Degree

30

Table 12.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients with less than 6

Table 12.—months of stopout according to time between postsecondary entry and degree completion,

Table 12.—by student demographic, academic, and enrollment characteristics 

More

Within 4–5 5–6 than

Student characteristics Total 4 years years years 6–10 years 10 years

 Total 91.8 52.6 29.6 9.7 6.3 1.9

Gender

 Male 92.3 47.9 33.6 10.8 6.3 1.4

 Female 91.5 56.1 26.6 8.8 6.3 2.2

Race/ethnicity

 White, non-Hispanic 93.1 54.5 30.2 8.4 4.9 2.0

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 89.6 41.7 35.2 12.7 8.7 1.8

 Hispanic or Latino 82.9 42.2 24.8 15.9 15.1 2.0

 Asian 89.9 53.5 26.0 10.4 8.8 1.3

 American Indian/Alaska Native ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander ‡‡‡‡ ‡‡

 Other race1 90.6 54.3 20.1 16.2 9.4 #

 More than one race 91.5 63.1 21.5 6.9 7.3 1.2

Parents’ educational attainment

 High school or less 85.0 39.6 32.7 12.7 10.8 4.2

 Some postsecondary education 92.2 48.9 32.7 10.6 6.2 1.6

 Bachelor’s degree 94.4 54.8 31.2 8.5 4.3 1.3

 Master’s degree or equivalent 95.6 62.4 26.5 6.7 3.6 0.8

 Doctoral/professional degree 97.0 71.6 21.2 4.2 2.6 0.5

Undergraduate major

 Business/management 91.2 51.1 30.1 10.0 6.0 2.9

 Education 91.7 39.0 38.1 14.7 6.4 1.9

 Engineering 92.0 36.3 41.7 14.1 7.0 0.9

 Health 88.8 43.9 32.6 12.3 8.6 2.6

 Vocational/technical 88.6 51.0 28.3 9.3 6.1 5.3

 Other technical/professional 93.2 51.3 33.4 8.5 6.5 0.3

 Social/behavioral sciences 92.7 62.7 23.4 6.6 5.6 1.7

 Humanities 92.4 57.5 26.4 8.5 5.9 1.8

 Life sciences 91.1 57.6 25.9 7.6 7.5 1.4

 Physical sciences 93.8 64.0 17.9 11.9 5.0 1.2

 Mathematics 93.9 59.1 30.7 4.1 6.1 #

 Computer/information science 92.9 47.4 33.4 12.1 5.7 1.5

Time between high school graduation and postsecondary entry 

 Less than 12 months 93.4 54.2 29.8 9.4 5.3 1.3

 12–23 months 87.8 50.0 30.6 7.2 9.1 3.0

 24–59 months 70.5 28.7 25.5 16.3 20.3 9.2

 60 months or more 71.2 30.6 26.4 14.2 19.4 9.5

See notes at end of table.

Within 6 years

Time between postsecondary entry and degree completion
Time to Degree

31

Table 12.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients with less than 6

Table 12.—months of stopout according to time between postsecondary entry and degree completion,

Table 12.—by student demographic, academic, and enrollment characteristics—Continued

More

Within 4–5 5–6 than

Student characteristics Total 4 years years years 6–10 years 10 years

Cumulative undergraduate GPA

 Less than 2.50 84.9 28.2 41.0 15.7 12.3 2.8

 2.50–2.99 90.3 43.5 33.4 13.4 8.3 1.5

 3.00–3.49 93.8 55.0 30.4 8.4 4.7 1.5

 3.50 or higher 92.9 65.6 21.0 6.3 4.7 2.4

Combined SAT scores2

 No exam taken or no score reported 60.2 21.7 17.8 20.7 27.7 12.2

 Below 1000 93.2 45.2 32.8 15.3 6.0 0.8

 1000–1200 98.2 59.4 33.2 5.6 1.8 #

 Above 1200 98.8 68.3 27.4 3.2 1.2 #

First institution type

 Public 2-year 73.1 19.7 32.3 21.2 19.8 7.1

 Public 4-year nondoctorate-granting 92.1 39.7 42.1 10.2 6.1 1.8

 Public doctorate-granting 94.8 50.4 34.4 10.0 4.3 0.9

 Private not-for-profit 4-year 

 nondoctorate-granting 96.5 75.8 18.1 2.7 2.5 1.0

 Private not-for-profit doctorate-granting 97.5 78.0 15.8 3.8 2.0 0.5

 Private for-profit 82.5 54.6 14.9 13.0 13.5 4.0

 Other ‡‡‡‡ ‡‡

Degree-granting institution type 

 Public 90.8 42.2 36.1 12.5 7.2 1.9

 Nondoctorate-granting 88.7 35.3 39.7 13.6 8.9 2.5

 Doctorate-granting 91.7 44.8 34.8 12.1 6.6 1.8

 Private not-for-profit 94.4 73.2 17.3 4.0 4.0 1.7

 Nondoctorate-granting 93.7 72.5 18.0 3.3 3.6 2.6

 Doctorate-granting 95.2 73.9 16.4 4.8 4.4 0.5

 Private for-profit 64.1 33.9 13.4 16.8 28.1 7.8

Number of institutions attended

 One 96.7 62.4 27.9 6.4 3.1 0.3

 Two 88.5 44.1 32.5 11.9 8.7 2.8

 Three 82.9 35.1 29.1 18.6 12.3 4.9

 Four or more 67.5 24.1 28.5 14.9 20.7 11.9

#Rounds to zero.

‡Reporting standards not met.

1

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

2

Derived from institution- or student-reported SAT or ACT scores, where available. See the glossary for details.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. See the glossary for exact definitions of the time span category ranges.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal

Study (B&B:2000/01).

Within 6 years

Time between postsecondary entry and degree completion
Time to Degree

32

complete the degree within 4 years of enrollment (73 vs. 42 and 34 percent, respectively).

Graduates of public institutions were more likely than private not-for-profit graduates to take

more than 4 and up to 10 years to complete a bachelor’s degree. Graduates of private for-profit

institutions were the most likely of all the graduates to take 6–10 years to do so.

Finally, the number of institutions attended was related to time to degree among first-time

bachelor’s degree recipients who had stopped out for less than 6 months. The more institutions

students attended, the less likely they were to complete a bachelor’s degree within 4 years or less

of postsecondary entry, and the more likely they were to take more than 6 years to complete the

degree.

Table 13 shows how the variables presented in table 12 were associated with time to

degree. This time, however, the table displays the average number of months between

postsecondary entry and degree completion, as well as the averages separately for graduates of

public and private not-for-profit institutions. Most of the differences described above in table 12

were also found for the overall average time to degree and for both public and private not-forprofit institutions, but not all of the differences. For example, women were more likely than men

to complete the degree in 4 years and men were more likely to take 4–5 years (table 12). When

looking at the overall average number of months, however, no differences were detected between

men and women overall or separately for graduates of public or private not-for-profit institutions

(table 13).

Other relationships shown in table 12 remained in table 13. Parents’ educational attainment

and grade-point average were still inversely related to time to degree. As parents’ education

increased, students’ average time to complete the degree decreased. Also, as grade-point average

increased, average time to degree decreased. However, this relationship was found overall and

for graduates of public institutions, but not for graduates of private not-for-profit institutions.

Delayed enrollment in postsecondary education after high school completion was also associated

with time taken to complete a bachelor’s degree once enrolled: those who delayed enrollment

took longer than those who did not delay to complete the degree. This was true both overall and

for graduates of public and private not-for-profit institutions separately.

As also shown in table 12, the first institution, last institution, and number of institutions in

which graduates enrolled were related to the average length of time they took between first

enrolling in college and completing a bachelor’s degree. Overall, bachelor’s degree recipients

who had first enrolled at private not-for-profit 4-year institutions generally took less time to

finish a bachelor’s degree than those who had begun at public institutions. In addition, overall

and among graduates of both public and private not-for-profit institutions, the number of
Time to Degree

33

Table 13.—Among 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients with less than 6 months of stopout

Table 13.—between institutions, average number of months between postsecondary entry and degree

Table 13.—completion, by degree-granting institution type and student demographic, academic, and

Table 13.—enrollment characteristics 

Student characteristics Total1 Public Private not-for-profit

 Total 55.4 57.2 51.5

Gender

 Male 55.4 56.8 52.6

 Female 55.5 57.5 50.6

Race/ethnicity

 White, non-Hispanic 54.8 56.6 51.3

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 57.8 57.8 55.6

 Hispanic or Latino 60.2 63.6 53.1

 Asian 54.5 56.6 47.8

 American Indian/Alaska Native ‡ ‡ ‡

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander ‡ ‡ ‡

 Other race2 54.7 58.1 48.8

 More than one race 54.2 51.5 51.8

Parents’ educational attainment

 High school or less 61.8 62.7 58.3

 Some postsecondary education 55.7 57.6 51.8

 Bachelor’s degree 53.6 54.8 50.9

 Master’s degree or equivalent 51.4 52.9 48.7

 Doctoral/professional degree 49.6 51.2 47.1

Undergraduate major

 Business/management 57.9 56.9 58.1

 Education 56.9 59.1 52.4

 Engineering 56.9 59.6 48.2

 Health 58.5 59.8 55.4

 Vocational/technical 58.9 56.8 65.2

 Other technical/professional 53.0 53.7 51.0

 Social/behavioral sciences 53.2 56.6 47.8

 Humanities 54.8 58.2 49.8

 Life sciences 54.0 56.4 49.4

 Physical sciences 53.2 56.8 47.1

 Mathematics 50.2 52.2 46.9

 Computer/information science 53.7 55.4 47.9

Time between high school graduation and postsecondary entry

 Less than 12 months 54.3 56.3 50.4

 12–23 months 57.2 58.4 51.6

 24–59 months 72.5 74.0 70.2

 60 months or more 69.6 66.8 71.9

See notes at end of table.

Degree-granting institution type
Time to Degree

34

Table 13.—Among 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients with less than 6 months of stopout

Table 13.—between institutions, average number of months between postsecondary entry and degree

Table 13.—completion, by degree-granting institution type and student demographic, academic, and

Table 13.—enrollment characteristics—Continued

Student characteristics Total1 Public Private not-for-profit

Cumulative undergraduate GPA

 Less than 2.50 61.2 63.6 54.1

 2.50–2.99 57.1 59.0 51.8

 3.00–3.49 54.2 56.1 50.0

 3.50 or higher 53.8 53.8 52.7

Combined SAT scores3

 No exam taken or no score reported 82.2 83.7 78.9

 Below 1000 55.1 56.8 50.0

 1000–1200 50.0 51.5 47.1

 Above 1200 48.6 50.5 46.4

First institution type

 Public 2-year 71.1 68.7 74.5

 Public 4-year nondoctorate-granting 56.6 56.0 71.6

 Public doctorate-granting 53.8 53.6 61.5

 Private not-for-profit 4-year nondoctorate-granting 50.4 68.6 48.5

 Private not-for-profit doctorate-granting 48.8 62.7 47.6

 Private for-profit 60.3 ‡ ‡

 Other ‡ ‡ ‡

Degree-granting institution type

 Public 

 Nondoctorate-granting 59.0 59.0 ‡

 Doctorate-granting 56.5 56.5 ‡

 Private not-for-profit 

 Nondoctorate-granting 52.8 ‡ 52.8

 Doctorate-granting 49.9 ‡ 49.9

 Private for-profit 77.2 ‡ ‡

Number of institutions attended

 One 50.7 52.9 47.0

 Two 58.9 59.5 56.7

 Three 63.4 64.0 59.5

 Four or more 80.7 83.3 70.7

‡Reporting standards not met. 

1

Included in the total but not shown separately are graduates of private for-profit institutions.

2

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

3

Derived from institution- or student-reported SAT or ACT scores, where available. See the glossary for details.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal

Study (B&B:2000/01).

Degree-granting institution type
Time to Degree

35

institutions bachelor’s degree recipients had attended was associated with time to degree

completion. Graduates who had attended more institutions took longer to complete a bachelor’s

degree. For example, graduates who had attended only one institution completed the degree in an

average of 4 years and 3 months (51 months), while those who had attended two institutions took

about 8 months longer, on average (59 months).
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37

Summary and Conclusions

The majority of bachelor’s degree recipients in 1999–2000 completed the degree at public

institutions. A larger proportion of degree recipients had completed the bachelor’s degree at public

doctorate-granting institutions than at public nondoctorate-granting institutions, but the reverse was

true among graduates of private not-for-profit institutions: a larger proportion had completed the

bachelor’s degree at private not-for-profit nondoctorate-granting institutions than at private doctorategranting institutions. The types of institutions they graduated from were related to the amount of time

it took them to complete the degree: graduates of public institutions took longer from postsecondary

entry to degree completion, on average, than graduates of private not-for-profit institutions.

Many students had taken different routes to complete the bachelor’s degree. A minority (41

percent) of first-time bachelor’s degree recipients in 1999–2000 had enrolled in only one

undergraduate institution, including approximately half of students who had begun at public 4-

year institutions (52–53 percent). About one-fifth of the first-time bachelor’s degree recipients

had obtained a certificate or an associate’s degree prior to completing the bachelor’s degree. This

event was more common among graduates who had begun at public 2-year, private for-profit, or

“other” institutions than among those who began at public or private not-for-profit 4-year

institutions. Many students took at least 4 months off from postsecondary enrollment. Even

among those who had not interrupted their enrollment for more than 6 months, attendance at

multiple undergraduate institutions was associated with a longer time between postsecondary

entry and degree completion.

A number of other factors were related to the average amount of time between

postsecondary entry and degree completion. As parents’ education increased, students’ average

time to complete the degree decreased. Also, students who delayed enrollment in postsecondary

education after high school completion took longer than other students to complete a bachelor’s

degree once enrolled. In addition, the higher the cumulative GPA, the shorter was the time to

degree completion overall and for graduates of public institutions. However, this relationship was

not detected for graduates of private not-for-profit institutions.

Finally, 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients took more time between high school

completion and postsecondary entry than 1992–93 graduates. However, compared with 1992–93

bachelor’s degree completers, the later cohort was more likely to complete the degree within 4

years or less after entering college.
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39

References

Berkner, L., He, S., and Forrest Cataldi, E. (2002). Descriptive Summary of 1995–96 Beginning

Postsecondary Students: Six Years Later (NCES 2003–151). U.S. Department of Education,

National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Bradburn, E.M. (2002). Short-Term Enrollment in Postsecondary Education: Student

Background and Institutional Differences in Reasons for Early Departure, 1996–98 (NCES

2003–153). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.

Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Choy, S.P. (2001). Students Whose Parents Did Not Go to College: Postsecondary Access,

Persistence, and Attainment (NCES 2001–126). U.S. Department of Education, National

Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Horn. L.J. (1998). Stopouts or Stayouts? Undergraduates Who Leave College in Their First Year

(NCES 1999–087). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.

Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Horn, L.J., and Zahn, L. (2001). From Bachelor’s Degree to Work: Major Field of Study and

Employment Outcomes of 1992–93 Bachelor’s Degree Recipients Who Did Not Enroll in

Graduate Education by 1997 (NCES 2001–165). U.S. Department of Education, National

Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

McCormick, A.C. (1997). Transfer Behavior Among Beginning Postsecondary Students: 1989–

94 (NCES 97–266). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.

Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

McCormick, A.C., and Horn, L.J. (1996). A Descriptive Summary of 1992–93 Bachelor’s Degree

Recipients 1 Year Later, With an Essay on Time to Degree (NCES 96–158). U.S. Department

of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S. Government

Printing Office.

Tinto, V. (1993). Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition (2nd

ed.). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
References

40

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (1993). The Condition of

Education 1993 (NCES 93–290). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2001). The Condition of

Education 2001 (NCES 2001–072). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2002). The Digest of

Education Statistics 2001 (NCES 2002–130). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing

Office.

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2003). Methodology

Report for the 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (NCES 2003–156).

Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Warburton, E.C., Bugarin, R., and Nuñez, A. (2001). Bridging the Gap: Academic Preparation

and Postsecondary Success of First-Generation Students (NCES 2001–153). U.S.

Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S.

Government Printing Office.
41

Table Compendium

Section I: Demographic and Family Characteristics

Section II: Undergraduate Experiences

Section III: Employment and Community Service

Section IV: Debt Burden and Graduate Enrollment
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43

Section I: Demographic and Family Characteristics

Demographic Characteristics

• The majority (57 percent) of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients were female

(table I.1).

• Among graduates of both public and private not-for-profit institutions in 1999–2000,

graduates of doctorate-granting institutions were more likely to be male than were

graduates of nondoctorate-granting institutions (table I.1).

• The gender of employed 1999–2000 college graduates differed by occupation (table

I.1). Engineers/architects, computer scientists, and mechanics and laborers were more

likely to be male than female, while educators, medical professionals, human and

protective services professionals, administrative and clerical workers, and service

workers were more likely to be female than male.

• Of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients whose parents did not complete high

school, 36 percent were White, non-Hispanic and 35 percent were Hispanic (table I.2).

Bachelor’s degree recipients whose parents did not complete high school were less

likely than others to be White, non-Hispanic and more likely to be Hispanic.

• Twenty-one percent of 1999–2000 college graduates who had begun at private forprofit institutions were Black or African American (table 1.2). Among those who

began at public 4-year institutions, 9–10 percent were Black, and among those who

began at public 2-year institutions, 6 percent were Black.

• In addition, 21 percent of college graduates in 1999–2000 who first enrolled at private

for-profit institutions were Hispanic (table I.2). Among students who began at public

or private not-for-profit 4-year institutions, 7–9 percent were Hispanic. Ten percent of

students who began at public 2-year institutions were Hispanic.

• Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Asian bachelor’s degree recipients in

1999–2000 were more likely than their White counterparts to have resident alien or

student visa status (table I.3). Hispanic and Asian graduates were also more likely than

White, non-Hispanic graduates to be fluent in a language other than English. Graduates

whose parents had not completed high school were more likely than others to be fluent

in a non-English language.

• Students who completed the bachelor’s degree at postsecondary institutions in the

Northeast and in the West in 1999–2000 were more likely than those in the Midwest to

be resident aliens or have student visas (table I.3).
Table Compendium—Section I: Demographic and Family Characteristics

44

• Those 1999–2000 college graduates who were age 22 or younger were generally more

likely than older graduates to have parents with advanced degrees and were less likely

to have parents who had no college education (table I.4).

• Fifty-six percent of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients had begun postsecondary

education by age 18 or earlier (table I.5). An additional 27 percent had done so at age

19–20. Female bachelor’s degree recipients were more likely than male recipients to

have entered postsecondary education at age 18 or younger (58 vs. 52 percent).

However, men were more likely to have entered postsecondary education at age 19 or

20 (31 vs. 24 percent).

• Bachelor’s degree recipients who graduated from institutions in the Northeast were

more likely than recipients from the Midwest, South, or West to have entered

postsecondary education by age 18 (table I.5).

• Fifty-two percent of White, non-Hispanic bachelor’s degree recipients had received a

bachelor’s degree by age 22 (table I.6), a rate higher than that for Black/African

American graduates (36 percent) and Hispanic/Latino graduates (38 percent).

• Those bachelor’s degree recipients who were employed as medical professionals in

2001 were less likely than recipients working in most of the other occupations to have

earned a bachelor’s degree by age 22 or younger (table I.6). For example, 38 percent of

medical professionals had received a bachelor’s degree by age 22 or younger,

compared with 48 percent of those in business and management, 49 percent of

educators, and 52 percent of engineers and architects.

Family Formation

• In 2001, about two-thirds (66 percent) of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients had

never been married, and 30 percent were married (table I.7). Male bachelor’s degree

recipients were more likely to be single than female recipients.

• Asian bachelor’s degree recipients were more likely than most of their peers from other

racial/ethnic groups to be single and never married in 2001 (table I.7). Eighty percent

of Asian graduates were single, never married, compared with 64 percent of Whites, 67

percent of Blacks/African Americans, and 64 percent of Hispanics/Latinos.

• Bachelor’s degree recipients whose parents had attained a bachelor’s degree or higher

were much less likely to be married (table I.7) or have children (table I.8) in 2001 than

recipients whose parents had not completed high school.

• Eighty-two percent of 1999–2000 college graduates did not have children in 2001.

Nine percent had one child, 6 percent had two children, and 3 percent had three or

more children (table I.8). Male 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients were more

likely than female recipients to be childless in 2001.
Table Compendium—Section I: Demographic and Family Characteristics

45

Current Residence

• In 2001, about one-quarter (24 percent) of 1999–2000 college graduates owned their

home, and 58 percent paid rent (table I.9). An additional 16 percent reported that they

were living with their parents.

• Bachelor’s degree recipients whose parents had less than a high school education were

more likely to own a home in 2001 than bachelor’s degree recipients whose parents

had a high school degree or more education (table I.9). In fact, bachelor’s degree

recipients whose parents attained some postsecondary education, a bachelor’s degree,

or a master’s degree were more likely than those whose parents had less than a high

school education to live at home with their parents.

• Bachelor’s degree recipients who worked in engineering or architecture in 2001 were

less likely than average to live at home with their parents (table I.9). In fact, those who

worked in these fields were less likely to live at home with their parents than

educators, business and management employees, editors/writers/performers,

administrative/clerical/legal workers, and service workers.

• Bachelor’s degree recipients in 1999–2000 who had completed the bachelor’s degree

by age 22 or younger were more likely than their older counterparts to live in the

Northeast in 2001 (table I.10).

• Most graduates (69 percent) resided in the same state where they had received a

bachelor’s degree (table I.10). Bachelor’s degree recipients who had completed the

degree in 1999–2000 at the age of 22 or younger were less likely than average to live in

the state where they had received their degree. On the other hand, bachelor’s degree

recipients who had completed their degree at the age of 25 or older were more likely

than average to live in the same state as their degree-granting institution.

• In 2001, graduates of public 4-year nondoctorate-granting institutions were more likely

than graduates of other public or private not-for-profit institutions to live in the same

state where they had received their degree, whereas graduates of private not-for-profit

doctorate-granting institutions were least likely to do so (table I.10).

• A majority (57 percent) of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients in 2001 lived less

than 50 miles from where they lived when they attended high school (table I.11). On

the other end of the spectrum, 15 percent lived 500 miles or more from their residence

during high school.

• Among 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients in 2001, women were more likely than

men to live less than 50 miles from where they lived while in high school, and they

were less likely to live 500 miles or more away from that location (table I.11).

• Those 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients who had no children in 2001 were less

likely than those who had one or two children to live less than 50 miles from where

they lived when they attended high school (table I.11).
Table Compendium—Section I: Demographic and Family Characteristics

46

Military Experience

• While most 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients (94 percent) had no military

experience, male graduates were more likely than female graduates to be veterans or in

active military duty (table I.12).

• Graduates who were older when they received a bachelor’s degree were more likely to

have had military service than those who received a degree when they were younger

(table I.12). For example, those who received their degree at age 30 or older were more

likely to be veterans in 2001 than those who received their degree at age 24 or younger.
Table I.1.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to gender, by 

Table I.1.—selected student and institution characteristics 

Student and institution characteristics Male Female

 Total 42.6 57.4

Race/ethnicity 

 White, non-Hispanic 43.6 56.4

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 34.5 65.5

 Hispanic or Latino 39.0 61.0

 Asian 45.7 54.3

 American Indian/Alaska Native 41.2 58.8

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 47.6 52.4

 Other race1 47.2 52.8

 More than one race 41.9 58.1

Disability status 

 Does not have a disability 43.1 56.9

 Has a disability 36.7 63.3

Parents’ educational attainment 

 Less than high school 34.6 65.4

 High school or equivalency 40.6 59.4

 Some postsecondary education 38.9 61.1

 Bachelor’s degree 44.2 55.8

 Master’s degree or equivalent 46.8 53.3

 Doctoral/professional degree 48.1 51.9

Age at bachelor’s completion 

 22 or younger 39.7 60.3

 23–24 51.7 48.3

 25–29 45.7 54.3

 30–39 41.5 58.5

 40 or older 33.2 66.8

Current marital status 

 Single, never married 45.2 54.8

 Married 39.8 60.2

 Separated 31.6 68.4

 Divorced 24.9 75.1

 Widowed ‡ ‡

Current number of children 

 None 43.8 56.2

 One 38.7 61.3

 Two 40.4 59.6

 Three or more 32.6 67.4

Distance from high school to current residence 

 Less than 50 miles 40.1 59.9

 50–199 miles 43.2 56.8

 200–499 miles 45.1 54.9

 500 miles or more 48.1 51.9

See notes at end of table.

 Gender 

________

47
Table I.1.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to gender, by 

Table I.1.—selected student and institution characteristics—Continued 

Student and institution characteristics Male Female

Distance from bachelor’s institution to current residence 

 Less than 50 miles 40.1 59.9

 50–199 miles 43.4 56.7

 200–499 miles 48.2 51.8

 500 miles or more 45.3 54.7

First institution type 

 Public 2-year 43.3 56.7

 Public 4-year nondoctorate-granting 37.2 62.8

 Public doctorate-granting 44.1 55.9

 Private not-for-profit 4-year nondoctorate-granting 42.5 57.5

 Private not-for-profit doctorate-granting 44.7 55.3

 Private for-profit 32.8 67.2

 Other 38.6 61.4

Degree-granting institution type 

 Public 42.9 57.2

 Nondoctorate-granting 38.8 61.2

 Doctorate-granting 44.5 55.5

 Private not-for-profit 42.2 57.8

 Nondoctorate-granting 40.0 60.0

 Doctorate-granting 45.2 54.8

 Private for-profit 43.1 57.0

Degree-granting institution region 

 Northeast 42.5 57.5

 Midwest 43.0 57.0

 South 42.3 57.7

 West 42.6 57.4

 Outlying areas 46.0 54.0

Occupation 

 Education (K–12 and other instructors) 26.4 73.6

 Business and management 46.0 54.0

 Engineering/architecture 82.0 18.0

 Computer science 69.4 30.6

 Medical professionals 18.4 81.6

 Editors/writers/performers 40.9 59.1

 Human/protective service professionals 38.3 61.7

 Research, scientists, technical 57.8 42.2

 Administrative/clerical/legal 29.4 70.6

 Mechanics, laborers 78.3 21.8

 Service industries 40.7 59.3

 Other 69.0 31.0

‡Reporting standards not met. 

1

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond 

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

 Gender 

________

48
Table I.2.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to race/ethnicity, by selected student a

Table I.2.—characteristics 

Black/

African American Native 

White, American, Indian/ Hawaiian/ 

non- non- Hispanic Alaska Pacific 

Student and institution characteristics Hispanic Hispanic or Latino Asian Native Islander 

 Total 73.7 8.0 8.6 5.8 0.6 0.7 Gender  Male 75.3 6.5 7.8 6.2 0.6 0.7  Female 72.5 9.1 9.1 5.5 0.6 0.6 Disability status  Does not have a disability 74.2 8.1 8.2 5.6 0.5 0.6  Has a disability 76.5 6.1 7.2 1.9 1.8 0.4 Parents’ educational attainment  Less than high school 35.5 17.9 34.8 7.1 0.6 0.4  High school or equivalency 69.4 10.6 11.2 5.3 0.8 0.6  Some postsecondary education 76.5 9.3 7.6 2.9 0.2 0.4  Bachelor’s degree 76.9 6.5 5.4 6.8 0.5 0.9  Master’s degree or equivalent 81.0 5.0 4.0 5.1 1.1 0.2  Doctoral/professional degree 79.4 2.3 5.4 8.6 0.6 0.6 Age at bachelor’s completion  22 or younger 78.0 5.9 6.7 5.8 0.2 0.4  23–24 70.7 9.2 9.8 6.4 0.9 0.7  25–29 65.3 7.5 13.6 8.5 0.8 1.3  30–39 71.2 11.9 7.9 3.6 1.1 1.2  40 or older 72.2 14.4 9.3 1.4 0.9 0.2 

See notes at end of table.

Race/ethnicity

________

49
Table I.2.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to race/ethnicity, by selected student a

Table I.2.—characteristics—Continued 

Black/

African American Native 

White, American, Indian/ Hawaiian/ 

non- non- Hispanic Alaska Pacific 

Student and institution characteristics Hispanic Hispanic or Latino Asian Native Islander 

Current marital status  Single, never married 72.0 8.2 8.4 7.1 0.4 0.8  Married 77.7 6.6 8.8 3.8 1.0 0.3  Separated 67.2 12.8 16.6 # # 1.9  Divorced 73.8 14.1 7.1 0.8 1.0 0.9  Widowed ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ Current number of children  None 75.6 6.3 7.7 6.5 0.5 0.6  One 66.7 17.1 9.4 2.4 0.7 1.0  Two 70.7 14.2 11.0 1.3 1.6 0.3  Three or more 67.8 14.4 8.0 3.9 1.2 1.3 Distance from high school to current residence  Less than 50 miles 73.8 8.3 8.9 5.1 0.7 0.7  50–199 miles 83.1 6.0 4.7 3.3 0.3 0.5  200–499 miles 77.4 9.3 7.3 3.5 0.8 0.3  500 miles or more 80.5 5.7 6.5 4.0 0.3 0.7 Distance from bachelor’s institution to current residence  Less than 50 miles 69.8 8.6 10.6 6.6 0.5 0.8  50–199 miles 81.1 6.2 5.0 4.4 1.0 0.5  200–499 miles 75.4 8.7 7.5 5.0 0.7 0.3  500 miles or more 76.4 7.9 7.6 5.2 0.5 0.6 

See notes at end of table.

Race/ethnicity

________

50
Table I.2.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to race/ethnicity, by selected student a

Table I.2.—characteristics—Continued 

Black/

African American Native 

White, American, Indian/ Hawaiian/ 

non- non- Hispanic Alaska Pacific 

Student and institution characteristics Hispanic Hispanic or Latino Asian Native Islander 

First institution type  Public 2-year 72.8 6.4 10.2 5.7 1.0 1.1  Public 4-year nondoctorate-granting 73.5 9.9 9.1 3.6 0.5 0.3  Public doctorate-granting 74.6 8.5 7.2 6.5 0.5 0.6  Private not-for-profit 4-year nondoctorate-granting 82.4 5.6 7.3 1.9 0.3 0.6  Private not-for-profit doctorate-granting 70.0 8.1 9.0 8.2 0.6 0.6  Private for-profit 51.7 21.3 20.8 4.6 0.7 #  Other 90.5 4.9 0.7 2.9 # 0.9 Degree-granting institution type  Public 73.1 8.3 8.2 6.3 0.6 0.7  Nondoctorate-granting 72.4 9.5 8.6 4.4 0.8 0.9  Doctorate-granting 73.4 7.7 8.0 7.2 0.6 0.7  Private not-for-profit 75.8 7.0 8.8 4.6 0.5 0.6  Nondoctorate-granting 80.4 6.8 8.1 2.0 0.6 0.5  Doctorate-granting 69.2 7.2 9.8 8.2 0.4 0.7  Private for-profit 54.3 17.5 19.8 7.4 # # Degree-granting institution region  Northeast 72.9 8.7 6.8 7.4 0.2 0.4  Midwest 85.7 5.8 2.9 3.5 0.6 0.2  South 73.1 12.1 8.6 3.1 0.7 0.3  West 64.6 3.2 12.4 12.1 0.9 2.4  Outlying areas 0.2 # 96.6 # # # 

See notes at end of table.

Race/ethnicity

________

51
Table I.2.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to race/ethnicity, by selected student a

Table I.2.—characteristics—Continued 

Black/

African American Native 

White, American, Indian/ Hawaiian/ 

non- non- Hispanic Alaska Pacific 

Student and institution characteristics Hispanic Hispanic or Latino Asian Native Islander 

Occupation  Education (K–12 and other instructors) 76.5 8.1 11.2 1.4 0.6 0.4  Business and management 75.2 8.0 7.0 5.1 0.5 0.9  Engineering/architecture 74.0 5.4 6.3 10.5 0.9 0.2  Computer science 67.5 7.9 7.5 14.3 0.4 0.6  Medical professionals 76.3 9.7 5.4 4.4 0.7 0.9  Editors/writers/performers 75.2 3.3 12.1 5.4 # 0.3  Human/protective service professionals 69.1 15.1 9.0 3.3 0.4 0.9  Research, scientists, technical 73.8 5.7 9.5 7.7 0.4 0.9  Administrative/clerical/legal 73.8 9.9 7.0 4.2 0.9 0.4  Mechanics, laborers 80.8 5.6 7.1 3.8 0.8 0.4  Service industries 79.1 5.4 7.7 3.7 0.5 0.9  Other 74.4 14.9 1.3 7.5 # 0.7 

#Rounds to zero.‡Reporting standards not met. 

1Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/

Race/ethnicity

________

52
Table I.3.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to citizenship 

Table I.3.—status, and percentage fluent in a non-English language, by selected student and institution 

Table I.3.—characteristics

Speaks

Resident alien/ non-English

Student and institution characteristics U.S. citizen student visa language

 Total 96.3 3.7 21.8

Gender 

 Male 96.0 4.0 21.3

 Female 96.6 3.4 22.2

Race/ethnicity 

 White, non-Hispanic 98.8 1.2 12.7

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 94.7 5.3 16.6

 Hispanic or Latino 93.9 6.2 69.5

 Asian 77.3 22.7 68.3

 American Indian/Alaska Native 95.3 4.7 24.0

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 90.9 9.1 27.2

 Other race1 76.2 23.8 62.5

 More than one race 92.3 7.7 26.3

Disability status 

 Does not have a disability 96.2 3.8 21.2

 Has a disability 98.0 2.0 20.0

Parents’ educational attainment 

 Less than high school 94.9 5.1 51.8

 High school or equivalency 96.8 3.2 18.1

 Some postsecondary education 98.0 2.0 17.2

 Bachelor’s degree 96.2 3.8 20.4

 Master’s degree or equivalent 96.2 3.8 19.6

 Doctoral/professional degree 96.6 3.4 27.4

Age at bachelor’s completion 

 22 or younger 97.0 3.0 19.8

 23–24 95.8 4.2 23.9

 25–29 93.8 6.2 29.7

 30–39 96.3 3.7 19.3

 40 or older 97.9 2.1 17.1

Current marital status 

 Single, never married 96.0 4.0 22.6

 Married 96.9 3.1 20.3

 Separated 100.0 0.0 28.9

 Divorced 97.7 2.3 16.8

 Widowed ‡ ‡ ‡

See notes at end of table.

Citizenship status 

________

53
Table I.3.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to citizenship 

Table I.3.—status, and percentage fluent in a non-English language, by selected student and institution 

Table I.3.—characteristics—Continued 

Speaks

Resident alien/ non-English

Student and institution characteristics U.S. citizen student visa language

Current number of children 

 None 96.1 3.9 22.2

 One 98.0 2.0 18.4

 Two 97.4 2.6 19.3

 Three or more 95.7 4.3 24.2

Distance from high school to current residence 

 Less than 50 miles 98.4 1.6 19.4

 50–199 miles 99.6 0.4 14.8

 200–499 miles 99.5 0.5 17.3

 500 miles or more 99.3 0.7 21.6

Distance from bachelor’s institution to current residence 

 Less than 50 miles 95.7 4.3 24.1

 50–199 miles 97.9 2.1 15.5

 200–499 miles 96.7 3.4 19.9

 500 miles or more 96.9 3.1 23.2

First institution type 

 Public 2-year 96.6 3.4 19.8

 Public 4-year nondoctorate-granting 98.8 1.2 18.4

 Public doctorate-granting 97.6 2.4 20.2

 Private not-for-profit 4-year nondoctorate-granting 96.6 3.4 16.2

 Private not-for-profit doctorate-granting 96.7 3.3 30.5

 Private for-profit 91.8 8.3 27.2

 Other 97.4 2.6 20.7

Degree-granting institution type 

 Public 96.6 3.4 21.2

 Nondoctorate-granting 97.9 2.1 19.9

 Doctorate-granting 96.0 4.0 21.8

 Private not-for-profit 96.2 3.8 22.5

 Nondoctorate-granting 97.2 2.8 15.2

 Doctorate-granting 94.8 5.2 32.6

 Private for-profit 88.7 11.3 31.2

Degree-granting institution region 

 Northeast 94.9 5.1 25.8

 Midwest 97.7 2.3 13.3

 South 97.1 2.9 17.9

 West 94.9 5.1 32.8

 Outlying areas 96.2 3.9 81.2

See notes at end of table.

Citizenship status 

________

54
Table I.3.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to citizenship 

Table I.3.—status, and percentage fluent in a non-English language, by selected student and institution

Table I.3.—characteristics—Continued 

Speaks

Resident alien/ non-English

Student and institution characteristics U.S. citizen student visa language

Occupation 

 Education (K–12 and other instructors) 97.4 2.6 22.9

 Business and management 96.1 3.9 20.5

 Engineering/architecture 94.0 6.0 28.8

 Computer science 93.6 6.4 24.4

 Medical professionals 97.3 2.7 16.8

 Editors/writers/performers 95.6 4.4 23.2

 Human/protective service professionals 97.8 2.2 18.0

 Research, scientists, technical 94.9 5.1 24.6

 Administrative/clerical/legal 98.6 1.4 22.7

 Mechanics, laborers 98.4 1.6 15.5

 Service industries 98.1 1.9 17.6

 Other 99.0 1.0 17.1

‡Reporting standards not met. 

1

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond 

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

Citizenship status 

________

55
Table I.4.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to parents’ 

Table I.4.—educational attainment, by selected student and institution characteristics 

Less High Some Master’s Doctoral/

than school postsec- Bach- degree profes-

 high or equi- ondary elor’s or equi- sional

Student and institution characteristics school valent education degree valent degree

 Total 4.3 24.1 19.8 24.5 16.4 10.9

Gender 

 Male 3.5 22.9 18.0 25.4 17.9 12.2

 Female 4.9 25.0 21.2 23.9 15.2 9.8

Race/ethnicity 

 White, non-Hispanic 2.1 22.6 20.4 25.4 17.9 11.6

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 9.9 32.6 23.5 20.4 10.4 3.2

 Hispanic or Latino 18.2 32.7 18.1 16.0 7.8 7.1

 Asian 5.5 23.0 10.2 29.8 14.9 16.7

 American Indian/Alaska Native 4.3 31.3 7.0 20.4 27.3 9.7

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 2.9 26.8 14.1 38.9 6.1 11.2

 Other race1 4.8 18.4 18.4 27.3 22.0 9.1

 More than one race 6.3 13.4 24.1 22.6 19.7 13.9

Disability status 

 Does not have a disability 4.2 22.4 20.3 25.6 18.4 9.0

 Has a disability 5.6 25.3 20.1 22.4 17.6 9.1

Age at bachelor’s completion 

 22 or younger 1.4 15.8 19.4 27.9 20.1 15.4

 23–24 3.5 26.9 20.4 24.9 16.7 7.6

 25–29 6.2 30.6 20.6 23.5 12.5 6.7

 30–39 8.4 39.2 22.6 17.0 8.9 3.9

 40 or older 19.0 45.7 16.6 10.7 4.8 3.2

Current marital status 

 Single, never married 3.0 19.8 18.7 26.6 18.4 13.6

 Married 6.1 31.5 22.0 21.3 13.4 5.7

 Separated 16.0 41.6 19.6 19.7 1.0 2.0

 Divorced 9.5 38.0 23.6 16.7 7.1 5.2

 Widowed ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡

Current number of children 

 None 3.2 20.7 19.1 26.5 18.2 12.3

 One 9.5 35.1 25.7 17.2 8.4 4.1

 Two 9.3 40.7 22.6 14.3 9.2 3.9

 Three or more 9.8 36.5 20.3 18.5 11.9 3.0

See notes at end of table.

Parents’ educational attainment 

________

56
Table I.4.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to parents’ 

Table I.4.—educational attainment, by selected student and institution characteristics—Continued 

Less High Some Master’s Doctoral/

than school postsec- Bach- degree profes-

 high or equi- ondary elor’s or equi- sional

Student and institution characteristics school valent education degree valent degree

Distance from high school to current residence 

 Less than 50 miles 4.5 26.5 21.8 23.7 15.2 8.3

 50–199 miles 3.1 21.4 21.1 25.7 18.6 10.0

 200–499 miles 3.7 16.1 19.3 26.9 17.1 17.0

 500 miles or more 3.1 16.6 17.6 24.9 19.8 18.0

Distance from bachelor’s institution to current residence 

 Less than 50 miles 5.9 28.6 21.2 23.1 13.2 8.2

 50–199 miles 2.7 21.9 20.9 25.1 19.0 10.4

 200–499 miles 2.8 15.2 17.1 28.7 20.4 15.9

 500 miles or more 2.4 17.1 16.0 25.6 21.4 17.4

First institution type 

 Public 2-year 6.4 33.4 23.2 21.2 12.3 3.6

 Public 4-year nondoctorate-granting 6.3 27.7 23.4 23.7 13.9 5.1

 Public doctorate-granting 3.2 20.1 18.8 26.8 18.2 12.9

 Private not-for-profit 4-year 

 nondoctorate-granting 2.1 23.8 19.1 23.5 18.5 13.1

 Private not-for-profit doctorate-granting 1.7 14.1 15.7 27.3 20.0 21.4

 Private for-profit 16.4 45.6 17.5 11.5 6.7 2.3

 Other 4.6 36.4 20.9 14.4 13.4 10.4

Degree-granting institution type 

 Public 4.7 24.9 19.9 25.1 16.5 9.0

 Nondoctorate-granting 6.4 28.8 23.0 23.8 13.6 4.5

 Doctorate-granting 4.0 23.2 18.7 25.6 17.7 10.9

 Private not-for-profit 3.3 22.3 19.5 23.5 16.6 14.7

 Nondoctorate-granting 3.5 27.1 21.3 22.4 15.0 10.8

 Doctorate-granting 3.1 15.8 17.0 25.2 19.0 20.0

 Private for-profit 11.6 32.2 22.7 23.9 5.3 4.3

Degree-granting institution region 

 Northeast 2.8 23.2 18.9 24.6 16.0 14.5

 Midwest 2.8 26.3 21.0 24.7 16.2 9.1

 South 5.7 24.6 20.4 24.1 16.9 8.4

 West 5.9 20.0 19.2 25.0 17.1 12.9

 Outlying areas 10.9 51.7 8.8 23.2 1.2 4.2

See notes at end of table.

Parents’ educational attainment 

________

57
Table I.4.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to parents’ 

Table I.4.—educational attainment, by selected student and institution characteristics—Continued 

Less High Some Master’s Doctoral/

than school postsec- Bach- degree profes-

 high or equi- ondary elor’s or equi- sional

Student and institution characteristics school valent education degree valent degree

Occupation 

 Education (K–12 and other instructors) 5.0 24.6 23.5 23.0 16.5 7.5

 Business and management 4.4 25.8 19.5 24.8 16.1 9.5

 Engineering/architecture 2.7 26.0 17.3 28.1 13.8 12.1

 Computer science 4.8 22.0 16.5 25.2 21.0 10.5

 Medical professionals 5.3 29.1 21.4 23.4 13.6 7.2

 Editors/writers/performers 0.3 20.6 20.1 24.1 18.6 16.4

 Human/protective service professionals 7.4 30.8 22.4 19.8 11.9 7.7

 Research, scientists, technical 2.9 17.3 22.8 25.9 15.4 15.8

 Administrative/clerical/legal 3.8 21.9 17.2 24.4 20.2 12.6

 Mechanics, laborers 3.6 27.2 23.0 28.3 10.7 7.3

 Service industries 3.0 20.1 21.5 29.5 14.6 11.4

 Other 9.0 23.8 18.3 18.9 17.7 12.4

‡Reporting standards not met. 

1

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond 

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

Parents’ educational attainment 

________

58
Table I.5.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to age at 

Table I.5.—postsecondary entry, by selected student and institution characteristics 

18 or 25

younger 19–20 21–24 or older

 Total 55.8 27.2 9.4 7.7

Gender 

 Male 52.2 31.1 10.4 6.4

 Female 58.5 24.3 8.6 8.7

Race/ethnicity 

 White, non-Hispanic 56.4 27.7 8.8 7.2

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 53.1 25.3 9.6 12.0

 Hispanic or Latino 52.9 25.8 11.9 9.4

 Asian 51.3 29.8 13.9 5.0

 American Indian/Alaska Native 51.2 27.4 13.0 8.5

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 63.7 16.1 9.4 10.9

 Other race1 62.5 24.3 5.3 8.0

 More than one race 66.6 20.6 7.6 5.2

Disability status 

 Does not have a disability 59.9 27.9 6.2 6.1

 Has a disability 52.2 26.8 7.7 13.3

Parents’ educational attainment 

 Less than high school 35.4 27.1 14.3 23.3

 High school or equivalency 47.9 26.1 13.7 12.3

 Some postsecondary education 60.9 28.4 6.4 4.3

 Bachelor’s degree 63.5 30.1 4.1 2.4

 Master’s degree or equivalent 66.6 27.4 3.9 2.1

 Doctoral/professional degree 67.2 26.2 5.6 1.0

Age at bachelor’s completion 

 22 or younger 76.5 20.4 3.1 #

 23–24 40.2 45.7 14.0 #

 25–29 35.8 31.3 22.0 10.9

 30–39 31.2 23.9 13.7 31.3

 40 or older 28.7 18.5 9.0 43.9

Current marital status 

 Single, never married 61.8 27.7 8.2 2.3

 Married 46.6 26.8 11.5 15.1

 Separated 29.0 22.6 13.6 34.8

 Divorced 34.6 21.9 11.1 32.5

 Widowed ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡

See notes at end of table.

Student and institution characteristics 

Age at postsecondary entry

________

59
Table I.5.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to age at 

Table I.5.—postsecondary entry, by selected student and institution characteristics—Continued 

18 or 25

younger 19–20 21–24 or older

Current number of children 

 None 59.7 27.7 8.5 4.2

 One 43.2 29.0 13.5 14.3

 Two 35.8 28.8 10.1 25.3

 Three or more 31.3 21.6 13.3 33.8

Distance from high school to current residence 

 Less than 50 miles 58.4 26.4 8.7 6.5

 50–199 miles 59.8 28.7 7.2 4.3

 200–499 miles 59.3 29.5 7.1 4.2

 500 miles or more 56.5 27.6 9.2 6.7

Distance from bachelor’s institution to current residence 

 Less than 50 miles 53.4 26.2 10.3 10.1

 50–199 miles 61.1 28.0 7.3 3.6

 200–499 miles 57.3 29.5 9.0 4.3

 500 miles or more 55.1 28.1 9.0 7.8

First institution type 

 Public 2-year 40.8 28.7 15.8 14.8

 Public 4-year nondoctorate-granting 56.9 26.7 8.3 8.2

 Public doctorate-granting 61.0 27.4 7.7 3.9

 Private not-for-profit 4-year nondoctorate-granting 59.8 26.2 6.0 8.0

 Private not-for-profit doctorate-granting 64.8 24.3 6.5 4.3

 Private for-profit 36.5 31.7 14.9 17.0

 Other 49.4 27.7 14.9 8.0

Degree-granting institution type 

 Public 55.4 27.6 10.4 6.7

 Nondoctorate-granting 52.7 27.5 10.7 9.2

 Doctorate-granting 56.6 27.6 10.2 5.6

 Private not-for-profit 57.7 26.2 7.3 8.8

 Nondoctorate-granting 54.7 27.4 6.8 11.2

 Doctorate-granting 62.0 24.5 8.0 5.5

 Private for-profit 30.7 33.0 10.2 26.1

Degree-granting institution region 

 Northeast 63.9 22.1 7.8 6.2

 Midwest 54.6 30.2 7.2 8.0

 South 51.4 29.7 10.8 8.1

 West 53.5 26.7 11.8 8.0

 Outlying areas 64.4 10.5 12.9 12.2

See notes at end of table.

Age at postsecondary entry

Student and institution characteristics 

________

60
Table I.5.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to age at 

Table I.5.—postsecondary entry, by selected student and institution characteristics—Continued 

18 or 25

younger 19–20 21–24 or older

Occupation 

 Education (K–12 and other instructors) 56.4 26.0 10.5 7.2

 Business and management 54.9 28.5 10.3 6.3

 Engineering/architecture 63.9 25.0 6.0 5.1

 Computer science 53.6 29.8 11.6 4.9

 Medical professionals 52.5 24.8 9.4 13.3

 Editors/writers/performers 55.0 27.7 11.9 5.4

 Human/protective service professionals 58.2 27.4 5.3 9.1

 Research, scientists, technical 57.7 27.4 8.2 6.7

 Administrative/clerical/legal 59.6 28.5 5.5 6.4

 Mechanics, laborers 45.9 34.4 8.6 11.1

 Service industries 57.9 28.0 7.9 6.3

 Other 45.9 29.7 10.4 14.0

#Rounds to zero.

‡Reporting standards not met. 

1

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond 

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

Age at postsecondary entry

Student and institution characteristics 

________

61
Table I.6.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to age when

Table I.6.—received bachelor’s degree, by selected student and institution characteristics 

22 or 40

Student and institution characteristics younger 23–24 25–29 30–39 or older

 Total 49.2 20.2 14.0 9.2 7.5

Gender 

 Male 45.8 24.5 15.0 8.9 5.8

 Female 51.7 17.0 13.3 9.4 8.7

Race/ethnicity 

 White, non-Hispanic 52.1 19.4 12.4 8.9 7.3

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 36.4 23.3 13.1 13.8 13.5

 Hispanic or Latino 38.2 23.1 22.2 8.4 8.1

 Asian 49.5 22.3 20.6 5.8 1.8

 American Indian/Alaska Native 19.4 31.6 19.1 18.0 11.9

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 32.6 20.5 27.6 17.1 2.2

 Other race1 49.7 15.5 20.1 11.4 3.3

 More than one race 56.8 18.1 11.1 8.4 5.6

Disability status 

 Does not have a disability 49.8 20.1 13.5 9.4 7.2

 Has a disability 35.8 14.4 14.4 14.9 20.5

Parents’ educational attainment 

 Less than high school 17.0 15.3 18.5 17.3 31.9

 High school or equivalency 34.0 21.3 16.5 14.5 13.8

 Some postsecondary education 50.6 19.7 13.5 10.2 6.1

 Bachelor’s degree 58.8 19.5 12.4 6.2 3.2

 Master’s degree or equivalent 63.6 19.5 9.9 4.9 2.1

 Doctoral/professional degree 73.2 13.5 8.0 3.2 2.2

Current marital status 

 Single, never married 62.8 21.9 10.8 3.3 1.2

 Married 27.1 18.3 19.8 18.2 16.5

 Separated 2.8 15.5 25.0 26.1 30.5

 Divorced 2.5 7.4 20.9 34.0 35.2

 Widowed ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡

Current number of children 

 None 57.6 21.8 12.4 4.4 3.9

 One 18.7 22.7 25.2 17.1 16.4

 Two 4.3 6.4 19.2 42.2 27.9

 Three or more 3.3 3.8 19.7 38.7 34.7

See notes at end of table.

Age when received bachelor’s degree

________

62
Table I.6.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to age when

Table I.6.—received bachelor’s degree, by selected student and institution characteristics—Continued 

22 or 40

Student and institution characteristics younger 23–24 25–29 30–39 or older

Distance from high school to current residence

 Less than 50 miles 49.0 21.2 14.2 8.9 6.7

 50–199 miles 58.9 20.0 10.1 6.8 4.2

 200–499 miles 55.8 23.7 10.1 5.0 5.4

 500 miles or more 52.5 17.9 14.9 8.4 6.4

Distance from bachelor’s institution to current residence 

 Less than 50 miles 40.9 20.0 16.4 12.2 10.5

 50–199 miles 61.5 19.4 9.6 5.2 4.3

 200–499 miles 57.6 22.5 12.5 3.9 3.5

 500 miles or more 53.6 20.0 13.7 7.8 4.9

First institution type 

 Public 2-year 19.0 25.0 24.2 17.6 14.3

 Public 4-year nondoctorate-granting 46.1 22.7 14.4 10.3 6.5

 Public doctorate-granting 55.4 22.7 12.1 6.0 3.7

 Private not-for-profit 4-year 

 nondoctorate-granting 66.4 13.5 7.3 6.1 6.7

 Private not-for-profit doctorate-granting 72.6 14.1 6.4 4.2 2.7

 Private for-profit 17.0 7.1 17.6 24.1 34.3

 Other 13.7 17.6 33.3 16.1 19.3

Degree-granting institution type

 Public 45.5 24.2 15.5 8.8 6.0

 Nondoctorate-granting 37.9 24.3 17.2 11.8 8.9

 Doctorate-granting 48.7 24.1 14.9 7.6 4.8

 Private not-for-profit 58.1 12.9 10.7 9.1 9.2

 Nondoctorate-granting 52.3 11.4 11.6 12.0 12.7

 Doctorate-granting 66.2 15.0 9.6 5.0 4.3

 Private for-profit 13.8 8.0 19.8 26.4 32.0

Degree-granting institution region 

 Northeast 63.0 14.7 9.7 7.7 5.0

 Midwest 49.9 20.3 12.4 9.0 8.4

 South 43.7 22.8 15.4 9.7 8.4

 West 39.5 22.3 19.4 10.8 8.1

 Outlying areas 38.8 26.3 19.9 8.7 6.3

See notes at end of table.

Age when received bachelor’s degree

________

63
Table I.6.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to age when

Table I.6.—received bachelor’s degree, by selected student and institution characteristics—Continued 

22 or 40

Student and institution characteristics younger 23–24 25–29 30–39 or older

Occupation

 Education (K–12 and other instructors) 48.8 23.3 12.6 8.6 6.7

 Business and management 47.9 21.5 13.8 10.1 6.8

 Engineering/architecture 52.3 25.4 9.8 7.7 4.8

 Computer science 43.6 26.3 14.8 8.2 7.1

 Medical professionals 37.7 16.1 17.9 14.1 14.2

 Editors/writers/performers 55.6 18.6 13.8 7.3 4.6

 Human/protective service professionals 45.3 15.9 18.8 9.7 10.3

 Research, scientists, technical 54.1 19.5 12.8 7.0 6.6

 Administrative/clerical/legal 56.2 18.9 10.0 6.7 8.3

 Mechanics, laborers 35.6 26.5 17.0 12.1 8.8

 Service industries 53.7 18.8 16.4 7.0 4.1

 Other 40.1 14.4 14.8 17.6 13.1

‡Reporting standards not met. 

1

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond 

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

Age when received bachelor’s degree

________

64
Table I.7.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to marital status, 

Table I.7.—by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001 

Single,

never

Student and institution characteristics married Married Separated Divorced Widowed

 Total 65.5 29.7 0.8 3.8 0.2

Gender 

 Male 69.4 27.8 0.6 2.2 0.1

 Female 62.6 31.2 0.9 5.0 0.4

Race/ethnicity 

 White, non-Hispanic 64.0 31.3 0.7 3.8 0.2

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 67.3 24.7 1.3 6.7 0.1

 Hispanic or Latino 64.0 30.5 1.5 3.1 0.9

 Asian 79.9 19.4 # 0.5 0.2

 American Indian/Alaska Native 44.0 49.4 # 6.6 #

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 78.5 14.2 2.3 5.1 #

 Other race1 79.6 18.5 0.7 1.2 #

 More than one race 73.3 20.6 0.2 5.4 0.5

Disability status 

 Does not have a disability 64.9 30.7 0.6 3.6 0.2

 Has a disability 51.5 34.3 2.2 11.2 0.7

Parents’ educational attainment 

 Less than high school 44.9 41.7 2.7 8.4 2.3

 High school or equivalency 54.0 38.5 1.3 6.0 0.2

 Some postsecondary education 62.0 32.6 0.7 4.5 0.2

 Bachelor’s degree 71.3 25.5 0.6 2.6 #

 Master’s degree or equivalent 74.0 24.1 0.1 1.6 0.2

 Doctoral/professional degree 82.6 15.5 0.1 1.8 #

Age at bachelor’s completion 

 22 or younger 83.4 16.4 # 0.2 #

 23–24 71.0 27.0 0.6 1.4 0.1

 25–29 50.7 42.1 1.4 5.7 0.2

 30–39 23.9 59.7 2.3 14.2 #

 40 or older 10.5 65.8 3.2 17.9 2.6

Current number of children 

 None 76.6 20.4 0.4 2.4 0.2

 One 21.3 65.6 2.4 10.2 0.5

 Two 8.0 78.5 2.2 11.0 0.2

 Three or more 2.7 84.3 2.8 9.3 1.0

See notes at end of table.

Marital status 

________

65
Table I.7.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to marital status, 

Table I.7.—by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001—Continued 

Single,

never

Student and institution characteristics married Married Separated Divorced Widowed

Distance from high school to current residence 

 Less than 50 miles 66.2 28.8 0.8 4.0 0.1

 50–199 miles 65.7 31.5 0.4 2.2 0.2

 200–499 miles 69.5 26.8 0.7 2.8 0.2

 500 miles or more 66.6 29.2 0.6 3.5 0.1

Distance from bachelor’s institution to current residence 

 Less than 50 miles 59.7 34.1 1.0 4.8 0.4

 50–199 miles 70.8 26.0 0.5 2.7 0.1

 200–499 miles 76.3 20.1 0.7 3.0 #

 500 miles or more 68.1 28.9 0.5 2.5 0.1

First institution type 

 Public 2-year 49.3 40.6 1.6 7.8 0.7

 Public 4-year nondoctorate-granting 62.0 34.6 0.5 2.9 #

 Public doctorate-granting 70.9 25.8 0.5 2.8 0.1

 Private not-for-profit 4-year nondoctorate-granting 70.1 26.6 0.3 2.9 0.1

 Private not-for-profit doctorate-granting 82.7 15.4 0.9 0.9 0.1

 Private for-profit 41.0 41.3 2.5 14.8 0.5

 Other 34.7 57.4 1.3 6.6 #

Degree-granting institution type

 Public 65.4 30.0 0.8 3.6 0.2

 Nondoctorate-granting 58.4 35.2 1.1 5.0 0.2

 Doctorate-granting 68.4 27.8 0.7 2.9 0.2

 Private not-for-profit 66.9 28.2 0.7 4.0 0.3

 Nondoctorate-granting 58.8 34.8 0.8 5.3 0.3

 Doctorate-granting 78.2 19.0 0.6 2.1 0.2

 Private for-profit 38.8 49.0 1.6 10.7 #

Degree-granting institution region 

 Northeast 79.7 17.0 0.8 2.4 0.1

 Midwest 62.5 33.2 0.4 3.7 0.1

 South 58.3 36.0 1.1 4.3 0.4

 West 63.0 31.0 0.8 5.0 0.3

 Outlying areas 61.5 32.8 # 5.2 0.5

See notes at end of table.

Marital status 

________

66
Table I.7.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to marital status, 

Table I.7.—by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001—Continued 

Single,

never

Student and institution characteristics married Married Separated Divorced Widowed

Occupation 

 Education (K–12 and other instructors) 57.9 37.0 1.4 3.6 0.1

 Business and management 66.6 27.8 0.8 4.4 0.4

 Engineering/architecture 66.3 31.6 0.2 1.9 #

 Computer science 67.7 28.1 0.7 3.3 0.3

 Medical professionals 48.4 43.8 0.9 6.6 0.3

 Editors/writers/performers 78.0 19.8 0.5 1.5 0.3

 Human/protective service professionals 59.2 34.4 0.7 5.6 0.1

 Research, scientists, technical 69.8 26.8 0.5 2.8 #

 Administrative/clerical/legal 70.6 24.7 0.6 3.7 0.3

 Mechanics, laborers 66.0 30.4 1.1 2.5 #

 Service industries 73.6 22.3 1.0 3.1 #

 Other 49.0 44.2 # 6.8 #

#Rounds to zero.

1

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond 

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

Marital status 

________

67
Table I.8.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to number of 

Table I.8.—children, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001 

Three 

Student and institution characteristics None One Two or more

 Total 81.8 8.7 6.3 3.2

Gender 

 Male 83.7 7.9 6.0 2.4

 Female 80.3 9.4 6.6 3.8

Race/ethnicity 

 White, non-Hispanic 83.2 7.8 6.0 2.9

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 64.3 18.7 11.3 5.8

 Hispanic or Latino 78.1 10.2 8.6 3.2

 Asian 92.7 3.6 1.5 2.2

 American Indian/Alaska Native 65.9 10.5 17.3 6.4

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 78.7 12.4 2.5 6.4

 Other race1 88.3 7.0 2.8 1.9

 More than one race 82.3 10.2 1.4 6.2

Disability status 

 Does not have a disability 81.5 8.7 6.6 3.1

 Has a disability 73.3 12.4 9.4 4.9

Parents’ educational attainment 

 Less than high school 60.0 19.7 13.5 6.8

 High school or equivalency 71.5 13.1 10.8 4.6

 Some postsecondary education 78.4 11.5 7.1 3.0

 Bachelor’s degree 87.9 6.2 3.7 2.2

 Master’s degree or equivalent 89.9 4.5 3.5 2.1

 Doctoral/professional degree 93.5 3.4 2.3 0.8

Age at bachelor’s completion 

 22 or younger 95.9 3.3 0.6 0.2

 23–24 87.7 9.7 2.0 0.6

 25–29 71.5 15.5 8.6 4.4

 30–39 40.1 16.6 29.7 13.7

 40 or older 42.3 19.2 23.7 14.9

Current marital status 

 Single, never married 96.2 2.9 0.8 0.1

 Married 55.5 19.1 16.5 9.0

 Separated 42.0 27.9 18.5 11.6

 Divorced 51.3 23.0 18.0 7.7

 Widowed ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡

See notes at end of table.

Number of children 

________

68
Table I.8.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to number of 

Table I.8.—children, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001—Continued 

Three 

Student and institution characteristics None One Two or more

Distance from high school to current residence 

 Less than 50 miles 80.8 9.8 6.5 3.0

 50–199 miles 85.7 7.7 4.5 2.1

 200–499 miles 87.1 6.8 4.2 1.9

 500 miles or more 84.1 7.1 5.0 3.8

Distance from bachelor’s institution to current residence 

 Less than 50 miles 76.3 11.5 8.3 3.9

 50–199 miles 86.6 6.9 3.9 2.6

 200–499 miles 89.5 5.0 3.7 1.7

 500 miles or more 86.9 5.0 5.2 3.0

First institution type 

 Public 2-year 71.0 13.9 9.6 5.5

 Public 4-year nondoctorate-granting 76.8 11.0 9.3 2.9

 Public doctorate-granting 86.3 7.3 4.4 2.0

 Private not-for-profit 4-year nondoctorate-granting 87.8 4.7 4.4 3.1

 Private not-for-profit doctorate-granting 90.7 5.2 2.6 1.5

 Private for-profit 55.8 9.6 21.3 13.3

 Other 64.1 16.1 9.7 10.1

Degree-granting institution type

 Public 82.2 9.0 6.1 2.6

 Nondoctorate-granting 75.2 12.2 9.6 3.1

 Doctorate-granting 85.2 7.7 4.6 2.4

 Private not-for-profit 82.2 7.6 6.3 3.9

 Nondoctorate-granting 77.9 8.5 8.6 5.0

 Doctorate-granting 88.0 6.4 3.2 2.4

 Private for-profit 53.5 19.3 14.9 12.4

Degree-granting institution region 

 Northeast 87.6 5.6 4.5 2.3

 Midwest 82.0 8.1 7.3 2.7

 South 78.1 10.6 7.3 4.1

 West 80.6 10.5 5.4 3.5

 Outlying areas 69.8 10.7 16.2 3.3

See notes at end of table.

Number of children 

________

69
Table I.8.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to number of 

Table I.8.—children, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001—Continued 

Three 

Student and institution characteristics None One Two or more

Occupation

 Education (K–12 and other instructors) 77.3 10.2 9.0 3.5

 Business and management 82.2 9.2 5.1 3.5

 Engineering/architecture 86.4 4.9 7.4 1.4

 Computer science 81.5 11.3 5.9 1.3

 Medical professionals 71.6 11.4 10.9 6.1

 Editors/writers/performers 91.0 5.2 3.8 #

 Human/protective service professionals 77.1 10.5 8.8 3.7

 Research, scientists, technical 87.3 5.3 4.0 3.4

 Administrative/clerical/legal 87.2 6.5 3.6 2.7

 Mechanics, laborers 81.2 8.5 6.2 4.2

 Service industries 87.9 7.4 3.8 0.9

 Other 69.9 8.0 12.7 9.4

#Rounds to zero.

‡Reporting standards not met. 

1

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond 

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

Number of children 

________

70
Table I.9.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to housing type, 

Table I.9.—and percentage living with parents, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001 

Living with

Student and institution characteristics Owns home Pays rent Neither parents

 Total 24.3 57.5 18.2 16.2

Gender 

 Male 21.6 61.7 16.7 14.7

 Female 26.2 54.4 19.4 17.3

Race/ethnicity 

 White, non-Hispanic 25.6 57.7 16.7 14.4

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 20.4 59.6 20.0 18.6

 Hispanic or Latino 24.5 51.9 23.6 21.7

 Asian 13.8 58.8 27.5 26.3

 American Indian/Alaska Native 34.3 57.7 8.0 6.1

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 30.0 39.7 30.3 29.3

 Other race1 16.3 61.3 22.4 20.8

 More than one race 20.2 66.9 12.9 11.0

Disability status 

 Does not have a disability 24.8 56.9 18.4 16.3

 Has a disability 32.0 53.6 14.4 12.3

Parents’ educational attainment 

 Less than high school 45.6 43.2 11.2 9.9

 High school or equivalency 33.1 49.7 17.3 15.2

 Some postsecondary education 25.5 56.0 18.5 17.0

 Bachelor’s degree 19.5 61.8 18.8 16.4

 Master’s degree or equivalent 16.6 63.0 20.5 18.4

 Doctoral/professional degree 12.0 71.3 16.7 13.9

Age at bachelor’s completion 

 22 or younger 10.9 65.2 23.9 21.7

 23–24 18.3 62.8 19.0 17.7

 25–29 31.6 55.7 12.7 10.2

 30–39 58.4 34.6 7.0 4.3

 40 or older 74.6 22.8 2.6 1.5

Current marital status 

 Single, never married 7.4 67.5 25.2 23.5

 Married 59.3 36.9 3.8 1.6

 Separated 35.6 50.5 14.0 8.7

 Divorced 35.8 52.1 12.1 7.8

 Widowed ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡

See notes at end of table.

Housing type 

________

71
Table I.9.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to housing type, 

Table I.9.—and percentage living with parents, by selected student and institution characteristics: 

Table I.9.—2001—Continued 

Living with

Student and institution characteristics Owns home Pays rent Neither parents

Current number of children

 None 16.1 63.4 20.5 18.6

 One 50.0 41.5 8.5 6.8

 Two 70.0 25.7 4.4 1.4

 Three or more 73.5 22.9 3.6 0.5

Distance from high school to current residence 

 Less than 50 miles 27.2 43.7 29.0 27.8

 50–199 miles 22.6 73.1 4.3 2.4

 200–499 miles 14.8 80.6 4.7 1.7

 500 miles or more 16.4 77.0 6.6 2.9

Distance from bachelor’s institution to current residence 

 Less than 50 miles 31.0 50.1 18.8 17.4

 50–199 miles 20.5 59.2 20.3 19.0

 200–499 miles 13.8 68.8 17.4 14.9

 500 miles or more 14.6 74.0 11.4 7.2

First institution type 

 Public 2-year 37.0 49.1 13.9 12.4

 Public 4-year nondoctorate-granting 28.4 53.4 18.2 16.7

 Public doctorate-granting 20.2 61.5 18.4 16.5

 Private not-for-profit 4-year nondoctorate-granting 19.9 58.2 21.8 18.1

 Private not-for-profit doctorate-granting 11.5 65.6 22.9 21.1

 Private for-profit 42.2 45.0 12.9 9.4

 Other 40.9 49.7 9.4 4.9

Degree-granting institution type

 Public 24.4 58.2 17.4 15.7

 Nondoctorate-granting 29.3 52.8 17.8 16.1

 Doctorate-granting 22.3 60.5 17.2 15.5

 Private not-for-profit 22.9 57.2 19.9 17.4

 Nondoctorate-granting 29.8 51.6 18.5 15.7

 Doctorate-granting 13.3 64.9 21.8 19.8

 Private for-profit 46.7 35.6 17.7 10.3

Degree-granting institution region 

 Northeast 14.7 58.6 26.7 25.1

 Midwest 28.2 56.5 15.3 13.2

 South 28.6 57.0 14.4 11.7

 West 24.5 59.9 15.5 13.9

 Outlying areas 23.2 34.4 42.4 41.5

See notes at end of table.

Housing type 

________

72
Table I.9.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to housing type, 

Table I.9.—and percentage living with parents, by selected student and institution characteristics: 

Table I.9.—2001—Continued 

Living with

Student and institution characteristics Owns home Pays rent Neither parents

Occupation 

 Education (K–12 and other instructors) 28.2 53.1 18.7 16.5

 Business and management 25.0 58.3 16.8 15.5

 Engineering/architecture 23.2 68.7 8.1 7.5

 Computer science 28.0 60.2 11.8 10.9

 Medical professionals 39.9 45.1 15.1 13.8

 Editors/writers/performers 13.6 64.8 21.5 21.0

 Human/protective service professionals 25.9 55.8 18.3 14.5

 Research, scientists, technical 18.0 71.1 10.9 10.1

 Administrative/clerical/legal 18.3 64.1 17.6 16.2

 Mechanics, laborers 22.9 55.0 22.1 19.0

 Service industries 20.7 60.9 18.4 16.6

 Other 26.7 54.4 18.9 6.0

‡Reporting standards not met. 

1

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond 

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

Housing type 

________

73
Table I.10.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to region

Table I.10.—of current residence, and percentage living in same state as bachelor’s degree-granting 

Table I.10.—institution, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001

Same

state as

Student and institution characteristics Outlying bachelor’s

Student and institution characteristics Northeast Midwest South West areas institution

 Total 25.0 22.8 31.7 19.2 1.2 69.2

Gender 

 Male 24.8 22.8 31.5 19.7 1.3 66.8

 Female 25.2 22.8 31.9 18.9 1.2 71.0

Race/ethnicity 

 White, non-Hispanic 24.8 26.3 31.4 17.4 # 67.4

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 29.2 17.6 45.0 8.1 0.2 68.5

 Hispanic or Latino 19.0 9.1 32.4 26.2 13.2 80.0

 Asian 30.2 12.7 19.8 37.3 0.1 72.5

 American Indian/Alaska Native 4.2 23.8 38.1 33.9 # 79.2

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 14.8 11.4 11.2 61.0 1.6 82.9

 Other race1 34.5 8.3 26.7 30.5 # 70.5

 More than one race 32.4 8.9 29.3 26.7 2.8 75.7

Disability status 

 Does not have a disability 24.7 23.4 31.8 18.9 1.1 69.6

 Has a disability 22.7 19.7 32.1 23.6 2.0 74.3

Parents’ educational attainment 

 Less than high school 16.8 15.5 40.5 24.1 3.2 86.0

 High school or equivalency 25.3 24.6 32.7 15.5 2.0 76.7

 Some postsecondary education 23.9 24.8 32.6 18.2 0.4 73.9

 Bachelor’s degree 25.8 22.3 31.4 19.7 0.7 67.6

 Master’s degree or equivalent 25.2 22.5 30.3 21.8 0.1 60.8

 Doctoral/professional degree 32.6 18.9 26.8 21.4 0.4 55.9

Age at bachelor’s completion 

 22 or younger 31.6 23.2 28.0 16.3 0.9 62.8

 23–24 19.0 22.3 34.7 22.4 1.6 71.5

 25–29 17.8 21.0 35.7 23.8 1.8 75.4

 30–39 20.9 23.2 34.6 20.1 1.3 78.1

 40 or older 16.8 24.3 37.3 20.5 1.1 82.2

Current marital status 

 Single, never married 30.3 21.8 27.8 18.9 1.2 66.1

 Married 14.9 25.1 39.4 19.4 1.2 75.0

 Separated 24.8 14.5 44.5 16.2 # 82.4

 Divorced 14.4 24.5 36.1 23.2 1.9 75.5

 Widowed ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡

See notes at end of table.

Region of current residence 

________

74
Table I.10.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to region

Table I.10.—of current residence, and percentage living in same state as bachelor's degree-granting 

Table I.10.—institution, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001—Continued 

Same

state as

Outlying bachelor’s

Student and institution characteristics Northeast Midwest South West areas institution

Current number of children 

 None 26.1 23.1 30.5 19.8 0.5 66.8

 One 16.1 22.0 39.0 22.1 0.9 83.7

 Two 18.1 27.7 37.6 15.2 1.4 77.7

 Three or more 16.9 18.4 43.9 20.1 0.7 80.3

Distance from high school to current residence 

 Less than 50 miles 28.9 25.1 27.9 17.2 0.9 83.5

 50–199 miles 21.3 28.0 36.2 14.4 0.2 75.7

 200–499 miles 19.5 25.4 38.1 17.0 # 51.6

 500 miles or more 14.8 14.6 37.2 33.0 0.4 30.0

Distance from bachelor’s institution to current residence 

 Less than 50 miles 27.3 22.6 29.6 18.5 2.1 95.3

 50–199 miles 23.8 29.6 34.7 11.8 0.1 72.2

 200–499 miles 24.4 19.5 36.5 19.6 # 32.7

 500 miles or more 16.8 15.8 32.3 34.5 0.6 1.0

First institution type 

 Public 2-year 15.8 19.9 36.0 28.2 0.2 79.4

 Public 4-year nondoctorate-granting 29.3 22.6 31.3 15.8 1.0 76.4

 Public doctorate-granting 18.7 25.1 37.4 18.1 0.7 69.4

 Private not-for-profit 4-year

 nondoctorate-granting 32.6 26.0 24.8 12.7 4.0 60.9

 Private not-for-profit doctorate-granting 43.0 17.8 17.9 20.1 1.2 53.6

 Private for-profit 21.7 22.1 33.4 22.8 # 67.7

 Other 20.6 19.9 29.9 25.9 3.7 70.5

Degree-granting institution type

 Public 20.1 22.5 35.9 20.8 0.7 74.0

 Nondoctorate-granting 27.8 19.9 29.2 22.3 0.7 78.7

 Doctorate-granting 16.8 23.6 38.8 20.1 0.7 72.0

 Private not-for-profit 35.6 23.5 22.7 15.8 2.3 59.7

 Nondoctorate-granting 29.9 28.4 25.3 13.1 3.4 63.5

 Doctorate-granting 43.7 16.7 19.2 19.6 0.9 54.5

 Private for-profit 5.2 18.3 48.3 28.2 # 73.0

Degree-granting institution region 

 Northeast 87.8 2.3 6.0 3.9 # 64.2

 Midwest 4.2 82.1 8.0 5.7 # 66.0

 South 4.9 4.2 86.0 4.6 0.2 70.9

 West 3.8 3.5 4.1 88.4 0.2 76.5

 Outlying areas 2.9 3.4 5.4 # 88.3 86.2

See notes at end of table.

Region of current residence 

________

75
Table I.10.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to region

Table I.10.—of current residence, and percentage living in same state as bachelor's degree-granting 

Table I.10.—institution, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001—Continued 

Same

state as

Outlying bachelor’s

Student and institution characteristics Northeast Midwest South West areas institution

Occupation 

 Education (K–12 and other instructors) 22.1 23.4 35.7 18.0 0.8 75.7

 Business and management 25.7 23.4 31.9 18.6 0.4 71.3

 Engineering/architecture 24.2 25.4 27.0 23.2 0.2 60.1

 Computer science 26.1 21.1 29.5 23.2 0.1 69.9

 Medical professionals 20.2 32.7 33.2 13.5 0.5 76.1

 Editors/writers/performers 32.2 19.0 27.2 21.1 0.5 68.3

 Human/protective service professionals 25.2 22.7 32.5 19.4 0.3 77.1

 Research, scientists, technical 23.5 19.3 32.0 23.8 1.5 59.0

 Administrative/clerical/legal 28.0 20.1 32.3 19.1 0.6 69.5

 Mechanics, laborers 19.3 29.5 30.6 19.6 1.0 72.7

 Service industries 23.5 23.6 31.7 20.7 0.5 67.3

 Other 15.0 24.6 47.5 12.2 0.7 37.4

#Rounds to zero.

‡Reporting standards not met. 

1

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond 

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

Region of current residence 

________

76
Table I.11.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to distance from 

Table I.11.—high school to current residence, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001 

Less than 50–199 200–499 500 miles

Student and institution characteristics 50 miles miles miles or more

 Total 56.9 17.0 10.9 15.2

Gender 

 Male 53.8 17.4 11.6 17.2

 Female 59.2 16.8 10.4 13.7

Race/ethnicity 

 White, non-Hispanic 54.7 18.4 11.0 15.9

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 62.0 13.4 13.3 11.3

 Hispanic or Latino 66.3 10.5 10.4 12.9

 Asian 65.1 12.6 8.5 13.7

 American Indian/Alaska Native 65.9 9.7 15.5 8.8

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 64.9 14.0 4.8 16.4

 Other race1 59.5 19.6 5.9 15.0

 More than one race 64.7 13.0 7.0 15.4

Disability status 

 Does not have a disability 57.2 17.3 11.3 14.2

 Has a disability 57.9 15.2 9.6 17.3

Parents’ educational attainment 

 Less than high school 64.0 13.5 10.5 12.0

 High school or equivalency 65.3 16.0 7.8 10.9

 Some postsecondary education 59.4 17.5 10.3 12.8

 Bachelor’s degree 54.6 18.0 12.2 15.2

 Master’s degree or equivalent 51.5 19.2 11.4 17.9

 Doctoral/professional degree 42.7 15.6 17.2 24.5

Age at bachelor’s completion 

 22 or younger 53.7 19.3 11.7 15.3

 23–24 58.1 16.4 12.4 13.1

 25–29 61.4 13.1 8.3 17.2

 30–39 63.1 14.4 6.7 15.8

 40 or older 62.7 11.7 9.7 15.9

Current marital status 

 Single, never married 56.6 16.9 11.4 15.2

 Married 56.3 18.5 10.0 15.2

 Separated 66.4 9.8 10.5 13.3

 Divorced 65.2 10.8 8.7 15.3

 Widowed ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡

See notes at end of table.

Distance from high school to current residence 

________

77
Table I.11.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to distance from 

Table I.11.—high school to current residence, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001 

Table I.11.——Continued

Less than 50–199 200–499 500 miles

Student and institution characteristics 50 miles miles miles or more

Current number of children 

 None 55.5 17.7 11.4 15.4

 One 64.1 15.1 8.5 12.3

 Two 65.1 13.5 8.1 13.4

 Three or more 59.4 12.9 7.5 20.3

Distance from bachelor’s institution to current residence 

 Less than 50 miles 70.3 15.1 7.1 7.5

 50–199 miles 57.8 30.7 7.0 4.5

 200–499 miles 37.8 13.4 40.2 8.7

 500 miles or more 17.6 4.6 6.9 71.0

First institution type 

 Public 2-year 63.5 15.3 7.9 13.3

 Public 4-year nondoctorate-granting 62.2 16.7 10.0 11.1

 Public doctorate-granting 53.7 18.7 11.6 16.0

 Private not-for-profit 4-year nondoctorate-granting 55.5 20.0 11.7 12.8

 Private not-for-profit doctorate-granting 51.0 13.3 12.2 23.6

 Private for-profit 62.7 10.9 14.5 11.9

 Other 63.8 10.6 7.6 18.0

Degree-granting institution type

 Public 57.3 18.2 10.5 14.0

 Nondoctorate-granting 64.4 16.3 8.8 10.6

 Doctorate-granting 54.2 19.1 11.2 15.5

 Private not-for-profit 56.0 15.1 11.7 17.3

 Nondoctorate-granting 58.6 16.2 11.9 13.3

 Doctorate-granting 52.3 13.4 11.4 22.8

 Private for-profit 63.5 8.4 8.2 19.9

Degree-granting institution region 

 Northeast 65.8 14.4 9.2 10.6

 Midwest 55.4 18.6 11.6 14.5

 South 51.5 20.0 12.3 16.2

 West 56.1 13.3 9.9 20.7

 Outlying areas 76.8 4.7 # 18.5

See notes at end of table.

Distance from high school to current residence 

________

78
Table I.11.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to distance from 

Table I.11.—high school to current residence, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001 

Table I.11.——Continued

Less than 50–199 200–499 500 miles

Student and institution characteristics 50 miles miles miles or more

Occupation 

 Education (K–12 and other instructors) 63.3 17.2 8.9 10.6

 Business and management 59.9 15.1 11.1 13.9

 Engineering/architecture 41.3 23.0 16.8 18.9

 Computer science 53.4 16.1 14.5 16.0

 Medical professionals 58.5 17.6 10.5 13.4

 Editors/writers/performers 56.9 15.7 7.9 19.6

 Human/protective service professionals 68.2 14.7 7.3 9.8

 Research, scientists, technical 39.7 20.7 14.1 25.6

 Administrative/clerical/legal 56.3 17.8 10.7 15.3

 Mechanics, laborers 62.8 13.8 8.3 15.2

 Service industries 54.4 21.4 8.8 15.4

 Other 35.8 13.4 12.6 38.2

#Rounds to zero.

‡Reporting standards not met. 

1

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond 

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

Distance from high school to current residence 

________

79
Table I.12.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to military status, 

Table I.12.—by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001 

Active No military

Student and institution characteristics Veteran duty/reserves service

 Total 3.5 2.2 94.3

Gender 

 Male 6.4 4.3 89.3

 Female 1.4 0.6 97.9

Race/ethnicity 

 White, non-Hispanic 3.4 2.0 94.6

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 4.8 5.0 90.2

 Hispanic or Latino 5.1 1.6 93.3

 Asian 1.3 2.3 96.4

 American Indian/Alaska Native 4.2 2.7 93.1

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 1.2 3.5 95.3

 Other race1 2.6 0.6 96.8

 More than one race 2.1 1.4 96.5

Disability status 

 Does not have a disability 3.1 2.0 94.9

 Has a disability 11.9 1.5 86.6

Parents’ educational attainment 

 Less than high school 12.3 2.0 85.7

 High school or equivalency 6.5 2.9 90.6

 Some postsecondary education 4.1 2.2 93.7

 Bachelor’s degree 1.7 2.0 96.3

 Master’s degree or equivalent 1.7 1.4 96.9

 Doctoral/professional degree 1.0 1.2 97.8

Age at bachelor’s completion 

 22 or younger 0.1 1.2 98.7

 23–24 1.0 2.3 96.7

 25–29 6.7 3.0 90.3

 30–39 11.7 5.6 82.7

 40 or older 17.0 2.4 80.6

Current marital status 

 Single, never married 1.1 1.3 97.6

 Married 7.0 3.8 89.2

 Separated 15.2 5.6 79.1

 Divorced 12.0 3.2 84.9

 Widowed ‡ ‡ ‡

See notes at end of table.

Military status 

________

80
Table I.12.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to military status, 

Table I.12.—by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001—Continued 

Active No military

Student and institution characteristics Veteran duty/reserves service

Current number of children 

 None 2.0 1.7 96.3

 One 8.4 3.6 88.0

 Two 12.7 4.3 83.0

 Three or more 9.0 6.8 84.1

Distance from high school to current residence 

 Less than 50 miles 2.2 1.1 96.7

 50–199 miles 3.2 1.9 94.9

 200–499 miles 4.0 2.2 93.8

 500 miles or more 5.5 5.9 88.6

Distance from bachelor’s institution to current residence 

 Less than 50 miles 4.0 1.6 94.4

 50–199 miles 2.5 1.2 96.3

 200–499 miles 3.1 2.2 94.7

 500 miles or more 4.5 6.4 89.1

First institution type 

 Public 2-year 5.7 2.7 91.6

 Public 4-year nondoctorate-granting 2.8 1.7 95.5

 Public doctorate-granting 2.7 2.2 95.1

 Private not-for-profit 4-year nondoctorate-granting 2.9 2.8 94.4

 Private not-for-profit doctorate-granting 1.1 1.4 97.5

 Private for-profit 17.7 # 82.3

 Other 7.3 # 92.7

Degree-granting institution type

 Public 3.4 2.2 94.5

 Nondoctorate-granting 4.2 1.7 94.1

 Doctorate-granting 3.0 2.4 94.6

 Private not-for-profit 3.4 2.2 94.4

 Nondoctorate-granting 4.6 2.8 92.7

 Doctorate-granting 1.8 1.4 96.8

 Private for-profit 14.6 1.9 83.5

Degree-granting institution region 

 Northeast 2.5 1.3 96.2

 Midwest 3.3 2.6 94.1

 South 4.4 3.0 92.6

 West 3.7 1.4 94.9

 Outlying areas 1.0 3.4 95.6

See notes at end of table.

Military status 

________

81
Table I.12.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to military status, 

Table I.12.—by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001—Continued 

Active No military

Student and institution characteristics Veteran duty/reserves service

Occupation 

 Education (K–12 and other instructors) 1.9 0.5 97.6

 Business and management 4.3 2.3 93.5

 Engineering/architecture 3.5 3.3 93.2

 Computer science 6.9 1.2 91.9

 Medical professionals 4.4 1.9 93.7

 Editors/writers/performers 1.3 1.2 97.6

 Human/protective service professionals 5.2 4.5 90.4

 Research, scientists, technical 4.3 3.5 92.2

 Administrative/clerical/legal 3.0 1.7 95.4

 Mechanics, laborers 5.8 2.8 91.4

 Service industries 1.9 0.7 97.4

 Other 6.3 48.2 45.5

#Rounds to zero.

‡Reporting standards not met. 

1

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond 

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

Military status 

________

82
83

Section II: Undergraduate Experiences

Undergraduate Major

• Among 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients, males were more likely than females

to have majored in business/management, engineering, vocational/technical fields, and

computer/information sciences, while females were more likely to have majored in

education, health, social/behavioral sciences, and humanities (table II.1).

• Asian bachelor’s degree recipients were more likely to have majored in engineering but

less likely to have majored in education than their White, non-Hispanic, Black, nonHispanic, or Hispanic counterparts. However, no differences were detected among the

latter three racial/ethnic groups (table II.1).

• Bachelor’s degree recipients age 40 or older were more likely than those who were

under 30 to have majored in business/management (table II.1).

• Among 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients, those with scores above 1200 on the

SAT were less likely than others to have majored in either business/management or

education (table II.1).

Undergraduate Performance

• Among 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients, men were more likely than women to

have a cumulative undergraduate grade-point average (GPA) of 2.00–2.99, but less

likely to have a GPA of 3.50 or higher (table II.2). Similar gender relationships were

observed for their GPA in their undergraduate major (table II.3).

• Bachelor’s degree recipients who graduated from public institutions were more likely

than those who graduated from private not-for-profit institutions to have a cumulative

GPA of 2.00–2.99. The reverse was true for a GPA of 3.50 or higher (table II.2). A

similar pattern was found for graduates’ GPA in their undergraduate major (table II.3).

• Compared with 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients under age 40, those who were

40 years old or older were less likely to have a GPA of 2.50–3.49 in their

undergraduate major and more likely to have a GPA of 3.50 or higher (table II.3).

Institutions and Enrollment

• Compared with graduates who were not disabled, 1999–2000 college graduates with

disabilities were less likely to have begun postsecondary education at public doctorate-
Table Compendium—Section II: Undergraduate Experiences

84

granting institutions and more likely to have done so at public 2-year, private forprofit, or other institutions (table II.4).

• Among 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients, those with higher combined SAT

scores were more likely than those with lower scores to have entered college at private

not-for-profit doctorate-granting institutions and less likely to have first enrolled at

public 2-year institutions (table II.4). However, those with the highest SAT scores

(above 1200) were more likely to begin at public doctorate-granting institutions than at

any other type of institution.

• Among 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients, those whose parents had a bachelor’s

degree or above were less likely than their counterparts to have stopped out for 36

months or more (table II.5).

• Among 1999–2000 graduates, those who majored in business/management or health

were more likely than graduates overall to have stopped out for 36 months or more,

and those with life science and other technical/professional majors were less likely

than average to have done so (table II.5).

• Those 1999–2000 college graduates who scored 1000 or above on their SATs were

more likely than their counterparts to have had no stopouts lasting 4 months or more

and were less likely to have stopped out for 1 year or more (table II.5).

• Bachelor’s degree recipients in 1999–2000 who had a disability were more likely than

their counterparts without disabilities to have attended three or more undergraduate

institutions before attaining a bachelor’s degree and less likely to have attended only

one institution (table II.6).

• Among 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients, those who did not take the SAT or

did not report their scores were more likely than their counterparts to have attended

two or more undergraduate institutions and less likely to have attended just one

institution (table II.6). In contrast, those with combined SAT scores above 1200 were

less likely to have attended more than one institution and more likely to have attended

one institution.

• Among 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients, those who had a disability were more

likely than others to have attained some degree or certificate before finishing the

bachelor’s degree. In particular, graduates with disabilities were more likely than

others to have earned an associate’s degree before completing the bachelor’s degree

(table II.7).

• Those 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients whose parents had a bachelor’s degree

or above were more likely than those with less educated parents to have had no prior

attainment and less likely to have completed an associate’s degree (table II.7).

• Among 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients, those whose parents had a

doctoral/professional degree were more likely than their counterparts to graduate from

private not-for-profit doctorate-granting institutions. However, they were less likely to

graduate from public nondoctorate-granting institutions (table II.8).
Table Compendium—Section II: Undergraduate Experiences

85

• Compared with the average of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients, those who had

majored in education were less likely to graduate from public doctorate-granting

institutions. Those whose undergraduate major was engineering, other

technical/professional fields, or life sciences were more likely than average to receive

their degree from such institutions (table II.8).

• Those 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients who had borrowed more than $30,000

were more likely than those whose total undergraduate debt was $5,000 or less to

obtain their degree from private not-for-profit institutions. They were less likely to

have graduated from public institutions (table II.8).

Time to Degree

• Compared with 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients without disabilities, those with

disabilities were less likely to enter postsecondary education within 1 year of high

school graduation and more likely to take 5 years or more to enter college (table II.9).

• Those 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients who did not take the SAT exam or did

not report their scores were less likely than their counterparts with reported SAT scores

to enter postsecondary education less than 1 year after high school graduation, and they

were more likely to wait a year or longer (table II.9).

• Those 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients who graduated from private for-profit

institutions were more likely to have delayed their postsecondary education for 5 years

or more and less likely to have enrolled less than 1 year after high school graduation,

compared with those who received a bachelor’s degree from public or private not-forprofit institutions (table II.9).

• Female college graduates were more likely than male graduates to have completed the

bachelor’s degree within 4 years of high school completion (table II.10). Women were

also more likely than men to have completed a bachelor’s degree within 4 years of

entering postsecondary education (table II.11).

• Bachelor’s degree recipients who had not borrowed for their undergraduate education

were generally more likely than those who had borrowed to complete the bachelor’s

degree within 4 years of high school completion (table II.10).

• Asian and White, non-Hispanic students were more likely than Black, non-Hispanic

and Hispanic students to have completed a bachelor’s degree within 4 years of starting

postsecondary education (table II.11). Black, non-Hispanic and Hispanic students were

more likely than Asian and White, non-Hispanic students to have taken more than 6

years to complete the degree.

• For 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients, having a disability lengthened the time

between postsecondary entry and degree completion from 6 years and 9 months (81

months) to 9 years and 7 months (115 months), on average (table II.12). This longer

time to completion was also observed among graduates with disabilities from public

and private not-for-profit institutions separately.
Table II.1.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to undergraduate major, by selected 

Table II.1.—characteristics

Other Social/ 

Business Voca- techni- beha- 

manage- Edu- Engi- tional/ cal/pro- vioral Human- Life P

Student and institution characteristics ment cation neering Health technical fessional sciences ities sciences s Total 21.1 8.9 5.8 7.9 2.4 7.6 18.3 16.5 6.0 Gender  Male 25.3 4.9 11.4 4.4 3.4 6.9 15.4 14.3 6.2  Female 17.9 11.8 1.7 10.5 1.6 8.1 20.5 18.0 5.8 Race/ethnicity  White, non-Hispanic 21.1 9.7 5.5 8.2 2.4 7.9 17.1 17.1 5.8  Black/African American, non-Hispanic 22.8 8.9 4.0 9.2 4.4 7.8 22.0 11.2 5.5  Hispanic or Latino 19.0 9.2 5.7 5.8 2.0 6.3 22.4 19.7 4.7  Asian 23.8 0.9 12.5 5.9 0.6 4.7 16.1 13.8 8.9  American Indian/Alaska Native 10.8 8.7 8.5 5.3 0.7 8.1 30.2 9.8 8.9  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 15.9 1.2 1.4 15.5 0.5 10.5 27.8 16.6 8.6  Other race1 16.2 1.3 6.9 7.8 # 6.5 26.3 15.7 12.3 

 More than one race 23.9 3.7 5.3 7.5 2.0 8.9 28.1 9.4 4.6 Disability status  Does not have a disability 21.5 8.8 6.1 7.9 2.7 7.0 18.2 16.0 6.1  Has a disability 19.3 9.1 3.0 7.9 3.3 7.0 20.1 21.1 4.4 Parents’ educational attainment  Less than high school 26.2 11.4 3.3 11.4 2.4 2.2 21.9 13.8 2.3  High school or equivalency 23.8 10.9 6.1 9.4 2.9 6.2 17.2 14.0 4.4  Some postsecondary education 19.6 10.1 4.7 8.9 3.3 7.1 19.6 16.6 5.2  Bachelor’s degree 22.8 7.8 6.2 6.9 2.4 9.1 17.1 15.3 7.1  Master’s degree or equivalent 18.7 7.4 6.3 5.5 2.5 8.1 20.3 18.3 6.6  Doctoral/professional degree 15.1 4.5 7.2 5.7 0.3 7.3 20.7 23.0 8.6 

See notes at end of table.

Undergraduate major

________

86
Table II.1.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to undergraduate major, by selected 

Table II.1.—characteristics—Continued

Other Social/ 

Business Voca- techni- beha- 

manage- Edu- Engi- tional/ cal/pro- vioral Human- Life P

Student and institution characteristics ment cation neering Health technical fessional sciences ities sciences sAge at bachelor’s completion  22 or younger 18.0 8.0 5.9 6.7 2.1 8.2 21.6 17.3 6.9  23–24 20.3 11.5 7.0 7.0 2.7 8.8 15.6 14.6 6.7  25–29 21.9 8.7 6.0 9.4 2.5 7.5 15.0 17.8 5.4  30–39 28.9 8.6 5.2 11.0 2.4 4.4 15.0 13.9 3.4  40 or older 32.2 7.8 3.0 12.3 3.0 4.5 14.3 16.6 2.1 Combined SAT scores  No exam taken or no score reported 26.1 6.9 5.4 9.5 2.5 5.7 15.5 17.3 4.5  Below 1000 21.1 15.8 3.1 8.4 4.0 10.0 17.4 13.1 3.9  1000–1200 20.4 9.1 5.4 7.9 1.8 8.7 20.5 15.3 6.6  Above 1200 13.5 2.9 10.8 4.6 0.8 6.0 20.9 21.2 10.3 First institution type  Public 2-year 23.0 11.6 5.2 7.8 2.9 7.5 16.8 13.7 6.2  Public 4-year nondoctorate-granting 21.3 13.6 3.1 8.7 3.5 7.6 15.8 16.5 4.7  Public doctorate-granting 20.7 6.8 8.1 8.7 2.0 9.1 18.1 14.4 6.6  Private not-for-profit 4-year nondoctorate-granting 20.4 10.7 2.4 6.6 2.6 5.5 19.6 21.0 6.1 

 Private not-for-profit doctorate-granting 16.2 3.8 7.6 6.2 1.3 6.9 24.9 21.4 6.0  Private for-profit 43.8 5.4 2.7 4.5 2.3 8.0 15.3 9.4 2.8  Other 16.5 9.9 2.0 20.6 3.3 5.5 13.4 22.6 4.5 Number of institutions attended  One 18.4 8.4 7.0 6.4 2.5 8.2 20.4 16.6 6.5  Two 23.6 9.7 5.5 8.5 2.1 7.6 17.1 14.5 6.1  Three 20.4 8.3 4.7 9.2 2.5 7.1 17.1 19.3 5.4  Four or more 25.3 8.7 3.5 11.4 2.8 5.2 15.3 18.9 3.7 

See notes at end of table.

Undergraduate major

________

87
Table II.1.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to undergraduate major, by selected 

Table II.1.—characteristics—Continued

Other Social/ 

Business Voca- techni- beha- 

manage- Edu- Engi- tional/ cal/pro- vioral Human- Life P

Student and institution characteristics ment cation neering Health technical fessional sciences ities sciences sCumulative undergraduate GPA  Less than 2.00 16.1 15.4 2.6 1.8 1.0 9.1 28.3 21.9 1.1  2.00–2.49 28.1 4.2 5.5 5.4 2.5 10.5 22.1 12.4 5.4  2.50–2.99 22.2 8.0 8.1 7.1 2.9 9.2 19.2 13.3 5.1  3.00–3.49 20.9 10.2 5.2 9.3 2.3 7.2 17.0 15.4 6.7  3.50 or higher 18.7 9.7 4.8 8.2 2.0 5.8 17.2 20.6 6.1 Degree-granting institution type  Public 19.8 9.3 7.0 8.3 2.6 8.6 18.0 14.7 6.4  Nondoctorate-granting 22.1 14.0 3.1 7.7 3.5 7.9 15.9 16.1 4.7  Doctorate-granting 18.8 7.4 8.6 8.5 2.2 8.9 18.9 14.1 7.1  Private not-for-profit 21.8 8.3 3.8 7.6 2.1 5.7 19.8 20.1 5.5  Nondoctorate-granting 24.9 11.3 2.0 7.6 2.6 4.7 17.8 18.6 5.2  Doctorate-granting 17.4 4.2 6.4 7.5 1.4 7.1 22.7 22.1 5.9  Private for-profit 60.6 1.0 1.5 2.0 # 5.9 # 14.2 # Total undergraduate debt  Did not borrow 23.4 7.5 7.1 7.1 2.2 7.2 16.5 16.6 6.5  $5,000 or less 21.3 10.6 5.1 7.4 2.2 7.8 18.0 16.6 5.9  $5,001–10,000 20.5 8.9 5.9 7.9 2.7 7.8 19.5 13.6 6.6  $10,001–20,000 21.1 9.7 4.7 7.1 2.4 7.1 20.4 16.1 6.0  $20,001–30,000 17.1 10.5 6.3 10.3 2.8 7.7 18.4 16.0 5.7  More than $30,000 13.3 9.8 5.3 13.1 3.1 8.2 18.4 19.6 3.8 

#Rounds to zero.

1Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

Undergraduate major

________

88
Table II.2.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to cumulative

Table II.2.—undergraduate grade-point average, by selected student and institution characteristics 

Less than 3.50

Student and institution characteristics 2.00 2.00–2.49 2.50–2.99 3.00–3.49 or higher

 Total 0.7 9.5 24.9 36.0 29.0

Gender 

 Male 0.7 12.3 28.1 35.3 23.6

 Female 0.7 7.4 22.5 36.5 32.9

Race/ethnicity 

 White, non-Hispanic 0.3 8.2 23.8 36.5 31.1

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 3.8 20.3 30.2 29.3 16.4

 Hispanic or Latino 1.4 10.3 29.7 35.2 23.4

 Asian 0.5 9.1 25.2 38.4 26.8

 American Indian/Alaska Native # 17.3 27.8 32.7 22.2

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander # 6.0 38.0 38.3 17.6

 Other race1 0.9 13.8 22.6 29.8 32.9

 More than one race # 5.9 16.4 46.0 31.7

Disability status 

 Does not have a disability 0.6 8.8 24.0 36.2 30.4

 Has a disability 0.6 9.1 25.5 33.6 31.2

Parents’ educational attainment 

 Less than high school 1.6 12.2 25.0 37.1 24.2

 High school or equivalency 0.8 10.2 25.2 34.2 29.7

 Some postsecondary education 1.0 9.1 25.4 37.9 26.7

 Bachelor’s degree 0.3 9.1 26.5 35.7 28.4

 Master’s degree or equivalent 0.5 8.6 22.8 36.1 32.1

 Doctoral/professional degree 0.2 4.6 22.2 36.8 36.3

Age at bachelor’s completion 

 22 or younger 0.3 6.6 24.2 39.2 29.7

 23–24 0.7 14.3 31.4 36.4 17.3

 25–29 1.5 14.8 28.2 29.9 25.7

 30–39 1.6 8.7 18.0 32.0 39.7

 40 or older 1.0 6.3 14.1 30.0 48.6

Undergraduate major 

 Business/management 0.5 12.5 26.0 35.4 25.5

 Education 1.2 4.4 22.2 40.8 31.4

 Engineering 0.3 9.0 34.5 32.2 24.0

 Health 0.2 6.4 22.0 41.8 29.7

 Other technical/professional 0.8 13.1 30.0 33.9 22.1

 Social/behavioral sciences 1.1 11.5 26.4 33.7 27.4

 Humanities 1.0 7.3 20.5 34.3 36.9

 Life sciences 0.1 8.5 21.3 40.2 29.8

 Physical sciences # 6.0 21.0 30.9 42.1

 Math # 3.0 18.2 38.6 40.2

 Computer/information science 0.7 8.0 23.5 39.7 28.2

 Vocational/technical 0.3 10.0 30.3 35.3 24.2

See notes at end of table.

Cumulative undergraduate grade-point average 

________

89
Table II.2.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to cumulative

Table II.2.—undergraduate grade-point average, by selected student and institution characteristics 

Table II.2.——Continued

Less than 3.50

Student and institution characteristics 2.00 2.00–2.49 2.50–2.99 3.00–3.49 or higher

Combined SAT scores 

 No exam taken or no score reported 1.2 10.1 20.2 32.4 36.1

 Below 1000 1.0 15.6 37.2 33.8 12.3

 1000–1200 0.3 7.2 25.9 42.1 24.5

 Above 1200 # 3.7 15.2 35.5 45.6

First institution type 

 Public 2-year 0.8 10.2 24.8 35.1 29.2

 Public 4-year nondoctorate-granting 0.5 11.2 27.3 37.5 23.5

 Public doctorate-granting 0.9 10.2 27.8 36.9 24.3

 Private not-for-profit 4-year nondoctorate-granting 0.3 9.5 21.9 35.1 33.3

 Private not-for-profit doctorate-granting 0.9 6.5 20.6 36.3 35.8

 Private for-profit 1.9 8.4 14.1 39.9 35.7

 Other # 2.7 16.9 40.9 39.5

Number of institutions attended 

 One 0.5 8.8 26.3 39.8 24.7

 Two 0.4 9.9 25.4 33.4 30.8

 Three 1.4 11.4 23.0 32.8 31.4

 Four or more 1.7 7.3 19.3 33.9 38.0

Degree-granting institution type 

 Public 0.9 11.2 28.1 35.7 24.2

 Nondoctorate-granting 0.9 12.4 28.2 35.3 23.3

 Doctorate-granting 0.8 10.6 28.1 35.9 24.6

 Private not-for-profit 0.4 6.4 19.4 36.7 37.1

 Nondoctorate-granting 0.5 7.0 19.0 36.6 36.9

 Doctorate-granting 0.2 5.5 20.0 36.9 37.5

 Private for-profit 1.7 5.0 8.4 30.7 54.3

Total undergraduate debt 

 Did not borrow 0.5 7.7 22.6 35.0 34.2

 $5,000 or less 0.7 9.5 23.0 37.7 29.1

 $5,001–10,000 1.3 10.8 24.3 34.1 29.6

 $10,001–20,000 0.3 9.5 26.4 37.0 26.8

 $20,001–30,000 1.0 11.7 28.7 33.2 25.3

 More than $30,000 1.2 10.0 26.1 40.3 22.4

#Rounds to zero.

1

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond 

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

Cumulative undergraduate grade-point average 

________

90
Table II.3.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to grade-point 

Table II.3.—average in undergraduate major, by selected student and institution characteristics 

 Less than 3.50

Student and institution characteristics 2.00 2.00–2.49 2.50–2.99 3.00–3.49 or higher

 Total 0.3 2.3 13.4 35.1 49.0

Gender 

 Male 0.4 2.9 15.9 38.3 42.6

 Female 0.2 1.9 11.6 32.6 53.8

Race/ethnicity 

 White, non-Hispanic 0.3 2.2 11.5 34.6 51.4

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 0.3 3.4 24.0 36.7 35.6

 Hispanic or Latino 0.3 3.0 17.6 37.2 42.0

 Asian 0.1 1.9 18.6 33.6 45.9

 American Indian/Alaska Native # 2.8 7.5 44.7 45.0

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander # 3.2 17.6 58.5 20.7

 Other race1 # # 20.5 30.5 49.0

 More than one race # 1.2 5.6 35.5 57.8

Disability status 

 Does not have a disability 0.2 2.2 13.4 35.6 48.5

 Has a disability 0.6 2.4 12.8 30.1 54.2

Parents’ educational attainment 

 Less than high school # 3.3 19.7 32.7 44.3

 High school or equivalency 0.2 3.2 13.8 32.7 50.1

 Some postsecondary education 0.5 2.2 13.3 36.0 48.0

 Bachelor’s degree 0.3 1.7 14.4 36.5 47.1

 Master’s degree or equivalent 0.2 2.0 12.0 36.9 48.9

 Doctoral/professional degree # 1.8 9.5 31.7 57.1

Age at bachelor’s completion 

 22 or younger 0.1 2.2 12.7 35.8 49.2

 23–24 0.8 2.7 18.1 39.6 38.9

 25–29 0.2 3.2 16.0 34.9 45.7

 30–39 0.3 1.7 9.6 30.7 57.7

 40 or older 0.2 1.1 6.5 25.6 66.6

Undergraduate major 

 Business/management 0.3 3.2 16.4 35.8 44.4

 Education # 0.6 7.7 31.2 60.6

 Engineering # 4.7 23.8 38.6 33.0

 Health 0.1 1.4 12.9 38.2 47.4

 Other technical/professional 0.2 2.1 14.7 38.1 44.9

 Social/behavioral sciences 0.4 2.6 13.4 35.6 48.1

 Humanities 0.3 1.1 7.6 28.9 62.2

 Life sciences 0.2 2.4 17.6 38.3 41.5

 Physical sciences 0.5 4.8 13.7 35.9 45.1

 Math # 6.0 9.3 32.8 52.0

 Computer/information science # 1.3 12.8 39.4 46.6

 Vocational/technical 1.5 2.2 11.5 39.1 45.7

See notes at end of table.

Grade-point average in undergraduate major 

________

91
Table II.3.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to grade-point 

Table II.3.—average in undergraduate major, by selected student and institution characteristics

Table II.3.——Continued 

 Less than 3.50

Student and institution characteristics 2.00 2.00–2.49 2.50–2.99 3.00–3.49 or higher

Combined SAT scores 

 No exam taken or no score reported 0.2 2.4 11.3 31.2 54.9

 Below 1000 0.5 3.6 20.5 40.0 35.5

 1000–1200 0.2 1.5 13.3 39.0 46.0

 Above 1200 0.2 1.6 8.3 29.8 60.1

First institution type 

 Public 2-year 0.4 2.6 12.6 36.4 48.1

 Public 4-year nondoctorate-granting 0.2 1.9 13.1 37.8 47.0

 Public doctorate-granting 0.2 2.9 15.2 35.5 46.3

 Private not-for-profit 4-year nondoctorate-granting 0.2 2.7 11.4 34.8 50.9

 Private not-for-profit doctorate-granting 0.1 1.1 12.9 31.6 54.3

 Private for-profit 1.1 0.3 10.7 30.4 57.5

 Other 0.5 1.2 13.0 35.6 49.7

Number of institutions attended 

 One 0.2 2.3 14.5 36.7 46.3

 Two 0.3 2.2 13.7 33.3 50.5

 Three 0.3 3.2 11.8 35.3 49.5

 Four or more 0.2 0.9 10.1 34.7 54.2

Cumulative undergraduate GPA 

 Less than 2.00 2.7 8.2 25.1 25.4 38.6

 2.00–2.49 1.9 12.0 36.7 35.7 13.8

 2.50–2.99 0.2 4.2 29.7 47.4 18.5

 3.00–3.49 # 0.3 6.9 49.0 43.9

 3.50 or higher # 0.3 1.4 9.7 88.7

Degree-granting institution type 

 Public 0.3 2.6 15.1 36.4 45.6

 Nondoctorate-granting 0.4 2.5 14.3 36.1 46.6

 Doctorate-granting 0.3 2.7 15.4 36.6 45.1

 Private not-for-profit 0.2 1.8 10.6 32.9 54.6

 Nondoctorate-granting 0.1 2.2 10.0 32.6 55.1

 Doctorate-granting 0.2 1.2 11.4 33.4 53.9

 Private for-profit # # 5.5 25.3 69.2

Total undergraduate debt 

 Did not borrow 0.1 1.6 12.5 32.7 53.1

 $5,000 or less 0.4 1.2 13.4 33.6 51.5

 $5,001–10,000 0.3 3.2 11.4 36.6 48.5

 $10,001–20,000 0.3 2.2 14.1 36.6 46.7

 $20,001–30,000 0.3 2.9 12.8 38.5 45.4

 More than $30,000 0.6 3.5 16.5 35.1 44.3

#Rounds to zero.

1

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond 

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

Grade-point average in undergraduate major 

________

92
Table II.4.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to first institution 

Table II.4.—type, by selected student and institution characteristics 

Public Private not- Private 

4-year for-profit notnon- Public 4-year non- for-profit 

Public doctorate- doctorate- doctorate- doctorate- Private 

Student and institution characteristics 2-year granting granting granting granting for-profit Other 

 Total 19.5 14.6 35.7 15.6 12.3 1.5 0.8

Gender 

 Male 19.8 12.8 37.0 15.6 13.0 1.2 0.7

 Female 19.2 16.0 34.7 15.6 11.9 1.7 0.8

Race/ethnicity 

 White, non-Hispanic 19.0 14.4 35.7 17.2 11.6 1.0 1.0

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 15.6 18.3 38.2 11.0 12.5 4.0 0.5

 Hispanic or Latino 23.6 15.7 30.5 13.4 13.1 3.7 0.1

 Asian 20.9 9.8 43.1 5.5 19.0 1.3 0.4

 American Indian/Alaska Native 33.1 13.0 33.0 7.3 12.0 1.7 #

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 34.5 6.4 31.9 14.6 11.5 # 1.2

 Other race1 22.7 12.2 34.1 9.4 21.6 # #

 More than one race 21.4 23.0 25.6 14.4 14.5 1.1 #

Disability status 

 Does not have a disability 19.8 14.7 35.4 16.0 12.1 1.3 0.8

 Has a disability 24.3 14.4 27.9 16.2 11.0 3.9 2.3

Parents’ educational attainment 

 Less than high school 30.6 21.9 27.8 8.0 5.1 5.7 1.0

 High school or equivalency 27.4 16.5 29.4 15.4 7.4 2.7 1.3

 Some postsecondary education 23.0 16.9 33.2 14.9 9.9 1.2 0.9

 Bachelor’s degree 17.1 13.9 38.8 14.9 14.1 0.7 0.5

 Master’s degree or equivalent 14.7 12.2 39.1 17.5 15.3 0.6 0.7

 Doctoral/professional degree 6.6 6.8 41.9 18.7 24.8 0.3 0.8

Age at bachelor’s completion 

 22 or younger 7.4 13.5 39.7 20.7 18.0 0.5 0.2

 23–24 23.9 16.3 39.8 10.3 8.5 0.5 0.7

 25–29 34.6 15.5 31.8 8.3 5.8 1.9 1.9

 30–39 37.9 16.6 23.8 10.6 5.8 4.0 1.4

 40 or older 39.3 13.5 18.5 14.8 4.6 7.2 2.2

See notes at end of table.

First institution type 

________

93
Table II.4.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to first institution 

Table II.4.—type, by selected student and institution characteristics—Continued

Public Private not- Private 

4-year for-profit notnon- Public 4-year non- for-profit 

Public doctorate- doctorate- doctorate- doctorate- Private 

Student and institution characteristics 2-year granting granting granting granting for-profit Other 

Undergraduate major 

 Business/management 21.4 14.9 35.3 15.2 9.5 3.1 0.6

 Education 25.2 22.2 27.0 18.7 5.2 0.9 0.9

 Engineering 17.8 8.0 50.4 6.5 16.3 0.7 0.3

 Health 19.4 16.1 39.1 13.0 9.6 0.9 2.1

 Other technical/professional 19.0 14.5 42.2 11.2 11.0 1.6 0.6

 Social/behavioral sciences 17.7 12.5 34.9 16.5 16.6 1.2 0.6

 Humanities 16.2 14.7 31.3 19.9 16.0 0.9 1.1

 Life sciences 20.0 11.5 39.2 15.9 12.2 0.7 0.6

 Physical sciences 14.3 14.9 35.2 21.3 14.3 # #

 Mathematics 5.9 13.6 45.9 15.6 18.5 # 0.5

 Computer/information science 27.1 13.7 33.9 10.5 11.4 3.1 0.3

 Vocational/technical 23.1 21.2 30.0 16.5 6.6 1.4 1.1

Combined SAT scores 

 No exam taken or no score reported 39.8 14.2 21.2 12.7 6.6 4.1 1.5

 Below 1000 19.0 19.9 37.8 14.1 7.5 0.9 0.8

 1000–1200 8.9 15.2 44.3 18.6 12.5 0.2 0.4

 Above 1200 3.7 7.5 43.1 17.6 27.7 0.1 0.3

Number of institutions attended 

 One # 18.6 44.2 19.3 17.2 0.7 #

 Two 34.3 11.9 29.0 12.4 9.4 1.8 1.3

 Three 35.0 10.1 31.4 12.0 8.3 1.7 1.5

 Four or more 31.1 13.7 26.5 16.2 6.5 4.4 1.7

Cumulative undergraduate GPA 

 Less than 2.00 21.6 10.2 44.0 5.5 14.8 3.9 #

 2.00–2.49 20.6 17.0 37.7 15.0 8.2 1.3 0.2

 2.50–2.99 19.4 16.1 39.6 13.4 10.1 0.8 0.5

 3.00–3.49 18.9 15.2 36.3 14.8 12.2 1.6 0.9

 3.50 or higher 20.3 12.3 30.8 18.1 15.5 1.9 1.1

Degree-granting institution type 

 Public 20.9 20.3 51.1 3.6 2.4 0.9 0.8

 Nondoctorate-granting 24.7 59.1 8.3 4.2 2.1 1.2 0.5

 Doctorate-granting 19.4 4.1 69.1 3.4 2.5 0.8 0.9

 Private not-for-profit 16.1 3.6 6.5 39.4 32.3 1.1 0.9

 Nondoctorate-granting 19.7 4.1 7.3 64.9 2.1 1.4 0.6

 Doctorate-granting 11.1 2.9 5.4 3.7 74.9 0.7 1.3

 Private for-profit 31.5 13.2 14.1 5.5 2.5 33.1 0.3

See notes at end of table.

First institution type 

________

94
Table II.4.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to first institution 

Table II.4.—type, by selected student and institution characteristics—Continued

Public Private not- Private 

4-year for-profit notnon- Public 4-year non- for-profit 

Public doctorate- doctorate- doctorate- doctorate- Private 

Student and institution characteristics 2-year granting granting granting granting for-profit Other 

Total undergraduate debt 

 Did not borrow 17.9 15.6 40.8 11.7 12.0 1.1 0.9

 $5,000 or less 23.9 20.4 36.2 10.5 6.7 1.3 1.0

 $5,001–10,000 25.5 13.3 37.0 13.4 8.5 1.4 1.0

 $10,001–20,000 19.5 14.7 32.0 19.8 12.2 1.4 0.5

 $20,001–30,000 19.6 11.9 32.0 16.8 17.1 1.8 0.9

 More than $30,000 23.5 10.7 25.4 18.6 16.9 3.6 1.4

#Rounds to zero.

1

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond 

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

First institution type 

________

95
Table II.5.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to total 

Table II.5.—number of months stopped out, by selected student and institution characteristics 

No stopouts lasting 36

4 months 4–5 6–11 12–23 24–35 months

Student and institution characteristics or more months months months months or more

 Total 64.1 5.3 5.5 5.8 3.6 15.7

Gender 

 Male 63.6 5.4 6.2 6.1 4.2 14.6

 Female 64.5 5.3 5.0 5.6 3.1 16.5

Race/ethnicity 

 White, non-Hispanic 64.8 5.4 5.4 5.4 3.7 15.4

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 56.6 4.3 6.0 6.5 3.8 22.9

 Hispanic or Latino 64.7 5.5 4.1 8.9 3.0 13.9

 Asian 69.0 6.3 7.6 6.6 3.0 7.5

 American Indian/Alaska Native 47.1 1.9 3.9 7.8 3.1 36.2

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 51.0 2.9 2.0 8.6 8.6 26.8

 Other race1 62.0 2.7 7.9 3.3 2.6 21.6

 More than one race 62.7 8.5 7.0 4.5 2.7 14.7

Disability status 

 Does not have a disability 63.8 5.6 5.4 5.6 3.3 16.2

 Has a disability 49.1 4.5 6.1 5.8 5.0 29.5

Parents’ educational attainment 

 Less than high school 42.4 4.7 2.7 8.8 4.5 37.0

 High school or equivalency 55.4 4.8 5.8 6.0 4.0 24.0

 Some postsecondary education 64.9 5.4 4.8 5.8 3.5 15.7

 Bachelor’s degree 68.5 6.1 6.4 5.4 3.1 10.4

 Master’s degree or equivalent 71.7 6.5 5.3 4.9 3.0 8.7

 Doctoral/professional degree 76.2 4.6 4.4 4.0 2.3 8.5

Age at bachelor’s completion 

 22 or younger 88.2 6.0 3.7 1.6 0.3 0.2

 23–24 67.1 7.0 10.6 9.9 3.8 1.7

 25–29 29.1 4.6 8.7 16.2 15.4 26.1

 30–39 19.9 2.9 2.3 4.3 3.4 67.2

 40 or older 15.7 0.6 1.9 4.7 2.8 74.3

See notes at end of table.

Total number of months stopped out 

________

96
Table II.5.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to total 

Table II.5.—number of months stopped out, by selected student and institution characteristics—Continued

No stopouts lasting 36

4 months 4–5 6–11 12–23 24–35 months

Student and institution characteristics or more months months months months or more

Undergraduate major 

 Business/management 59.0 5.3 5.2 4.8 3.9 21.8

 Education 66.6 4.9 5.0 5.2 4.3 14.0

 Engineering 69.3 3.3 7.2 5.5 2.6 12.1

 Health 57.7 5.6 5.7 5.7 2.5 23.0

 Other technical/professional 67.7 5.3 5.6 8.1 5.0 8.3

 Social/behavioral sciences 67.3 5.8 4.8 6.7 3.3 12.2

 Humanities 62.3 5.1 6.7 6.7 3.2 16.0

 Life sciences 74.3 4.9 4.5 5.0 3.9 7.4

 Physical sciences 68.7 11.3 1.4 4.0 1.3 13.5

 Mathematics 71.0 4.1 9.8 1.5 3.8 9.9

 Computer/information science 55.6 6.5 6.8 3.4 4.1 23.5

 Vocational/technical 63.8 4.1 3.9 6.0 5.4 16.9

Combined SAT scores 

 No exam taken or no score reported 30.8 4.8 5.9 9.5 6.7 42.4

 Below 1000 71.6 4.9 6.4 6.1 3.7 7.3

 1000–1200 81.6 5.9 4.4 3.7 1.6 2.8

 Above 1200 83.4 5.8 5.4 2.6 1.4 1.4

First institution type 

 Public 2-year 41.4 8.7 7.3 9.7 5.6 27.3

 Public 4-year nondoctorate-granting 66.4 4.6 5.2 5.1 3.6 15.1

 Public doctorate-granting 72.3 3.5 5.2 5.1 3.0 11.0

 Private not-for-profit 4-year nondoctorate-granting 72.8 6.7 4.0 4.2 2.2 10.1

 Private not-for-profit doctorate-granting 76.4 5.1 5.1 3.5 2.7 7.2

 Private for-profit 31.9 3.1 5.1 2.6 8.0 49.3

 Other 18.0 4.8 8.9 12.8 19.9 35.6

Number of institutions attended 

 One 89.2 2.4 3.1 2.1 1.1 2.0

 Two 56.9 8.5 7.1 7.0 3.8 16.6

 Three 35.8 6.3 7.9 10.5 7.4 32.1

 Four or more 16.9 4.3 6.3 11.1 8.7 52.7

Cumulative undergraduate GPA 

 Less than 2.00 42.1 9.0 7.3 2.0 9.2 30.5

 2.00–2.49 57.0 6.3 6.9 10.0 5.3 14.6

 2.50–2.99 66.4 6.4 6.1 6.0 3.2 11.9

 3.00–3.49 68.0 4.6 5.8 4.9 3.4 13.4

 3.50 or higher 59.0 5.1 4.3 5.4 3.7 22.5

See notes at end of table.

Total number of months stopped out 

________

97
Table II.5.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to total 

Table II.5.—number of months stopped out, by selected student and institution characteristics—Continued

No stopouts lasting 36

4 months 4–5 6–11 12–23 24–35 months

Student and institution characteristics or more months months months months or more

Degree-granting institution type 

 Public 64.3 5.1 6.3 6.5 3.5 14.4

 Nondoctorate-granting 59.4 4.4 6.1 6.8 4.3 19.1

 Doctorate-granting 66.4 5.4 6.4 6.3 3.2 12.4

 Private not-for-profit 64.9 5.9 4.1 4.7 3.8 16.7

 Nondoctorate-granting 61.6 5.0 3.8 4.6 3.4 21.6

 Doctorate-granting 69.4 7.2 4.7 4.7 4.3 9.8

 Private for-profit 39.5 2.9 1.5 2.9 5.1 48.1

Total undergraduate debt 

 Did not borrow 65.2 5.2 5.6 6.0 3.4 14.6

 $5,000 or less 57.5 5.9 7.9 6.6 3.7 18.4

 $5,001–10,000 52.7 5.8 6.8 8.3 4.4 22.0

 $10,001–20,000 65.6 5.9 5.9 5.3 3.5 13.9

 $20,001–30,000 62.3 4.6 4.3 4.7 4.2 20.0

 More than $30,000 51.1 6.3 5.5 9.2 6.7 21.2

1

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond 

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

Total number of months stopped out 

________

98
Table II.6.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to number of 

Table II.6.—institutions attended, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001

Four or

Student and institution characteristics One Two Three more

 Total 41.7 34.8 15.9 7.6

Gender 

 Male 43.6 33.8 15.4 7.1

 Female 40.3 35.5 16.3 7.9

Race/ethnicity 

 White, non-Hispanic 42.2 34.3 16.1 7.4

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 38.0 36.1 15.0 10.9

 Hispanic or Latino 43.4 36.1 14.2 6.3

 Asian 42.0 36.1 17.1 4.8

 American Indian/Alaska Native 27.8 33.8 22.9 15.6

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 28.9 33.5 19.7 17.9

 Other race1 36.8 43.2 12.7 7.4

 More than one race 43.9 32.9 14.3 8.9

Disability status 

 Does not have a disability 41.3 35.3 15.9 7.6

 Has a disability 29.5 34.3 22.6 13.6

Parents’ educational attainment 

 Less than high school 26.7 41.5 20.3 11.5

 High school or equivalency 34.7 38.0 18.3 9.0

 Some postsecondary education 41.3 35.3 15.4 7.9

 Bachelor’s degree 44.7 32.7 15.6 7.0

 Master’s degree or equivalent 44.4 36.4 13.6 5.7

 Doctoral/professional degree 54.8 29.2 11.6 4.4

Age at bachelor’s completion 

 22 or younger 61.2 29.7 7.5 1.6

 23–24 35.9 41.2 18.2 4.7

 25–29 17.0 43.3 26.3 13.5

 30–39 12.1 35.3 31.3 21.3

 40 or older 11.8 34.7 26.6 26.9

Undergraduate major 

 Business/management 36.5 39.0 15.4 9.1

 Education 39.7 37.9 14.9 7.4

 Engineering 50.1 32.5 12.8 4.6

 Health 33.5 37.3 18.4 10.9

 Other technical/professional 44.9 35.0 15.0 5.2

 Social/behavioral sciences 46.4 32.4 14.8 6.3

 Humanities 42.0 30.6 18.7 8.7

 Life sciences 45.6 35.4 14.4 4.7

 Physical sciences 42.0 36.1 11.9 9.9

 Mathematics 56.2 33.5 7.8 2.5

 Computer/information science 37.1 32.7 23.0 7.2

 Vocational/technical 43.6 30.6 16.9 8.9

See notes at end of table.

Number of institutions attended 

________

99
Table II.6.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to number of 

Table II.6.—institutions attended, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001—Continued 

Four or

Student and institution characteristics One Two Three more

Combined SAT scores 

 No exam taken or no score reported 14.5 41.1 27.1 17.3

 Below 1000 46.4 35.1 14.2 4.4

 1000–1200 53.7 32.5 10.5 3.3

 Above 1200 64.1 27.3 7.2 1.5

First institution type 

 Public 2-year # 60.3 28.1 11.6

 Public 4-year nondoctorate-granting 54.5 27.9 10.8 6.8

 Public doctorate-granting 52.9 27.9 13.8 5.4

 Private not-for-profit 4-year nondoctorate-granting 53.1 27.2 12.1 7.6

 Private not-for-profit doctorate-granting 59.7 26.0 10.5 3.8

 Private for-profit 18.8 41.5 18.2 21.5

 Other # 55.6 29.0 15.4

Cumulative undergraduate GPA 

 Less than 2.00 29.6 21.1 31.3 18.0

 2.00–2.49 38.4 36.4 19.4 5.8

 2.50–2.99 43.7 35.6 14.8 5.9

 3.00–3.49 45.8 32.4 14.6 7.2

 3.50 or higher 35.4 37.2 17.4 10.0

Degree-granting institution type 

 Public 40.2 36.2 16.6 7.0

 Nondoctorate-granting 40.2 34.1 17.9 7.9

 Doctorate-granting 40.2 37.1 16.1 6.7

 Private not-for-profit 45.9 31.4 14.4 8.3

 Nondoctorate-granting 41.6 32.1 16.1 10.2

 Doctorate-granting 51.9 30.4 12.1 5.6

 Private for-profit 16.9 47.5 19.8 15.9

Total undergraduate debt 

 Did not borrow 41.9 35.5 13.9 8.8

 $5,000 or less 33.6 39.9 16.6 9.9

 $5,001–10,000 32.8 35.3 23.4 8.6

 $10,001–20,000 42.6 35.0 15.3 7.1

 $20,001–30,000 39.6 36.1 18.3 6.0

 More than $30,000 28.8 35.6 27.0 8.6

#Rounds to zero.

1

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond 

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

Number of institutions attended 

________

100
Table II.7.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to prior 

Table II.7.—attainment, by selected student and institution characteristics 

No prior Associate’s Bachelor’s

Student and institution characteristics attainment Certificate degree degree or higher

 Total 79.4 1.5 16.8 2.4

Gender 

 Male 80.8 0.9 15.8 2.5

 Female 78.4 1.9 17.4 2.3

Race/ethnicity 

 White, non-Hispanic 80.1 1.3 16.4 2.2

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 76.5 3.7 18.0 1.8

 Hispanic or Latino 76.9 1.2 19.3 2.6

 Asian 83.7 1.3 11.4 3.6

 American Indian/Alaska Native 70.5 4.6 18.7 6.2

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 71.0 # 24.8 4.2

 Other race1 74.0 1.1 21.3 3.5

 More than one race 71.9 0.8 26.1 1.3

Disability status 

 Does not have a disability 79.6 1.5 16.4 2.4

 Has a disability 70.9 2.4 23.8 3.0

Parents’ educational attainment 

 Less than high school 63.9 3.6 30.5 2.0

 High school or equivalency 71.1 2.2 23.9 2.9

 Some postsecondary education 77.0 1.7 19.6 1.7

 Bachelor’s degree 83.8 0.7 13.6 2.0

 Master’s degree or equivalent 87.7 1.0 8.9 2.4

 Doctoral/professional degree 91.6 0.4 5.6 2.4

Age at bachelor’s completion 

 22 or younger 93.5 0.3 5.8 0.3

 23–24 83.5 0.8 15.0 0.7

 25–29 61.5 1.7 30.2 6.7

 30–39 51.7 4.2 37.6 6.5

 40 or older 43.6 7.1 42.4 6.9

Undergraduate major 

 Business/management 74.3 1.0 22.7 2.0

 Education 76.0 2.0 20.0 2.0

 Engineering 82.7 1.5 12.5 3.3

 Health 69.6 4.1 19.4 7.0

 Other technical/professional 80.7 1.8 16.4 1.1

 Social/behavioral sciences 84.9 0.9 13.3 0.9

 Humanities 81.9 1.5 14.5 2.2

 Life sciences 86.3 0.7 12.1 1.0

 Physical sciences 88.4 0.5 5.8 5.3

 Mathematics 89.2 # 7.4 3.4

 Computer/information science 75.1 1.6 17.4 5.9

 Vocational/technical 75.4 1.2 21.4 2.1

See notes at end of table.

Prior attainment 

________

101
Table II.7.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to prior 

Table II.7.—attainment, by selected student and institution characteristics —Continued

No prior Associate’s Bachelor’s

Student and institution characteristics attainment Certificate degree degree or higher

Combined SAT scores 

 No exam taken or no score reported 55.0 3.6 35.3 6.1

 Below 1000 83.3 1.2 14.5 1.1

 1000–1200 92.0 0.3 7.1 0.6

 Above 1200 96.4 # 3.1 0.5

First institution type 

 Public 2-year 47.3 2.5 48.2 2.0

 Public 4-year nondoctorate-granting 87.4 1.2 10.2 1.2

 Public doctorate-granting 90.6 0.8 6.1 2.5

 Private not-for-profit 4-year nondoctorate-granting 87.3 1.3 9.1 2.3

 Private not-for-profit doctorate-granting 92.0 0.3 5.3 2.4

 Private for-profit 46.5 8.7 41.9 2.9

 Other 41.0 3.2 53.7 2.0

Number of institutions attended 

 One 96.7 0.4 2.7 0.2

 Two 73.0 1.6 22.5 2.9

 Three 64.5 2.4 28.7 4.3

 Four or more 52.9 4.4 36.3 6.5

Cumulative undergraduate GPA 

 Less than 2.00 63.4 0.7 29.6 6.3

 2.00–2.49 82.3 1.1 14.7 1.9

 2.50–2.99 83.4 1.0 14.0 1.6

 3.00–3.49 81.0 1.4 15.7 2.0

 3.50 or higher 73.4 2.0 21.0 3.6

Degree-granting institution type 

 Public 79.4 1.3 16.7 2.6

 Nondoctorate-granting 73.7 1.6 22.5 2.3

 Doctorate-granting 81.8 1.2 14.2 2.7

 Private not-for-profit 80.9 1.5 15.9 1.8

 Nondoctorate-granting 76.4 1.9 19.5 2.2

 Doctorate-granting 87.1 0.8 10.8 1.3

 Private for-profit 49.2 9.0 38.0 3.8

Total undergraduate debt 

 Did not borrow 79.8 1.6 15.7 2.9

 $5,000 or less 76.4 1.7 20.0 2.0

 $5,001–10,000 73.5 1.2 23.5 1.8

 $10,001–20,000 82.5 0.9 15.5 1.1

 $20,001–30,000 79.9 1.9 15.5 2.7

 More than $30,000 76.2 2.9 15.5 5.4

#Rounds to zero.

1

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond 

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

Prior attainment 

________

102
Table II.8.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to degree-granting institution type, b

Table II.8.—institution characteristics 

 Nondoctorate- Doctorate- Nondoctorate- D

Student and institution characteristics Total granting granting Total granting  Total 65.2 19.3 45.8 33.2 19.4 Gender  Male 65.5 17.6 47.9 32.9 18.2  Female 64.9 20.6 44.3 33.5 20.3 Race/ethnicity  White, non-Hispanic 64.7 19.0 45.7 34.2 21.2  Black/African American, non-Hispanic 67.4 23.0 44.4 29.1 16.6  Hispanic or Latino 62.2 19.3 42.8 34.1 18.3  Asian 71.6 14.7 56.8 26.4 6.7  American Indian/Alaska Native 72.0 25.3 46.6 28.0 18.8  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 70.9 26.0 44.9 29.1 15.1  Other race1 70.5 23.4 47.1 29.1 9.0 

 More than one race 60.7 25.0 35.7 38.6 13.3 Disability status  Does not have a disability 64.7 19.4 45.3 33.8 20.1  Has a disability 61.4 24.2 37.2 36.8 24.0 Parents’ educational attainment  Less than high school 70.1 28.3 41.8 25.9 15.9  High school or equivalency 66.8 23.0 43.8 31.3 21.9  Some postsecondary education 65.2 22.3 42.8 33.2 21.0  Bachelor’s degree 66.2 18.7 47.5 32.4 17.8  Master’s degree or equivalent 65.2 15.9 49.3 34.3 17.9  Doctoral/professional degree 53.7 7.9 45.8 45.7 19.5 

See notes at end of table.

Public Private not-for-profit

Degree-granting institution 

________

103
Table II.8.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to degree-granting institution type, b

Table II.8.—institution characteristics—Continued

 Nondoctorate- Doctorate- Nondoctorate- D

Student and institution characteristics Total granting granting Total granting Age at bachelor’s completion  22 or younger 60.3 14.9 45.4 39.2 20.6  23–24 78.1 23.3 54.8 21.3 11.0  25–29 72.3 23.7 48.6 25.4 16.0  30–39 62.6 24.8 37.7 32.8 25.2  40 or older 52.1 22.9 29.2 41.0 33.1 Undergraduate major  Business/management 61.1 20.3 40.8 34.3 22.9  Education 68.6 30.6 38.1 31.2 24.6  Engineering 77.9 10.3 67.6 21.7 6.5  Health 67.8 18.7 49.1 31.8 18.6  Other technical/professional 73.9 20.2 53.7 24.9 11.9  Social/behavioral sciences 64.1 16.8 47.3 35.9 18.8  Humanities 58.1 18.9 39.2 40.5 21.9  Life sciences 69.6 15.2 54.5 30.4 16.8  Physical sciences 66.8 16.7 50.1 33.3 19.6  Mathematics 64.7 15.7 49.0 35.3 16.9  Computer/information science 61.0 18.2 42.8 30.8 19.6  Vocational/technical 70.8 28.6 42.2 29.2 21.1 Combined SAT scores  No exam taken or no score reported 61.5 24.0 37.4 34.0 24.3  Below 1000 73.9 24.8 49.1 25.5 16.3  1000–1200 67.8 16.7 51.2 31.9 18.7  Above 1200 55.9 8.2 47.7 44.0 16.1 

See notes at end of table.

Degree-granting institution 

Public Private not-for-profit

________

104
Table II.8.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to degree-granting institution type, b

Table II.8.—institution characteristics—Continued

 Nondoctorate- Doctorate- Nondoctorate- D

Student and institution characteristics Total granting granting Total granting First institution type  Public 2-year 70.0 24.4 45.6 27.5 19.7  Public 4-year nondoctorate-granting 90.4 77.8 12.7 8.2 5.4  Public doctorate-granting 93.3 4.5 88.8 6.1 4.0  Private not-for-profit 4-year  nondoctorate-granting 15.2 5.2 9.9 84.3 81.0  Private not-for-profit doctorate-granting 12.4 3.2 9.2 87.3 3.3  Private for-profit 40.2 15.8 24.5 25.2 18.6  Other 62.2 11.3 51.0 37.2 13.9 Number of institutions attended  One 62.8 18.6 44.2 36.6 19.3  Two 67.8 18.9 48.9 30.0 17.9  Three 67.9 21.7 46.2 30.1 19.6  Four or more 60.4 20.1 40.3 36.2 26.0 Cumulative undergraduate GPA  Less than 2.00 78.8 24.1 54.8 17.3 13.0  2.00–2.49 77.0 25.5 51.5 22.2 14.2  2.50–2.99 73.8 22.0 51.7 25.7 14.7  3.00–3.49 64.9 19.1 45.8 33.7 19.6  3.50 or higher 54.6 15.7 38.9 42.3 24.5 

See notes at end of table.

Degree-granting institution 

Public Private not-for-profit

________

105
Table II.8.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to degree-granting institution type, b

Table II.8.—institution characteristics—Continued

 Nondoctorate- Doctorate- Nondoctorate- D

Student and institution characteristics Total granting granting Total granting Total undergraduate debt  Did not borrow 69.8 20.2 49.6 29.3 15.2  $5,000 or less 81.3 32.0 49.3 17.7 12.7  $5,001–10,000 72.5 23.0 49.4 26.8 18.0  $10,001–20,000 60.8 17.6 43.2 37.9 24.4  $20,001–30,000 59.2 16.8 42.4 36.7 19.1  More than $30,000 45.0 8.3 36.7 50.5 25.7 

#Rounds to zero.

1Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/

Public Private not-for-profit

Degree-granting institution 

________

106
Table II.9.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients according to time 

Table II.9.—between high school graduation and postsecondary entry, by selected student and institution 

Table II.9.—characteristics 

Less than 1–2 2–5 5 years

Student and institution characteristics 1 year years years or more

 Total 83.3 5.9 5.1 5.7

Gender 

 Male 82.7 6.5 5.8 5.0

 Female 83.7 5.5 4.5 6.3

Race/ethnicity 

 White, non-Hispanic 84.6 5.7 4.3 5.4

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 78.6 6.0 6.4 9.0

 Hispanic or Latino 78.6 6.3 8.0 7.1

 Asian 79.6 9.2 7.9 3.4

 American Indian/Alaska Native 78.6 1.2 6.2 14.0

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 82.3 7.3 6.4 4.0

 Other race1 82.2 10.1 4.4 3.3

 More than one race 84.7 1.5 8.5 5.3

Disability status 

 Does not have a disability 84.5 5.1 4.7 5.7

 Has a disability 74.9 4.9 8.5 11.6

Parents’ educational attainment 

 Less than high school 60.4 8.8 11.8 18.9

 High school or equivalency 74.8 6.1 8.1 11.1

 Some postsecondary education 86.8 4.8 4.1 4.3

 Bachelor’s degree 90.5 5.2 2.3 2.0

 Master’s degree or equivalent 90.8 4.3 3.2 1.8

 Doctoral/professional degree 92.0 4.9 1.4 1.6

Age at bachelor’s completion 

 22 or younger 96.4 3.2 0.4 #

 23–24 87.5 7.7 4.8 #

 25–29 70.5 9.9 12.6 7.0

 30–39 51.9 9.4 14.9 23.8

 40 or older 42.6 8.1 11.7 37.6

See notes at end of table.

Time between high school graduation and postsecondary entry 

________

107
Table II.9.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients according to time 

Table II.9.—between high school graduation and postsecondary entry, by selected student and institution 

Table II.9.—characteristics—Continued

Less than 1–2 2–5 5 years

Student and institution characteristics 1 year years years or more

Undergraduate major 

 Business/management 80.1 6.4 6.0 7.6

 Education 83.3 6.3 4.6 5.9

 Engineering 84.6 8.2 4.8 2.4

 Health 81.6 5.1 5.7 7.7

 Other technical/professional 87.8 4.4 4.2 3.7

 Social/behavioral sciences 85.9 5.1 3.5 5.5

 Humanities 83.3 5.8 5.4 5.4

 Life sciences 84.6 6.8 4.2 4.4

 Physical sciences 88.0 2.5 5.1 4.5

 Mathematics 91.2 5.3 3.2 0.3

 Computer/information science 74.4 8.0 10.3 7.3

 Vocational/technical 79.3 8.3 6.3 6.2

Combined SAT scores 

 No exam taken or no score reported 61.1 9.8 12.2 16.9

 Below 1000 89.1 4.7 3.9 2.3

 1000–1200 93.3 4.6 1.5 0.6

 Above 1200 95.7 3.5 0.6 0.3

First institution type 

 Public 2-year 71.6 8.0 8.9 11.6

 Public 4-year nondoctorate-granting 83.7 5.6 5.6 5.1

 Public doctorate-granting 87.6 6.0 3.6 2.8

 Private not-for-profit 4-year nondoctorate-granting 87.1 3.6 2.9 6.4

 Private not-for-profit doctorate-granting 90.5 4.4 2.4 2.7

 Private for-profit 63.4 5.6 12.9 18.0

 Other 71.1 14.8 8.2 5.9

Number of institutions attended 

 One 91.8 3.7 2.1 2.5

 Two 79.1 7.4 6.3 7.2

 Three 76.2 7.2 7.7 8.9

 Four or more 72.5 8.7 9.3 9.5

Cumulative undergraduate GPA 

 Less than 2.00 74.2 8.4 13.5 3.9

 2.00–2.49 84.8 7.4 4.7 3.2

 2.50–2.99 87.1 5.5 4.0 3.5

 3.00–3.49 84.2 6.2 5.1 4.5

 3.50 or higher 79.4 5.5 5.6 9.5

See notes at end of table.

Time between high school graduation and postsecondary entry 

________

108
Table II.9.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients according to time 

Table II.9.—between high school graduation and postsecondary entry, by selected student and institution 

Table II.9.—characteristics—Continued

Less than 1–2 2–5 5 years

Student and institution characteristics 1 year years years or more

Degree-granting institution type 

 Public 83.6 6.2 5.3 5.0

 Nondoctorate-granting 79.8 6.6 6.5 7.2

 Doctorate-granting 85.2 6.1 4.7 4.0

 Private not-for-profit 83.8 5.1 4.6 6.5

 Nondoctorate-granting 80.8 5.5 5.2 8.5

 Doctorate-granting 87.8 4.6 3.8 3.8

 Private for-profit 61.5 10.5 6.7 21.3

Total undergraduate debt 

 Did not borrow 84.4 5.6 4.5 5.6

 $5,000 or less 81.9 7.0 6.0 5.2

 $5,001–10,000 85.8 3.9 6.1 4.2

 $10,001–20,000 83.4 7.1 4.5 5.0

 $20,001–30,000 80.8 6.5 4.9 7.7

 More than $30,000 76.9 6.0 8.6 8.5

#Rounds to zero.

1

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. See the glossary for exact definitions of the time span category ranges.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond 

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

Time between high school graduation and postsecondary entry 

________

109
Table II.10.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients according to time 

Table II.10.—between high school graduation and degree completion, by selected student and institution 

Table II.10.—characteristics 

Within 4–5 5–6 6–10 More than

Student and institution characteristics 4 years years years years 10 years

 Total 32.7 22.9 10.8 14.8 18.9

Gender 

 Male 28.6 25.2 12.8 16.4 17.1

 Female 35.8 21.1 9.3 13.6 20.1

Race/ethnicity 

 White, non-Hispanic 34.7 24.3 10.0 13.0 18.1

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 22.5 19.2 12.5 15.4 30.4

 Hispanic or Latino 24.8 16.4 15.0 23.5 20.4

 Asian 34.7 21.5 12.7 22.0 9.1

 American Indian/Alaska Native 16.4 14.9 16.3 11.9 40.6

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 21.0 12.4 12.0 35.1 19.6

 Other race1 25.7 24.6 13.2 18.4 18.1

 More than one race 40.1 18.2 7.0 18.8 16.0

Disability status 

 Does not have a disability 33.9 23.0 10.5 13.9 18.7

 Has a disability 22.4 16.3 8.4 15.5 37.4

Parents’ educational attainment 

 Less than high school 7.8 10.5 11.2 19.9 50.7

 High school or equivalency 20.0 18.9 11.8 17.4 31.9

 Some postsecondary education 30.9 25.4 10.9 13.8 19.1

 Bachelor’s degree 38.7 28.2 9.8 12.4 11.0

 Master’s degree or equivalent 45.5 25.0 10.5 10.5 8.5

 Doctoral/professional degree 55.0 24.6 5.6 8.4 6.4

Age at bachelor’s completion 

 22 or younger 64.7 34.2 1.1 0.1 #

 23–24 1.6 27.7 48.7 21.9 #

 25–29 0.2 0.3 1.5 75.5 22.5

 30–39 0.1 0.1 # 0.6 99.2

 40 or older # 0.3 0.3 0.9 98.5

See notes at end of table.

Time between high school graduation and degree completion

________

110
Table II.10.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients according to time 

Table II.10.—between high school graduation and degree completion, by selected student and institution 

Table II.10.—characteristics—Continued

Within 4–5 5–6 6–10 More than

Student and institution characteristics 4 years years years years 10 years

Undergraduate major 

 Business/management 28.8 20.0 9.6 15.6 26.1

 Education 25.7 25.4 15.3 15.5 18.1

 Engineering 23.7 32.2 15.2 15.0 13.9

 Health 26.3 22.3 10.8 14.2 26.5

 Other technical/professional 34.6 27.3 12.0 13.9 12.2

 Social/behavioral sciences 41.2 21.7 8.8 12.9 15.5

 Humanities 35.7 20.7 10.5 15.6 17.6

 Life sciences 38.8 25.0 8.5 17.4 10.4

 Physical sciences 45.8 18.9 11.4 13.6 10.3

 Mathematics 39.8 30.7 9.9 11.5 8.1

 Computer/information science 22.0 21.5 12.9 16.8 26.8

 Vocational/technical 28.2 22.8 11.6 13.3 24.2

Combined SAT scores 

 No exam taken or no score reported 4.2 3.9 9.6 26.6 55.7

 Below 1000 30.8 25.0 18.8 18.1 7.4

 1000–1200 47.4 34.9 8.5 7.1 2.0

 Above 1200 58.0 31.9 5.9 3.5 0.7

First institution type 

 Public 2-year 8.6 13.7 15.3 25.7 36.7

 Public 4-year nondoctorate-granting 23.9 29.9 12.0 14.8 19.3

 Public doctorate-granting 33.4 30.2 12.0 13.2 11.2

 Private not-for-profit 4-year nondoctorate-granting 56.5 18.5 5.8 6.9 12.3

 Private not-for-profit doctorate-granting 60.3 18.3 6.0 8.2 7.3

 Private for-profit 15.0 2.3 5.1 13.7 63.8

 Other 2.5 14.3 11.0 32.5 39.8

Number of institutions attended 

 One 51.8 28.6 8.4 6.9 4.3

 Two 25.6 23.4 13.2 18.3 19.5

 Three 12.9 15.1 12.8 23.8 35.4

 Four or more 5.9 6.6 8.2 21.5 57.9

Cumulative undergraduate GPA 

 Less than 2.00 18.8 10.4 15.6 23.5 31.8

 2.00–2.49 14.0 26.2 17.6 25.2 17.0

 2.50–2.99 28.1 25.9 14.2 18.2 13.7

 3.00–3.49 35.3 25.5 10.1 13.3 15.8

 3.50 or higher 39.1 16.4 6.9 10.4 27.3

See notes at end of table.

Time between high school graduation and degree completion

________

111
Table II.10.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients according to time 

Table II.10.—between high school graduation and degree completion, by selected student and institution 

Table II.10.—characteristics—Continued

Within 4–5 5–6 6–10 More than

Student and institution characteristics 4 years years years years 10 years

Degree-granting institution type 

 Public 25.5 26.9 13.6 16.7 17.3

 Nondoctorate-granting 19.0 25.0 13.9 17.9 24.3

 Doctorate-granting 28.3 27.7 13.5 16.1 14.3

 Private not-for-profit 47.7 15.8 5.5 11.0 20.0

 Nondoctorate-granting 44.5 14.1 4.5 10.5 26.5

 Doctorate-granting 52.2 18.2 6.9 11.6 11.1

 Private for-profit 11.8 3.1 6.0 19.7 59.4

Total undergraduate debt 

 Did not borrow 37.4 23.6 9.6 12.6 16.8

 $5,000 or less 26.3 25.0 11.3 14.8 22.7

 $5,001–10,000 24.2 21.0 13.2 17.9 23.7

 $10,001–20,000 34.9 23.0 12.4 14.3 15.4

 $20,001–30,000 25.5 24.8 9.1 18.6 22.0

 More than $30,000 24.5 15.3 12.3 20.2 27.7

#Rounds to zero.

1

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. See the glossary for exact definitions of the time span category ranges.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond 

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

Time between high school graduation and degree completion

________

112
Table II.11.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients according to time

Table II.11.—between postsecondary entry and degree completion, by selected student and institution 

Table II.11.—characteristics 

Within 4–5 5–6 More than 

Student and institution characteristics 4 years years years 6 years 

 Total 38.7 23.5 9.9 28.0

Gender 

 Male 35.2 26.3 11.5 27.0

 Female 41.2 21.4 8.6 28.7

Race/ethnicity 

 White, non-Hispanic 40.6 24.2 9.1 26.1

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 27.4 24.0 11.4 37.1

 Hispanic or Latino 30.2 20.6 12.8 36.4

 Asian 42.8 23.0 10.9 23.3

 American Indian/Alaska Native 19.5 15.1 22.0 43.5

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 25.0 12.4 17.2 45.5

 Other race1 39.7 16.8 13.0 30.5

 More than one race 46.8 17.4 7.7 28.2

Disability status 

 Does not have a disability 40.0 23.3 9.7 27.1

 Has a disability 28.4 17.5 10.0 44.2

Parents’ educational attainment 

 Less than high school 13.6 15.5 10.1 60.8

 High school or equivalency 26.0 22.0 10.8 41.3

 Some postsecondary education 35.3 25.6 10.2 28.9

 Bachelor’s degree 44.1 26.5 9.3 20.1

 Master’s degree or equivalent 50.9 24.3 9.1 15.6

 Doctoral/professional degree 60.7 21.4 5.2 12.7

Age at bachelor’s completion 

 22 or younger 70.9 28.5 0.5 0.1

 23–24 8.2 37.5 39.8 14.5

 25–29 6.0 5.4 7.7 80.9

 30–39 3.9 5.7 2.6 87.8

 40 or older 5.1 4.1 2.3 88.6

Undergraduate major 

 Business/management 34.5 21.6 9.5 34.4

 Education 29.8 29.4 14.0 26.8

 Engineering 28.3 33.0 13.9 24.8

 Health 30.7 24.2 10.4 34.7

 Other technical/professional 40.0 27.7 9.9 22.4

 Social/behavioral sciences 47.6 20.4 7.8 24.3

 Humanities 41.6 21.3 8.9 28.3

 Life sciences 47.3 24.1 8.3 20.4

 Physical sciences 54.4 17.7 10.2 17.6

 Mathematics 46.4 29.1 8.6 16.0

 Computer/information science 31.3 22.4 12.7 33.6

 Vocational/technical 36.1 21.5 9.5 32.9

See notes at end of table.

Time between postsecondary entry and degree completion

________

113
Table II.11.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients according to time

Table II.11.—between postsecondary entry and degree completion, by selected student and institution 

Table II.11.—characteristics—Continued

Within 4–5 5–6 More than 

Student and institution characteristics 4 years years years 6 years 

Combined SAT scores 

 No exam taken or no score reported 10.6 8.3 11.0 70.1

 Below 1000 36.1 28.0 15.8 20.1

 1000–1200 53.7 31.9 7.4 7.1

 Above 1200 63.6 29.0 4.1 3.3

First institution type 

 Public 2-year 10.8 19.4 15.5 54.3

 Public 4-year nondoctorate-granting 30.1 31.8 10.3 27.8

 Public doctorate-granting 41.0 29.3 10.2 19.5

 Private not-for-profit 4-year nondoctorate-granting 63.9 17.8 4.3 14.0

 Private not-for-profit doctorate-granting 66.4 16.2 5.8 11.7

 Private for-profit 16.2 7.9 9.3 66.6

 Other 6.0 15.3 8.9 69.8

Number of institutions attended 

 One 57.9 27.0 7.3 7.8

 Two 32.4 25.7 11.7 30.2

 Three 17.8 17.0 13.4 51.9

 Four or more 9.8 8.5 7.5 74.2

Cumulative undergraduate GPA 

 Less than 2.00 25.3 8.5 16.7 49.5

 2.00–2.49 19.4 28.4 15.7 36.6

 2.50–2.99 33.0 27.5 13.4 26.2

 3.00–3.49 41.8 24.7 8.6 24.9

 3.50 or higher 45.4 17.1 6.8 30.7

Degree-granting institution type 

 Public 31.6 28.2 12.2 28.0

 Nondoctorate-granting 23.8 27.8 13.3 35.1

 Doctorate-granting 34.9 28.4 11.7 25.0

 Private not-for-profit 53.7 14.9 5.2 26.3

 Nondoctorate-granting 50.1 14.0 4.3 31.7

 Doctorate-granting 58.6 16.2 6.4 18.9

 Private for-profit 12.9 8.8 12.7 65.6

Total undergraduate debt 

 Did not borrow 43.7 23.6 8.3 24.4

 $5,000 or less 32.2 24.9 11.9 30.9

 $5,001–10,000 29.3 22.8 12.1 35.9

 $10,001–20,000 41.6 24.4 10.1 23.9

 $20,001–30,000 31.1 25.9 10.2 32.9

 More than $30,000 29.0 15.8 12.9 42.4

1

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. See the glossary for exact definitions of the time span category 

ranges.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

Time between postsecondary entry and degree completion

________

114
Table II.12.—Among 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients, average and median number of months

Table II.12.—between postsecondary entry and degree completion, by type of degree-granting institution

Table II.12.—and selected student and institution characteristics 

Private Private

not-for- not-forStudent and institution characteristics Total1 Public profit Total1 Public profit

 Total 81.3 79.6 81.4 54.8 56.6 48.3

Gender 

 Male 78.2 75.8 79.4 56.8 56.9 49.3

 Female 83.5 82.5 82.8 53.7 56.0 47.2

Race/ethnicity 

 White, non-Hispanic 79.9 78.2 80.4 53.6 55.6 47.4

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 99.6 95.1 107.5 61.7 60.6 58.7

 Hispanic or Latino 83.9 80.4 83.6 60.0 64.4 54.5

 Asian 65.2 67.4 58.9 53.0 56.3 46.6

 American Indian/Alaska Native 111.6 110.1 ‡ 65.4 67.5 ‡

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 91.8 102.2 ‡ 73.2 85.0 ‡

 Other race2 84.9 86.0 77.5 56.5 64.1 47.4

 More than one race 78.5 82.8 66.7 51.1 53.7 45.5

Disability status 

 Does not have a disability 80.6 79.2 80.6 54.2 56.1 47.5

 Has a disability 114.9 110.7 116.6 66.9 70.3 57.6

Parents’ educational attainment 

 Less than high school 143.3 129.6 166.9 93.1 83.9 127.0

 High school or equivalency 101.3 97.3 107.7 63.1 62.4 60.3

 Some postsecondary education 82.7 80.1 85.8 55.8 57.1 50.3

 Bachelor’s degree 70.3 69.7 68.6 51.4 53.5 45.5

 Master’s degree or equivalent 63.5 63.2 62.7 48.9 51.5 45.0

 Doctoral/professional degree 60.2 61.6 57.2 47.5 50.7 46.8

Age at bachelor’s completion 

 22 or younger 47.6 48.6 46.2 45.7 46.2 44.6

 23–24 62.8 62.8 62.7 63.2 63.3 61.4

 25–29 93.2 92.6 94.4 93.3 92.4 93.9

 30–39 158.6 158.9 158.7 162.7 162.4 163.2

 40 or older 252.0 254.8 250.8 280.1 282.1 278.3

See notes at end of table.

Average Median

Months between postsecondary entry and degree completion

________

115
Table II.12.—Among 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients, average and median number of months

Table II.12.—between postsecondary entry and degree completion, by type of degree-granting institution

Table II.12.—and selected student and institution characteristics—Continued

Private Private

Public not-for- not-forStudent and institution characteristics Total1 Public profit Total1 Public profit

Undergraduate major 

 Business/management 94.0 79.3 109.3 57.2 55.7 59.7

 Education 79.3 79.9 78.2 56.2 57.6 50.7

 Engineering 73.6 76.2 64.8 58.7 58.1 48.3

 Health 94.9 94.8 94.3 58.6 59.2 56.1

 Other technical/professional 68.6 68.2 68.8 54.9 56.0 48.0

 Social/behavioral sciences 74.8 80.8 63.9 50.4 54.9 45.1

 Humanities 80.7 84.9 74.1 55.3 57.1 47.7

 Life sciences 66.5 69.4 60.0 51.5 55.6 46.1

 Physical sciences 65.7 71.4 54.4 47.4 56.8 45.5

 Mathematics 64.6 69.3 55.4 50.8 54.5 45.4

 Computer/information science 91.5 77.8 113.2 58.0 57.7 54.8

 Vocational/technical 91.5 81.2 115.9 57.2 55.7 59.4

Combined SAT scores 

 No exam taken or no score reported 138.6 132.1 147.3 104.6 98.6 117.6

 Below 1000 66.3 67.0 64.4 57.5 57.6 47.8

 1000–1200 54.6 56.5 50.6 47.7 49.5 45.1

 Above 1200 50.4 52.5 47.8 45.8 50.6 45.3

First institution type 

 Public 2-year 109.5 98.8 131.7 77.9 71.8 102.2

 Public 4-year nondoctorate-granting 81.8 74.4 137.8 56.0 55.4 104.5

 Public doctorate-granting 70.9 65.2 152.3 52.8 50.9 115.0

 Private not-for-profit 4-year nondoctorate-granting 65.5 105.9 57.4 45.6 61.5 45.1

 Private not-for-profit doctorate-granting 60.3 103.2 54.6 47.2 61.7 46.8

 Private for-profit 142.5 165.9 ‡ 110.5 135.1 ‡

 Other 134.2 136.8 130.0 92.8 99.2 78.8

Number of institutions attended 

 One 55.0 58.5 48.9 45.8 51.7 44.2

 Two 81.7 79.1 83.5 57.1 57.6 54.7

 Three 109.6 102.8 120.2 76.9 72.4 82.0

 Four or more 158.7 145.5 175.7 127.4 112.3 154.1

Cumulative undergraduate GPA 

 Less than 2.00 113.5 128.6 ‡ 71.4 87.9 ‡

 2.00–2.49 83.5 83.6 82.2 63.7 65.8 55.4

 2.50–2.99 75.7 76.8 70.4 56.4 57.3 48.9

 3.00–3.49 77.2 77.2 75.1 52.8 54.7 46.5

 3.50 or higher 91.1 84.5 94.8 52.6 54.9 48.2

See notes at end of table.

Months between postsecondary entry and degree completion

Average Median

________

116
Table II.12.—Among 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients, average and median number of months

Table II.12.—between postsecondary entry and degree completion, by type of degree-granting institution

Table II.12.—and selected student and institution characteristics—Continued

Private Private

Public not-for- not-forStudent and institution characteristics Total1 Public profit Total1 Public profit

Degree-granting institution type 

 Public 79.6 79.6 ‡ 56.6 56.6 ‡

 Nondoctorate-granting 90.1 90.1 ‡ 60.4 60.4 ‡

 Doctorate-granting 75.2 75.2 ‡ 55.3 55.3 ‡

 Private not-for-profit 81.4 ‡ 81.4 48.3 ‡ 48.3

 Nondoctorate-granting 90.7 ‡ 90.7 48.9 ‡ 48.9

 Doctorate-granting 68.6 ‡ 68.6 47.8 ‡ 47.8

 Private for-profit 149.2 ‡ ‡ 107.8 ‡ ‡

Total undergraduate debt 

 Did not borrow 80.0 76.2 86.1 52.6 54.5 48.1

 $5,000 or less 87.6 84.5 97.0 57.3 58.8 53.1

 $5,001–10,000 92.2 85.9 105.5 59.8 60.4 56.1

 $10,001–20,000 74.2 72.7 73.6 53.3 58.1 48.1

 $20,001–30,000 83.9 89.6 69.4 57.8 61.7 47.5

 More than $30,000 88.1 94.7 81.2 64.4 73.2 58.3

‡Reporting standards not met. 

1

Included in total but not shown separately are those who graduated from for-profit institutions. 2

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

Months between postsecondary entry and degree completion

Average Median

________

117
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119

Section III: Employment and Community Service

Employment

• Overall, 87 percent of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients were employed in 2001

(table III.1), including about 77 percent working full time and 11 percent working part

time. Five percent were unemployed, 6 percent were out of the labor force, and the

remaining 1 percent were waiting to report to work or were laid off.

• Male bachelor’s degree recipients were more likely than female bachelor’s degree

recipients to be working full time (80 vs. 74 percent), while female recipients were

more likely to be working part time (12 vs. 9 percent) or to be out of the labor force (8

vs. 5 percent; table III.1). No difference could be detected in the percentage of men and

women who were unemployed (5 percent each).

• Employed 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients were more likely to be working in

business and management or education than in any other occupation (table III.2).

Twenty-five percent of all employed bachelor’s recipients worked in business and

management in 1999–2000, and 18 percent were educators (including K–12 teachers

and other instructors).

• Women were more likely than men to be employed as educators or medical

professionals, and in administrative, clerical, and legal positions (table III.2). Men, on

the other hand, were more likely to be employed in business and management,

engineering/architecture, or computer science, or as mechanics and laborers.

• The average annual salary of employed 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients was

about $33,100 in 2001; the median annual salary was $29,800 (table III.3). On average,

male bachelor’s degree recipients earned $7,000 more per year than their female

counterparts.

• Those 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients who had received a bachelor’s degree

from a private for-profit institution earned on average more than those who had

received their degree from either a public or a private not-for-profit institution (table

III.3).

• Thirteen percent of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients were not working in 2001;

among them, 8 percent had received unemployment compensation (table III.4). On

average, 14 months elapsed since those who were not working last worked for pay.
Table Compendium—Section III: Employment and Community Service

120

• College graduates with disabilities were less likely than those without disabilities to be

working (83 vs. 88 percent),10 and on average those who were not working had been

out of work for longer periods of time (27 vs. 13 months; table III.4). However, no

difference could be detected in the percentage who received unemployment

compensation by disability status (about 9 percent for each group).

Opinions About Employment

• In 2001, more than two-thirds of employed 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients

said that their job was the start of their career (71 percent; table III.5). This was true

specifically for students who had earned the degree from public and private not-forprofit institutions (72 and 70 percent, respectively). Of students who had earned the

degree from private for-profit institutions, 59 percent agreed with this statement.

• The majority of employed 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients said that their job

was closely related to their undergraduate major (54 percent; table III.5). No difference

could be detected in the percentage who said that their job was not at all related and the

percentage who said their job was somewhat related to their undergraduate major.

• In 2001, employed 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients who were married were

more likely to say that their job was the start of a career than those who were single,

never married (74 vs. 71 percent; table III.5). In addition, they were more likely to say

that their job was closely related to their undergraduate major (61 vs. 51 percent).

• Among employed 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients who did not consider their

current job to be the start of their career, about 38 percent said they were just paying

the bills (table III.6). Nineteen percent said they were working while deciding on future

plans, 11 percent said they were continuing in the career in which they were already

working, and 10 percent said they were exploring career options.

Occupational Licensing and Certification

• Twenty-two percent of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients had an occupational

license, and 11 percent had a professional certification11 (table III.7). These

percentages were related to age at bachelor’s degree completion: as age increased, so

did the likelihood of having an occupational license or a professional certification. For

example, 19 percent of students who were age 22 or younger when they received the

bachelor’s degree had an occupational license, compared with 30 percent of those who

were 40 or older at degree completion.

• Bachelor’s degree recipients who received their degree from public and private not-forprofit institutions were more likely than those who attended private for-profit

 

10The percentage working was calculated as the inverse of the percentage not working shown in the first column of table III.4:

for graduates with disabilities, 100 – 17 = 83 percent; for graduates without disabilities, 100 – 12 = 88 percent.

11An occupational license is required by law in order to practice a given profession. A professional certification allows the

holder to qualify or advance in an occupational area but is not required by law.
Table Compendium—Section III: Employment and Community Service

121

institutions to have an occupational license; however, graduates of public and private

not-for-profit institutions were less likely to have a professional certification (table

III.7).

Community Service

• In 2001, 43 percent of all 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients reported doing

community service in the year after they had completed college, with 8 percent

reporting tutoring or educational work with kids, and 11 percent reporting other

volunteering with kids (table III.8). Women were more likely than men to have

engaged in community service overall, as well as to have volunteered more often in

tutoring or education-related work with kids, or in health care/hospital work.

Conversely, men were more likely to have done other volunteering with kids, such as

coaching or mentoring.

• Bachelor’s degree recipients living in the South were more likely than those living in

the Northeast or Midwest to have participated in community service (table III.8).

Graduates in the West were also more likely than those in the Northeast to have

engaged in community service.
Table III.1.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to their 

Table III.1.—employment status and the corresponding unemployment rate, by selected student and 

Table III.1.—institution characteristics: 2001

Out of UnemFull Part Unem- Laid labor ployment

Student and institution characteristics Total time time ployed off force rate1

 Total 87.4 76.5 10.9 5.1 1.0 6.4 6.6

Gender

 Male 89.2 80.4 8.8 5.2 0.7 4.9 6.2

 Female 86.1 73.7 12.5 5.1 1.2 7.5 6.9

Race/ethnicity

 White, non-Hispanic 88.3 77.6 10.8 4.7 1.0 5.9 6.1

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 87.2 76.3 10.9 6.2 1.5 5.0 8.2

 Hispanic or Latino 87.3 76.3 11.1 4.5 0.9 7.3 5.8

 Asian 79.4 67.4 12.1 9.7 0.4 10.5 11.3

 American Indian/Alaska Native 80.5 68.5 11.9 5.6 # 13.9 6.5

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 90.0 79.7 10.2 6.0 # 4.0 6.2

 Other race2 77.2 64.2 13.0 6.9 1.4 14.4 9.8

 More than one race 88.2 76.1 12.1 3.4 0.2 8.2 3.9

Disability status

 Does not have a disability 88.5 77.0 11.4 4.5 0.9 6.1 5.8

 Has a disability 83.0 70.0 13.0 7.1 1.9 8.1 9.7

Age at bachelor’s completion

 22 or younger 86.3 74.3 12.0 5.6 1.0 7.0 7.2

 23–24 90.8 80.6 10.2 4.2 0.8 4.2 5.2

 25–29 87.2 78.0 9.3 5.6 0.8 6.3 6.9

 30–39 88.3 78.1 10.3 4.5 0.7 6.5 5.5

 40 or older 85.1 75.9 9.2 4.5 2.1 8.3 7.1

Current marital status

 Single, never married 87.3 75.5 11.8 6.0 0.9 5.8 7.3

 Married 87.9 78.9 9.0 3.2 1.0 7.9 4.6

 Separated 94.4 87.3 7.0 1.8 0.9 3.0 2.8

 Divorced 86.8 74.7 12.0 5.6 2.7 4.9 8.7

 Widowed ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡

Region of current residence

 Northeast 87.3 76.7 10.6 5.1 1.0 6.6 6.5

 Midwest 89.4 78.6 10.8 4.8 1.1 4.7 6.2

 South 88.0 77.9 10.2 4.1 1.0 6.8 5.6

 West 85.5 73.0 12.5 6.7 0.7 7.1 8.0

 Outlying areas 83.5 74.8 8.7 7.5 0.6 8.4 8.8

See notes at end of table.

Working

Employment status

________

122
Table III.1.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to their 

Table III.1.—employment status and the corresponding unemployment rate, by selected student and 

Table III.1.—institution characteristics: 2001—Continued

Out of UnemFull Part Unem- Laid labor ployment

Student and institution characteristics Total time time ployed off force rate1

Undergraduate major 

 Business/management 91.0 84.3 6.7 4.9 0.7 3.5 5.7

 Education 94.4 84.8 9.6 1.2 0.8 3.6 2.1

 Engineering 93.3 85.5 7.8 3.7 0.5 2.5 4.2

 Health 87.8 74.1 13.7 3.6 1.7 6.9 5.7

 Other technical/professional 87.9 79.5 8.4 6.2 1.1 4.9 7.7

 Social/behavioral sciences 83.2 69.6 13.6 6.7 1.0 9.1 8.5

 Humanities 84.5 69.0 15.5 7.4 1.5 6.7 9.5

 Life sciences 75.1 59.9 15.2 5.1 1.6 18.3 8.2

 Physical sciences 84.6 74.3 10.2 1.5 # 13.9 1.8

 Mathematics 86.7 75.1 11.6 5.7 # 7.6 6.1

 Computer/information science 91.2 86.7 4.5 5.0 0.4 3.4 5.5

 Vocational/technical 95.2 90.7 4.5 2.8 0.8 1.3 3.6

Degree-granting institution type

 Public 88.0 76.8 11.1 4.9 1.1 6.1 6.4

 Nondoctorate-granting 88.8 78.6 10.2 6.1 0.6 4.6 7.0

 Doctorate-granting 87.6 76.1 11.5 4.4 1.3 6.7 6.1

 Private not-for-profit 86.3 75.5 10.9 5.5 0.9 7.2 7.0

 Nondoctorate-granting 89.5 79.4 10.1 4.6 0.9 5.0 5.8

 Doctorate-granting 81.9 70.0 12.0 6.9 1.0 10.3 8.7

 Private for-profit 90.1 85.7 4.4 5.6 0.3 4.0 6.2

Total undergraduate debt

 Did not borrow 85.5 73.6 12.0 5.4 0.8 8.3 6.8

 $5,000 or less 89.1 78.1 11.0 5.0 1.0 5.0 6.2

 $5,001–10,000 88.6 78.1 10.5 5.0 1.2 5.2 6.6

 $10,001–20,000 89.2 78.7 10.6 4.6 0.9 5.3 5.8

 $20,001–30,000 89.7 78.9 10.8 5.7 1.5 3.1 7.4

 More than $30,000 88.0 78.7 9.3 7.3 1.1 3.7 8.7

Current enrollment status

 Not currently enrolled 90.7 84.3 6.4 4.9 1.1 3.4 0.0

 Enrolled part time 93.1 84.2 8.9 2.6 0.7 3.7 0.0

 Enrolled full time 67.5 30.8 36.7 7.9 0.7 23.9 100.0

#Rounds to zero.

‡Reporting standards not met. 

1

The unemployment rate is constructed to approximate the definition of the unemployment rate used by the Bureau of Labor

Statistics. In this table, the rate is calculated as the number of people who are not working but looking for work, or who are laid

off/waiting to report to work, divided by all those who are in the labor force (the two groups mentioned, plus those who are 

working; respondents who are out of the labor force are excluded from the calculation). See the glossary for more information.

2

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details. 

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond 

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

Working

Employment status

________

123
Table III.2.—Percentage distribution of employed 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to occupation, by selected 

Table III.2.—characteristics: 2001

Educa- Human/

tion protec-

(K–12 Business Engi- Editors/ tive/ Research, Adminisand other and neering/ Medical writers/ service scien- trative, 

instruc- manage- archi- Computer profes- per- profes- tists, clerical, cha

Student and institution characteristics tors) ment tecture science sionals formers sionals technical legal lab

 Total 18.1 25.3 4.8 6.8 7.0 3.5 5.9 5.1 6.7 Gender Male 11.0 26.7 9.1 10.8 3.0 3.3 5.2 6.8 4.5  Female 23.6 24.2 1.5 3.7 10.1 3.7 6.5 3.8 8.4 Race/ethnicity White, non-Hispanic 18.4 25.4 4.7 6.1 7.1 3.5 5.5 5.0 6.6  Black/African American, non-Hispanic 18.4 25.4 3.3 6.7 8.6 1.5 11.3 3.7 8.3  Hispanic or Latino 24.9 22.1 3.7 6.3 4.7 5.3 6.6 6.0 5.8  Asian 5.0 25.7 9.9 19.1 6.1 3.8 3.9 7.8 5.6  American Indian/Alaska Native 21.3 20.9 7.8 4.7 9.3 # 4.7 3.7 11.2  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 10.5 33.3 1.7 6.1 9.7 1.5 7.6 6.3 4.2 

 Other race1 11.8 26.0 5.4 5.6 5.9 4.1 5.2 4.3 13.3  More than one race 13.4 35.1 4.9 4.3 7.8 5.7 5.1 3.9 7.1 Disability status Does not have a disability 18.4 24.7 4.8 6.8 7.3 3.6 6.0 5.2 7.0  Has a disability 16.9 24.2 3.0 7.8 7.1 2.0 7.8 4.5 8.7 Age at bachelor’s completion 22 or younger 18.3 25.0 5.2 6.1 5.5 4.0 5.6 5.7 7.8  23–24 20.0 25.9 5.8 8.5 5.4 3.1 4.5 4.8 6.0  25–29 16.1 24.7 3.3 7.1 8.9 3.4 7.8 4.6 4.7  30–39 17.0 28.0 4.0 6.1 10.8 2.7 6.3 3.9 4.9  40 or older 16.7 23.6 3.2 6.7 13.5 2.2 8.5 4.7 7.6 

See notes at end of table.

Occupation

________

124
Table III.2.—Percentage distribution of employed 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to occupation, by selected 

Table III.2.—characteristics: 2001—Continued

Educa- Human/

tion protec-

(K–12 Business Engi- Editors/ tive/ Research, Adminisand other and neering/ Medical writers/ service scien- trative, 

instruc- manage- archi- Computer profes- per- profes- tists, clerical, cha

Student and institution characteristics tors) ment tecture science sionals formers sionals technical legal lab

Current marital status  Single, never married 16.2 26.0 4.9 7.0 5.2 4.2 5.4 5.6 7.3  Married 22.1 23.3 5.0 6.3 10.1 2.3 6.8 4.6 5.5  Separated 30.6 23.0 1.0 5.3 7.3 2.1 4.8 2.9 4.7  Divorced 16.8 29.2 2.4 5.7 11.7 1.3 8.6 3.8 6.5  Widowed ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ Region of current residence  Northeast 16.5 26.7 4.8 7.3 5.8 4.8 6.2 5.1 7.7  Midwest 17.9 25.0 5.1 6.1 9.7 2.9 5.7 4.2 5.7  South 20.0 25.0 4.0 6.2 7.1 3.0 6.0 5.2 6.6  West 16.9 24.3 5.7 8.2 4.9 3.8 6.0 6.4 6.6  Outlying areas 25.1 19.3 1.8 1.7 5.9 3.4 3.6 13.7 7.4 Undergraduate major  Business/management 3.6 54.0 1.1 8.8 0.9 0.9 1.4 1.5 6.6  Education 74.5 6.2 0.8 1.6 0.9 0.4 2.5 0.4 3.4  Engineering 3.2 10.9 51.2 10.7 1.0 0.5 # 13.2 1.7  Health 7.8 11.0 0.7 0.8 57.1 0.5 4.7 2.6 3.0  Other technical/professional 8.3 22.0 5.1 4.1 6.2 10.2 3.7 4.8 8.5  Social/behavioral sciences 18.3 25.3 0.5 3.2 3.4 1.6 16.7 4.1 9.8  Humanities 23.7 19.4 0.8 5.9 2.1 13.1 4.5 2.0 9.6  Life sciences 15.7 15.4 1.0 3.0 10.0 1.0 2.8 25.6 5.2  Physical sciences 16.5 10.6 2.3 5.7 5.7 0.5 3.3 44.2 1.5  Mathematics 42.8 23.0 4.1 7.7 # 0.3 1.8 6.8 2.8  Computer/information science 1.2 13.5 14.5 57.9 0.5 # 0.3 2.7 4.2  Vocational/technical 9.3 25.3 2.2 2.3 2.5 # 33.4 3.8 9.3 

See notes at end of table.

Occupation

________

125
Table III.2.—Percentage distribution of employed 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to occupation, by selected 

Table III.2.—characteristics: 2001—Continued

Educa- Human/

tion protec-

(K–12 Business Engi- Editors/ tive/ Research, Adminisand other and neering/ Medical writers/ service scien- trative, 

instruc- manage- archi- Computer profes- per- profes- tists, clerical, cha

Student and institution characteristics tors) ment tecture science sionals formers sionals technical legal lab

Degree-granting institution type  Public 18.1 25.2 5.7 7.1 6.8 2.7 5.8 5.4 6.2  Nondoctorate-granting 24.2 25.7 2.7 4.8 6.0 2.7 7.8 4.1 5.6  Doctorate-granting 15.5 25.0 7.0 8.0 7.2 2.7 4.9 6.0 6.5  Private not-for-profit 18.6 25.0 3.2 6.0 7.7 4.8 6.5 4.5 7.5  Nondoctorate-granting 21.4 23.1 1.8 5.3 7.8 4.1 7.7 4.0 7.2  Doctorate-granting 14.3 28.0 5.3 7.0 7.4 5.8 4.7 5.3 7.9  Private for-profit 7.1 34.9 2.4 11.9 1.0 9.3 0.8 5.8 10.5 Current employment status  Working full time 16.9 27.6 5.4 7.4 6.9 3.4 6.3 4.6 5.5  Working part time 26.2 9.8 0.8 2.6 7.8 3.9 3.1 8.7 14.6 Total undergraduate debt Did not borrow 16.4 27.1 5.9 6.3 6.4 3.5 4.2 5.6 6.2  $5,000 or less 20.3 28.3 4.4 7.4 7.2 1.9 6.2 3.9 6.2  $5,001–10,000 18.7 26.0 4.8 7.1 6.4 3.4 7.9 3.9 7.8  $10,001–20,000 20.0 24.7 3.5 7.4 5.9 3.3 6.6 5.7 7.2  $20,001–30,000 17.8 22.1 5.0 6.6 8.9 3.3 5.5 5.5 6.8  More than $30,000 16.0 23.0 4.6 5.3 12.8 4.8 7.9 4.4 5.0 Current enrollment status Not currently enrolled 15.8 27.5 5.2 7.2 7.2 3.9 6.0 4.1 5.8  Enrolled part time 35.0 21.3 5.8 5.7 4.0 1.6 5.9 4.1 5.1  Enrolled full time 24.2 12.0 1.7 4.1 7.1 2.0 5.5 13.0 14.4 

#Rounds to zero.‡Reporting standards not met. 

1Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details. 

NOTE: Includes only employed respondents (87 percent of total sample). Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

Occupation

________

126
Table III.3.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to annual salary, and average and m

Table III.3.—by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001

 Less $60,000 

Not than $20,000– $30,000– $40,000– $50,000– or 

Student and institution characteristics working $20,000 29,999 39,999 49,999 59,999 more  Total 14.0 14.6 23.5 24.4 11.8 6.2 5.4 Gender Male 12.2 11.7 18.5 24.4 15.3 9.7 8.3  Female 15.4 16.7 27.1 24.5 9.2 3.8 3.3 Race/ethnicity White, non-Hispanic 13.0 14.6 24.6 24.4 11.7 6.5 5.2  Black/African American, non-Hispanic 14.7 12.0 26.1 25.9 11.3 5.6 4.5  Hispanic or Latino 13.9 19.8 21.6 24.7 11.5 3.6 4.9  Asian 24.5 10.9 10.9 19.8 16.7 8.4 8.9  American Indian/Alaska Native 20.2 12.7 17.2 27.3 7.6 3.4 11.8  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 10.5 8.5 13.6 49.5 6.1 8.1 3.8  Other race2 25.1 14.4 17.4 17.9 9.1 11.7 4.5 

 More than one race 16.4 13.1 24.7 26.6 8.7 1.5 9.1 Disability status Does not have a disability 12.8 15.3 23.7 24.5 11.8 6.3 5.5  Has a disability 19.4 16.4 25.3 22.5 7.8 4.4 4.3 Age at bachelor’s completion 22 or younger 14.9 17.3 25.4 23.6 10.5 4.8 3.5  23–24 10.3 13.3 24.6 29.2 12.1 5.7 4.8  25–29 14.3 11.6 21.2 25.4 14.6 8.1 4.9  30–39 13.7 10.0 17.4 21.9 14.0 12.2 10.9  40 or older 18.4 10.8 18.8 17.7 11.6 7.1 15.5 

See notes at end of table.

Annual salary

________

127
Table III.3.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to annual salary, and average and m

Table III.3.—by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001—Continued

 Less $60,000 

Not than $20,000– $30,000– $40,000– $50,000– or 

Student and institution characteristics working $20,000 29,999 39,999 49,999 59,999 more Current marital status Single, never married 14.1 16.3 23.1 24.7 11.7 5.7 4.5  Married 13.9 10.9 24.4 23.7 12.2 7.8 7.2  Separated 6.3 7.9 40.9 24.1 10.7 3.8 6.5  Divorced 14.1 14.8 21.8 26.1 10.2 5.8 7.4  Widowed ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ Region of current residence Northeast 14.1 12.5 21.3 25.9 13.4 6.4 6.5  Midwest 11.9 15.3 24.5 26.3 11.8 6.6 3.6  South 13.5 14.4 26.9 23.9 11.3 5.1 4.8  West 15.7 13.3 21.3 23.6 11.2 7.3 7.6  Outlying areas 16.8 62.3 10.6 6.6 1.7 2.1 # Undergraduate major  Business/management 10.6 7.3 15.5 30.4 18.9 9.1 8.2  Education 6.0 15.9 44.4 28.4 3.3 1.4 0.7  Engineering 8.6 8.9 3.9 13.2 27.9 25.2 12.4  Health 13.8 11.5 17.7 25.0 18.5 6.6 6.9  Other technical/professional 13.9 15.3 26.5 25.4 8.7 5.0 5.2  Social/behavioral sciences 18.2 18.6 27.1 22.4 8.1 2.8 2.9  Humanities 17.0 20.8 26.5 23.3 6.3 3.0 3.2  Life sciences 26.1 20.3 23.3 19.6 6.0 3.1 1.6  Physical sciences 16.4 18.8 19.3 31.4 5.8 7.0 1.3  Math 14.3 9.3 22.8 22.9 11.4 14.5 4.8  Computer/information science 11.1 3.4 9.6 10.9 22.9 16.9 25.1  Vocational/technical 4.9 13.0 34.1 26.8 11.4 3.7 6.1 

See notes at end of table.

Annual salary

________

128
Table III.3.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to annual salary, and average and m

Table III.3.—by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001—Continued

 Less $60,000 

Not than $20,000– $30,000– $40,000– $50,000– or 

Student and institution characteristics working $20,000 29,999 39,999 49,999 59,999 more Degree-granting institution type  Public 13.5 14.1 23.9 25.8 12.0 6.5 4.2  Nondoctorate-granting 12.5 13.1 27.5 28.3 10.1 4.5 4.0  Doctorate-granting 13.9 14.6 22.4 24.7 12.8 7.3 4.3  Private not-for-profit 15.2 15.7 23.4 22.0 11.2 5.8 6.6  Nondoctorate-granting 11.9 17.0 27.0 24.3 9.9 4.4 5.6  Doctorate-granting 19.8 14.1 18.4 18.8 13.1 7.7 8.1  Private for-profit 11.4 8.0 9.0 21.7 14.2 5.8 29.9 Current employment status Working full time 0.3 9.4 28.3 31.7 15.3 8.1 7.0  Working part time 0.8 69.9 20.3 4.8 1.9 0.9 1.5 Total undergraduate debt Did not borrow 16.6 14.0 21.5 22.9 12.5 6.2 6.4  $5,000 or less 11.9 17.6 23.0 25.0 11.9 5.6 5.0  $5,001–10,000 12.7 12.9 26.1 26.1 10.3 7.2 4.8  $10,001–20,000 11.8 14.6 26.4 26.1 11.6 6.0 3.4  $20,001–30,000 11.0 16.1 22.1 26.6 13.1 5.5 5.7  More than $30,000 13.0 12.5 24.9 23.9 13.1 4.5 8.2 Current enrollment status Not currently enrolled 10.5 10.7 25.5 27.0 13.4 7.1 5.9  Enrolled part time 8.6 11.7 25.0 28.0 11.1 7.7 7.9  Enrolled full time 34.5 36.3 13.0 9.9 3.2 1.1 2.0 

#Rounds to zero.‡Reporting standards not met.

1Includes only employed respondents (87 percent of total sample).2Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details. 

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

Annual salary

________

129
Table III.4.—Percentage of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients who were not working, months since 

Table III.4.—last worked for pay, and percentage received unemployment compensation, by selected student 

Table III.4.—and institution characteristics: 2001

 Received

 Months since last unemployment

Student and institution characteristics Not working worked for pay1 compensation1

 Total 12.6 13.7 8.4

Gender

 Male 10.8 12.4 11.7

 Female 13.9 14.4 6.5

Race/ethnicity

 White, non-Hispanic 11.7 13.6 8.0

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 12.8 13.4 7.3

 Hispanic or Latino 12.7 16.6 14.4

 Asian 20.6 14.4 4.0

 American Indian/Alaska Native 19.5 ‡ ‡

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 10.0 ‡ ‡

 Other race2 22.8 ‡ ‡

 More than one race 11.8 ‡ ‡

Disability status

 Does not have a disability 11.5 12.7 8.7

 Has a disability 17.0 27.2 9.5

Age at bachelor’s completion

 22 or younger 13.7 7.6 5.2

 23–24 9.2 9.3 9.5

 25–29 12.8 13.9 9.7

 30–39 11.7 30.1 19.5

 40 or older 14.9 39.3 12.5

Current marital status

 Single, never married 12.7 8.7 7.2

 Married 12.1 22.6 9.0

 Separated 5.7 ‡ ‡

 Divorced 13.2 22.2 19.5

 Widowed ‡ ‡ ‡

Region of current residence

 Northeast 12.7 12.0 10.3

 Midwest 10.6 12.0 7.2

 South 12.0 17.1 8.9

 West 14.5 12.7 6.3

 Outlying areas 16.5 ‡ ‡

See notes at end of table.

________

130
Table III.4.—Percentage of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients who were not working, months since 

Table III.4.—last worked for pay, and percentage received unemployment compensation, by selected student 

Table III.4.—and institution characteristics: 2001—Continued

 Received

 Months since last unemployment

Student and institution characteristics Not working worked for pay1 compensation1

Undergraduate major 

 Business/management 9.0 15.3 14.7

 Education 5.6 13.5 2.5

 Engineering 6.7 ‡ 14.4

 Health 12.2 17.2 3.9

 Other technical/professional 12.1 6.7 8.3

 Social/behavioral sciences 16.8 14.2 6.6

 Humanities 15.5 16.3 9.3

 Life sciences 24.9 11.8 2.9

 Physical sciences 15.5 ‡ ‡

 Mathematics 13.3 ‡ ‡

 Computer/information science 8.8 ‡ ‡

 Vocational/technical 4.8 ‡ ‡

Degree-granting institution type 

 Public 12.1 14.0 8.7

 Nondoctorate-granting 11.2 18.3 9.9

 Doctorate-granting 12.4 12.3 8.2

 Private not-for-profit 13.7 13.4 7.2

 Nondoctorate-granting 10.5 12.3 9.8

 Doctorate-granting 18.1 14.1 5.2

 Private for-profit 9.9 ‡ ‡

Current employment status 

 Unemployed/laid off 100.0 7.0 13.1

 Out of the labor force 100.0 20.7 3.1

Total undergraduate debt

 Did not borrow 14.5 16.9 6.3

 $5,000 or less 11.0 7.8 13.3

 $5,001–10,000 11.4 12.5 10.7

 $10,001–20,000 10.8 8.8 8.0

 $20,001–30,000 10.3 9.3 16.5

 More than $30,000 12.0 17.2 3.2

Current enrollment status

 Not currently enrolled 9.3 14.0 12.2

 Enrolled part time 6.9 ‡ 3.0

 Enrolled full time 32.5 12.2 2.5

‡Reporting standards not met.

1

Includes only respondents who were not working (13 percent of total sample).

2

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond 

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

________

131
Table III.5.—Percentage distribution of employed 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to

Table III.5.—whether job is start of career and whether job is related to undergraduate major, by selected 

Table III.5.—student and institution characteristics: 2001

Job is Job is not Not at all Somewhat Closely

Student and institution characteristics start of career start of career related related related

 Total 71.4 28.6 22.8 23.2 54.0

Gender

 Male 73.2 26.8 23.6 24.2 52.2

 Female 70.0 30.0 22.2 22.4 55.4

Race/ethnicity

 White, non-Hispanic 71.2 28.8 23.1 23.3 53.6

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 68.6 31.4 20.7 23.0 56.3

 Hispanic or Latino 73.7 26.3 22.5 20.1 57.4

 Asian 79.8 20.2 22.1 23.2 54.7

 American Indian/Alaska Native 68.2 31.8 15.2 31.6 53.2

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 70.5 29.5 26.1 25.5 48.4

 Other race1 55.2 44.9 28.3 31.5 40.2

 More than one race 70.7 29.3 21.8 26.6 51.6

Disability status

 Does not have a disability 72.0 28.0 22.4 22.8 54.8

 Has a disability 62.4 37.6 24.1 26.9 49.1

Age at bachelor’s completion

 22 or younger 71.3 28.7 23.6 24.6 51.8

 23–24 76.5 23.5 22.4 22.6 55.0

 25–29 72.8 27.2 23.1 20.6 56.3

 30–39 68.1 31.9 20.5 20.9 58.6

 40 or older 59.1 40.9 21.1 23.8 55.1

Current marital status

 Single, never married 70.5 29.5 25.0 24.2 50.8

 Married 74.4 25.6 18.3 20.7 61.1

 Separated 64.9 35.1 32.4 19.2 48.4

 Divorced 65.8 34.2 18.7 27.1 54.1

 Widowed ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡

Region of current residence

 Northeast 72.0 28.0 21.9 24.8 53.3

 Midwest 72.8 27.2 19.7 22.5 57.8

 South 72.4 27.7 23.7 21.8 54.5

 West 68.0 32.0 25.6 24.5 49.9

 Outlying areas 78.3 21.7 28.7 12.6 58.7

See notes at end of table.

Start of career Job related to undergraduate major

________

132
Table III.5.—Percentage distribution of employed 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to

Table III.5.—whether job is start of career and whether job is related to undergraduate major, by selected 

Table III.5.—student and institution characteristics: 2001—Continued

Job is Job is not Not at all Somewhat Closely

Student and institution characteristics start of career start of career related related related

Undergraduate major 

 Business/management 75.2 24.8 16.2 28.4 55.4

 Education 85.6 14.4 10.5 10.5 79.1

 Engineering 88.0 12.0 7.5 24.5 68.0

 Health 73.5 26.6 15.3 11.3 73.5

 Other technical/professional 69.5 30.5 24.5 25.4 50.1

 Social/behavioral sciences 62.3 37.7 33.6 30.8 35.6

 Humanities 60.7 39.3 36.8 22.3 40.9

 Life sciences 65.1 34.9 29.3 22.1 48.6

 Physical sciences 68.7 31.3 26.9 22.6 50.5

 Mathematics 76.6 23.4 19.8 16.9 63.4

 Computer/information science 79.8 20.2 7.0 16.1 77.0

 Vocational/technical 77.2 22.8 23.0 21.4 55.6

Degree-granting institution type 

 Public 72.5 27.6 23.1 22.7 54.3

 Nondoctorate-granting 74.3 25.7 21.0 20.1 59.0

 Doctorate-granting 71.6 28.4 24.0 23.8 52.3

 Private not-for-profit 70.0 30.0 22.6 24.1 53.3

 Nondoctorate-granting 69.4 30.6 21.5 23.6 54.9

 Doctorate-granting 70.8 29.2 24.2 24.9 51.0

 Private for-profit 59.3 40.7 16.1 29.4 54.6

Current employment status 

 Working full time 74.8 25.3 21.1 22.8 56.1

 Working part time 48.5 51.5 34.3 26.3 39.4

Total undergraduate debt

 Did not borrow 70.1 29.9 24.1 23.3 52.6

 $5,000 or less 72.8 27.2 22.8 23.2 54.0

 $5,001–10,000 71.4 28.6 23.6 23.3 53.2

 $10,001–20,000 73.1 26.9 21.8 23.6 54.7

 $20,001–30,000 70.4 29.6 22.1 24.0 54.0

 More than $30,000 73.3 26.7 19.9 21.1 59.0

Current enrollment status

 Not currently enrolled 73.5 26.5 22.2 23.1 54.7

 Enrolled part time 73.3 26.7 21.2 19.8 59.0

 Enrolled full time 55.5 44.6 28.1 25.9 46.0

‡Reporting standards not met.

1

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

NOTE: Includes only employed respondents (87 percent of total sample). Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond 

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

Start of career Job related to undergraduate major

________

133
Table III.6.—Among employed 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients who do not consider their current job to be the start of 

Table III.6.—percentage distribution according to reason for having this job, by selected student and institution characteristics

Working Continuing Working

while in job Continuing to prepare Doing what Exploring 

deciding Just paying previously in career for graduate they want career 

Student and institution characteristics future plans the bills held already in school to do options 

 Total 18.7 37.6 3.8 11.2 3.7 4.9 9.7 Gender Male 18.4 36.6 3.7 12.3 3.9 4.7 10.1  Female 19.0 38.3 3.8 10.5 3.6 5.0 9.5 Race/ethnicity White, non-Hispanic 17.6 37.5 4.0 12.8 3.3 4.8 9.9  Black/African American, non-Hispanic 17.1 39.8 4.4 11.2 4.4 2.7 5.8  Hispanic or Latino 27.7 38.0 0.5 2.0 3.9 5.2 11.8  Asian 20.4 39.5 3.6 1.0 6.4 6.7 10.8  American Indian/Alaska Native ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander ‡‡‡‡‡‡‡

 Other race1 22.2 29.4 3.2 2.7 10.6 7.5 12.9 

 More than one race 25.1 29.7 9.4 13.8 5.4 7.7 8.2 Disability status Does not have a disability 18.4 36.9 3.9 11.4 3.6 5.3 10.4  Has a disability 13.1 44.3 2.4 15.7 3.9 6.1 7.8 Age at bachelor’s completion 22 or younger 22.6 39.6 2.2 3.9 4.6 5.0 11.4  23–24 21.6 43.0 3.2 4.6 5.1 4.5 10.2  25–29 15.1 41.7 6.1 14.4 1.6 4.4 6.4  30–39 12.0 29.9 6.2 25.8 2.2 4.6 8.6  40 or older 6.4 20.6 6.9 39.7 1.6 5.9 6.3 

Current marital status Single, never married 21.2 40.9 2.9 5.5 4.4 4.2 11.0  Married 13.6 30.7 5.9 21.8 1.9 6.4 8.5  Separated ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡  Divorced 16.7 31.2 3.2 25.7 6.3 4.1 1.7  Widowed ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ 

See notes at end of table.

Reason for having this job

________

134
Table III.6.—Among employed 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients who do not consider their current job to be the start of 

Table III.6.—percentage distribution according to reason for having this job, by selected student and institution characteristics

Working Continuing Working

while in job Continuing to prepare Doing what Exploring 

deciding Just paying previously in career for graduate they want career 

Student and institution characteristics future plans the bills held already in school to do options 

Region of current residence  Northeast 20.9 40.9 3.4 6.1 2.3 7.2 9.2  Midwest 16.4 38.9 4.3 12.2 4.5 4.1 9.9  South 18.4 35.8 3.9 14.3 4.2 3.8 9.9  West 19.3 35.5 3.9 11.9 4.1 4.1 8.7  Outlying areas ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ Undergraduate major  Business/management 19.6 26.2 3.6 20.1 3.9 3.9 11.7  Education 12.0 43.7 6.0 9.6 2.3 5.0 9.0  Engineering 11.6 28.5 1.1 22.8 3.1 5.9 11.4  Health 12.5 33.8 3.5 23.6 2.9 5.2 7.2  Other technical/professional 19.6 38.5 6.5 7.7 2.2 3.9 10.4  Social/behavioral sciences 22.3 39.1 3.4 5.3 4.1 4.9 12.8  Humanities 20.1 49.1 3.5 5.9 2.2 5.5 5.7  Life sciences 16.1 40.8 2.0 6.1 10.5 5.4 8.9  Physical sciences 13.2 32.5 9.2 4.4 6.4 # 8.9  Mathematics ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡  Computer/information science 17.8 18.6 4.2 26.9 5.7 7.2 5.7  Vocational/technical 19.6 28.3 1.9 15.9 2.5 6.5 12.2 Degree-granting institution type  Public 19.0 39.4 4.0 9.7 3.9 4.1 10.4  Nondoctorate-granting 18.6 39.7 3.1 12.8 3.3 5.1 8.2  Doctorate-granting 19.1 39.3 4.3 8.5 4.2 3.8 11.2  Private not-for-profit 19.0 35.1 3.0 12.8 3.1 6.4 8.8  Nondoctorate-granting 16.4 33.5 3.8 15.0 3.2 6.0 9.5  Doctorate-granting 23.1 37.6 1.6 9.4 3.1 7.1 7.7  Private for-profit 8.4 23.4 10.6 29.6 7.3 2.5 6.0 Current employment status  Working full time 20.4 33.0 4.0 13.3 4.0 4.7 10.8  Working part time 12.8 53.4 3.1 4.1 3.0 5.4 6.1 

See notes at end of table.

Reason for having this job

________

135
Table III.6.—Among employed 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients who do not consider their current job to be the start of 

Table III.6.—percentage distribution according to reason for having this job, by selected student and institution characteristics

Working Continuing Working

while in job Continuing to prepare Doing what Exploring 

deciding Just paying previously in career for graduate they want career 

Student and institution characteristics future plans the bills held already in school to do options 

Total undergraduate debt Did not borrow 20.2 32.4 3.5 13.6 3.3 5.6 10.9  $5,000 or less 13.9 44.0 2.7 6.9 4.0 8.5 12.8  $5,001–10,000 21.9 36.3 4.0 14.3 3.6 2.7 8.9  $10,001–20,000 18.6 39.3 4.7 8.2 4.6 5.4 8.5  $20,001–30,000 18.7 37.9 5.3 9.9 3.7 3.1 10.2  More than $30,000 9.3 55.5 1.9 11.5 2.7 2.0 5.5 Current enrollment status Not currently enrolled 20.7 33.4 3.8 12.2 3.9 5.3 10.8  Enrolled part time 18.8 32.5 5.8 17.8 1.9 3.1 13.3  Enrolled full time 10.1 56.8 3.0 5.0 3.7 3.6 4.1 

#Rounds to zero.‡Reporting standards not met.

1Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

NOTE: Includes only employed respondents (87 percent of total sample) who did not consider their current job to be the start of their career (29 percent of those who wsum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

Reason for having this job

________

136
Table III.7.—Percentage of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients who have an occupational license or a 

Table III.7.—professional certification, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001

Occupational Professional

Student and institution characteristics license certification

 Total 22.4 11.3

Gender

 Male 17.7 12.7

 Female 25.9 10.2

Race/ethnicity

 White, non-Hispanic 23.4 11.7

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 20.9 12.4

 Hispanic or Latino 24.1 9.6

 Asian 11.3 8.5

 American Indian/Alaska Native 20.3 3.9

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 18.0 7.6

 Other race1 20.1 8.1

 More than one race 15.5 12.5

Disability status

 Does not have a disability 23.2 11.1

 Has a disability 22.6 15.5

Age at bachelor’s completion

 22 or younger 18.7 8.2

 23–24 24.4 12.6

 25–29 23.6 12.3

 30–39 28.9 15.2

 40 or older 30.3 21.6

Current marital status

 Single, never married 17.9 9.1

 Married 30.6 15.5

 Separated 45.6 15.2

 Divorced 29.5 16.0

 Widowed ‡ ‡

Region of current residence

 Northeast 17.3 8.5

 Midwest 27.8 13.1

 South 25.4 11.9

 West 17.0 11.6

 Outlying areas 27.2 2.6

See notes at end of table.

________

137
Table III.7.—Percentage of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients who have an occupational license or a 

Table III.7.—professional certification, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001

Table III.7.——Continued

Occupational Professional

Student and institution characteristics license certification

Undergraduate major

 Business/management 11.6 10.4

 Education 70.5 16.5

 Engineering 6.3 14.4

 Health 57.1 22.0

 Other technical/professional 13.0 7.2

 Social/behavioral sciences 15.5 8.4

 Humanities 17.3 8.1

 Life sciences 13.0 9.9

 Physical sciences 12.6 8.1

 Mathematics 33.5 6.9

 Computer/information science 2.7 11.3

 Vocational/technical 30.5 21.6

Degree-granting institution type 

 Public 22.7 11.5

 Nondoctorate-granting 28.1 12.2

 Doctorate-granting 20.4 11.1

 Private not-for-profit 22.3 10.4

 Nondoctorate-granting 26.6 12.2

 Doctorate-granting 16.4 7.9

 Private for-profit 7.6 23.3

Current employment status

 Working full time 24.8 12.7

 Working part time 19.5 7.8

 Unemployed/laid off 11.3 5.9

 Out of the labor force 7.9 5.1

Total undergraduate debt

 Did not borrow 20.6 10.8

 $5,000 or less 23.4 11.9

 $5,001–10,000 22.4 12.4

 $10,001–20,000 22.5 10.4

 $20,001–30,000 24.7 11.6

 More than $30,000 27.7 15.9

Current enrollment status

 Not currently enrolled 23.3 11.6

 Enrolled part time 32.2 13.2

 Enrolled full time 12.4 8.7

‡Reporting standards not met. 

1

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

NOTE: An occupational license is required by law in order to practice a given profession. A professional certification allows 

the holder to qualify or advance in an occupational area but is not required by law. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond 

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

________

138
Table III.8.—Percentage of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients who did various types of community

Table III.8.—service in the last year, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001

 Tutoring/ Health

Any education- Other Church- care/

community related volunteering related hospital

Student and institution characteristics service with kids with kids volunteering volunteering

 Total 43.0 7.6 11.1 7.8 5.6

Gender

 Male 41.4 5.7 12.6 7.0 3.9

 Female 44.2 9.0 10.1 8.4 6.9

Race/ethnicity

 White, non-Hispanic 42.9 6.9 11.1 7.7 5.5

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 49.6 12.6 17.7 9.5 5.7

 Hispanic or Latino 41.1 9.2 11.0 5.9 3.9

 Asian 33.5 4.8 5.0 9.1 6.2

 American Indian/Alaska Native 71.7 18.9 14.9 27.8 7.3

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 41.4 5.2 7.3 7.5 11.6

 Other race1 52.2 11.0 8.7 4.7 7.6

 More than one race 38.6 7.5 7.0 4.2 8.2

Disability status

 Does not have a disability 42.1 7.6 11.1 7.6 5.5

 Has a disability 51.4 8.1 11.4 11.6 7.3

Age at bachelor’s completion

 22 or younger 42.6 7.8 10.1 6.8 5.8

 23–24 38.8 6.6 11.3 6.9 3.9

 25–29 38.7 6.0 10.4 6.1 4.6

 30–39 51.3 7.9 14.3 12.0 7.7

 40 or older 54.9 11.5 14.8 14.7 7.9

Current marital status

 Single, never married 40.6 7.2 10.5 5.4 5.3

 Married 46.6 8.4 11.9 12.9 5.9

 Separated 37.6 5.5 13.1 4.2 2.9

 Divorced 53.6 8.6 15.4 7.8 8.0

 Widowed ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡

Region of current residence

 Northeast 38.6 6.2 10.1 5.5 4.6

 Midwest 41.6 6.4 10.5 7.4 5.6

 South 46.7 8.8 12.0 9.3 6.7

 West 45.3 8.5 11.9 9.1 4.8

 Outlying areas 29.0 3.3 10.4 4.6 9.2

See notes at end of table.

Type of community service

________

139
Table III.8.—Percentage of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients who did various types of community

Table III.8.—service in the last year, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001—Continued

 Tutoring/ Health

Any education- Other Church- care/

community related volunteering related hospital

Student and institution characteristics service with kids with kids volunteering volunteering

Undergraduate major

 Business/management 39.2 6.3 11.0 7.2 3.4

 Education 45.3 12.0 17.1 11.3 4.2

 Engineering 37.6 5.3 8.5 7.3 2.1

 Health 42.8 5.0 9.3 7.1 13.7

 Other technical/professional 42.8 5.2 10.4 7.6 4.9

 Social/behavioral sciences 50.4 9.6 13.1 7.1 6.2

 Humanities 42.3 8.4 9.8 8.6 4.1

 Life sciences 46.0 7.8 7.6 7.4 12.2

 Physical sciences 44.9 5.6 10.5 7.2 10.2

 Mathematics 41.3 8.2 9.7 12.8 1.2

 Computer/information science 33.4 7.1 9.3 6.6 2.7

 Vocational/technical 32.2 3.4 12.1 5.1 4.2

Degree-granting institution type 

 Public 40.9 8.0 10.8 6.8 5.1

 Nondoctorate-granting 39.4 7.4 12.0 6.5 4.3

 Doctorate-granting 41.6 8.2 10.2 7.0 5.5

 Private not-for-profit 47.3 6.8 12.0 9.7 6.2

 Nondoctorate-granting 47.9 5.7 13.3 10.9 5.6

 Doctorate-granting 46.5 8.3 10.1 8.0 7.0

 Private for-profit 37.5 6.8 9.5 6.8 10.8

Current employment status

 Working full time 41.6 7.0 11.8 7.5 4.6

 Working part time 49.9 10.1 10.0 8.7 7.4

 Unemployed/laid off 40.2 8.3 8.9 6.7 6.2

 Out of the labor force 51.5 10.0 7.3 10.5 14.2

Total undergraduate debt

 Did not borrow 43.0 8.0 9.7 8.0 6.0

 $5,000 or less 42.3 7.4 14.9 7.5 3.8

 $5,001–10,000 43.4 8.6 12.1 9.6 4.2

 $10,001–20,000 44.4 6.9 12.1 7.8 5.8

 $20,001–30,000 42.1 8.0 11.8 5.8 5.7

 More than $30,000 44.1 7.0 9.3 9.4 7.3

Current enrollment status

 Not currently enrolled 40.2 6.8 10.6 7.7 4.6

 Enrolled part time 52.1 9.4 17.0 11.1 6.2

 Enrolled full time 53.9 11.1 11.6 6.7 10.6

‡Reporting standards not met. 

1

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond 

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

Type of community service

________

140
141

Section IV: Debt Burden and Graduate Enrollment

Debt Burden

• Sixty-two percent of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients had borrowed to help pay

for their undergraduate education (table IV.1). Among those who did borrow, the

average amount borrowed was about $17,800, of which an average of $15,100 was still

owed as of 2001. Black, non-Hispanic graduates were more likely than White, nonHispanic graduates to have borrowed for their undergraduate education. Among those

who did borrow, Black, non-Hispanic graduates had a larger amount of debt left to

repay than White, non-Hispanic graduates.

• The current 2001 employment status of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients was

associated with whether they had borrowed for their undergraduate education (table

IV.1). Graduates who were employed full time in 2001 were more likely than those

who were out of the labor force to have borrowed to help finance their education.

However, among those who borrowed, there were no differences detected in the

amount they had borrowed by current employment status.

Postbaccalaureate Degree Program Enrollment

• Most 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients (79 percent) were not enrolled in a

subsequent degree program in spring 2001 (table IV.2). However, 14 percent were

enrolled full time in a degree program, and an additional 6 percent were enrolled part

time. College graduates with an average GPA of 3.50 or higher were generally more

likely than those with lower grades to be enrolled full time.

• Those 1999–2000 college graduates whose parents had a bachelor’s degree or higher

were more likely than those whose parents had a high school diploma to be enrolled

full time in a degree program in spring 2001 (table IV.2).

• As of 2001, 73 percent of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients had not enrolled in

any degree program since completing the bachelor’s degree (table IV.3). Twenty-two

percent had enrolled in a graduate or advanced degree program, and the remainder had

enrolled in lower degree programs.

• As with current degree program enrollment overall, 1999–2000 college graduates

whose parents had obtained a graduate degree were generally more likely than those

whose parents had not gone to college to have enrolled in a graduate or advanced

degree program by 2001 (table IV.3).
Table Compendium—Section IV: Debt Burden and Graduate Enrollment

142

• Among 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients who had enrolled in graduate school

by 2001, 74 percent had enrolled in a master’s degree program and 24 percent had

enrolled in a doctoral or first-professional degree program (table IV.4). The remaining

3 percent had enrolled in a postbaccalaureate certificate program. Women were more

likely than men to have enrolled in a master’s program, while men were more likely

than women to have enrolled in a doctoral or first-professional degree program.

• Among graduate students, those who had received a bachelor’s degree in 1999–2000 at

the age of 22 or younger were less likely than older students to have enrolled in a

master’s program and more likely to have enrolled in a doctoral or professional degree

program (table IV.4).

• Male bachelor’s degree recipients who had subsequently enrolled in a graduate degree

program were more likely than their female counterparts to study the fields of business

management (20 vs. 12 percent) and engineering (10 vs. 2 percent; table IV.5).

Conversely, female bachelor’s degree recipients were more likely to study the fields of

education (26 vs. 11 percent) and health (18 vs. 12 percent).

• Graduates who had majored in business and management, education, engineering, and

health as undergraduates were more likely than graduates who had majored in other

fields to study those same subjects in a subsequent degree program (table IV.5). For

example, 72 percent of students who had majored in health sciences in college also did

so in graduate school, compared with 6 percent of undergraduate math majors who

were pursuing health sciences in graduate school.

Graduate School Plans

• In addition to the 27 percent of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients who had

subsequently enrolled in a graduate degree program, other graduates had taken steps or

had made plans for future study (table IV.6). One percent had been accepted to a

degree program but not yet enrolled, while 6 percent had applied to such a program.

An additional one-half (50 percent) planned to attend graduate school in the future.

• Among 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients, men were more likely than women to

have no plans for graduate school (table IV.6). Female students were more likely than

males to have applied to a degree program but not yet enrolled.

• White, non-Hispanic students were more likely than non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic,

and Asian students to have no plans to attend graduate school (table IV.6).

• Among 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients, those who had completed their

degrees in 4 years or less were less likely than those who took longer to have no plans

to attend graduate school in the future (table IV.6).
Table IV.1.—Percentage of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients who borrowed for their undergraduate 

Table IV.1.—education, and among those the amount borrowed and the amount still owed, by selected 

Table IV.1.—student and institution characteristics: 2001 

Percent

who

Student and institution characteristics borrowed Mean Median Mean Median

 Total 61.6 $17,777 $15,206 $15,115 $13,718

Gender 

 Male 60.5 17,285 14,945 14,506 12,963

 Female 62.5 18,134 15,512 15,550 14,345

Race/ethnicity 

 White, non-Hispanic 60.1 17,902 15,501 15,035 13,647

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 78.2 19,409 17,872 17,794 16,207

 Hispanic or Latino 66.4 16,266 13,441 14,275 13,216

 Asian 52.9 15,820 14,334 12,950 10,948

 American Indian/Alaska Native 69.9 15,510 15,708 ‡ 15,026

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 68.3 ‡ 14,355 ‡ 13,581

 Other race1 54.7 16,773 14,047 13,689 10,024

 More than one race 58.9 18,586 15,487 14,313 13,033

Disability status 

 Does not have a disability 61.1 17,667 15,365 15,099 13,824

 Has a disability 66.6 19,434 16,519 17,001 14,725

Parents’ educational attainment 

 Less than high school 64.8 16,757 15,035 16,035 14,229

 High school or equivalency 74.4 18,146 15,941 15,693 14,386

 Some postsecondary education 70.9 18,229 15,730 15,731 14,443

 Bachelor’s degree 58.6 18,075 15,973 14,905 14,528

 Master’s degree or equivalent 54.8 17,028 14,731 14,050 12,914

 Doctoral/professional degree 41.1 17,247 15,079 13,618 11,958

Age at bachelor’s completion 

 22 or younger 57.6 17,362 15,634 14,002 13,797

 23–24 64.5 17,116 14,886 14,350 12,870

 25–29 69.6 18,922 17,025 16,689 14,722

 30–39 68.9 19,633 15,794 18,155 14,608

 40 or older 55.9 17,121 15,136 16,918 14,858

Current marital status 

 Single, never married 60.5 18,084 15,822 14,833 13,862

 Married 62.0 16,851 14,726 15,141 13,019

 Separated 77.0 19,777 15,701 19,012 14,879

 Divorced 74.7 19,249 17,333 17,439 15,336

 Widowed ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡

See notes at end of table.

Total undergraduate debt, Total undergraduate debt

borrowers still owed, borrowers

________

143
Table IV.1.—Percentage of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients who borrowed for their undergraduate 

Table IV.1.—education, and among those the amount borrowed and the amount still owed, by selected 

Table IV.1.—student and institution characteristics: 2001—Continued 

Percent

who

Student and institution characteristics borrowed Mean Median Mean Median

Undergraduate major

 Business/management 57.2 $16,529 $15,250 $13,828 $13,077

 Education 67.8 17,728 15,374 15,970 14,529

 Engineering 54.6 18,043 16,617 15,333 14,201

 Health 65.7 20,303 17,749 16,536 14,979

 Other technical/professional 62.6 17,906 15,774 15,345 13,783

 Social/behavioral sciences 65.3 17,475 15,076 15,124 13,908

 Humanities 60.9 18,693 15,420 15,749 14,394

 Life sciences 58.7 16,386 14,695 14,227 12,389

 Physical sciences 57.1 17,664 15,430 14,461 15,144

 Math 52.7 20,212 18,989 19,941 16,935

 Computer/information science 65.4 17,521 15,084 14,134 12,169

 Vocational/technical 64.7 17,444 15,456 14,376 13,867

Cumulative undergraduate GPA 

 Less than 2.00 70.6 18,850 15,376 ‡ 22,886

 2.00–2.49 68.1 18,111 17,245 14,599 13,687

 2.50–2.99 65.0 18,161 15,964 15,982 14,607

 3.00–3.49 62.6 17,885 15,067 14,876 14,134

 3.50 or higher 56.0 17,004 14,866 14,612 13,109

Degree-granting institution type 

 Public 59.4 15,882 14,620 13,915 11,923

 Nondoctorate-granting 60.6 14,344 12,030 12,637 10,568

 Doctorate-granting 58.9 16,554 14,796 14,472 13,089

 Private not-for-profit 65.3 20,891 17,788 16,928 14,946

 Nondoctorate-granting 68.9 19,410 17,026 16,364 15,349

 Doctorate-granting 60.5 23,192 19,381 17,778 15,608

 Private for-profit 78.4 24,518 22,277 23,148 21,622

Time between postsecondary entry and degree completion 

 48 months or less 56.6 17,624 15,635 14,114 14,140

 49–60 months 61.9 16,614 14,996 13,864 12,591

 61–72 months 68.1 17,565 15,646 14,643 13,551

 More than 72 months 66.9 18,412 14,962 16,956 14,644

Current employment status 

 Working full time 63.1 17,761 15,337 14,843 13,600

 Working part time 58.5 17,500 14,924 15,964 14,347

 Unemployed/laid off 61.8 19,259 16,383 17,847 15,459

 Out of the labor force 47.5 16,727 14,780 14,208 11,817

‡Reporting standards not met. 

1

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond 

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

borrowers still owed, borrowers

Total undergraduate debt, Total undergraduate debt

________

144
Table IV.2.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to postbaccaTable IV.2.—laureate program enrollment status, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001 

Enrolled in

Enrolled Enrolled more than one

Student and institution characteristics full time part time program Not enrolled

 Total 14.1 6.5 0.3 79.1

Gender 

 Male 14.0 6.0 0.2 79.8

 Female 14.2 6.8 0.4 78.5

Race/ethnicity 

 White, non-Hispanic 13.0 6.1 0.3 80.6

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 18.8 9.0 0.1 72.1

 Hispanic or Latino 15.4 8.0 1.1 75.5

 Asian 16.8 5.4 0.4 77.4

 American Indian/Alaska Native 18.6 4.8 # 76.7

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 9.4 10.9 # 79.8

 Other race1 24.1 2.6 # 73.2

 More than one race 16.7 8.2 # 75.1

Disability status 

 Does not have a disability 14.9 6.7 0.3 78.1

 Has a disability 13.3 6.1 0.6 80.0

Parents’ educational attainment 

 Less than high school 12.5 8.2 0.1 79.2

 High school or equivalency 9.6 7.0 0.5 82.9

 Some postsecondary education 12.2 7.2 0.6 80.0

 Bachelor’s degree 15.2 6.5 0.3 78.0

 Master’s degree or equivalent 18.5 5.5 0.1 75.9

 Doctoral/professional degree 22.1 4.3 0.2 73.4

Age at bachelor’s completion 

 22 or younger 17.6 5.9 0.3 76.2

 23–24 10.5 5.3 0.1 84.1

 25–29 10.7 6.6 0.6 82.1

 30–39 11.2 8.0 0.1 80.6

 40 or older 11.3 10.9 0.7 77.0

Current marital status 

 Single, never married 15.9 5.8 0.2 78.0

 Married 9.4 7.8 0.4 82.4

 Separated 10.2 13.0 # 76.9

 Divorced 20.4 5.5 1.4 72.6

 Widowed ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡

See notes at end of table.

Enrollment status in 2001

________

145
Table IV.2.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to postbaccaTable IV.2.—laureate program enrollment status, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001

Table IV.2.——Continued

Enrolled in

Enrolled Enrolled more than one

Student and institution characteristics full time part time program Not enrolled

Undergraduate major 

 Business/management 8.0 5.0 0.1 86.9

 Education 7.0 10.1 0.2 82.7

 Engineering 9.5 8.5 0.4 81.7

 Health 16.1 5.8 0.4 77.8

 Other technical/professional 10.6 3.3 0.2 86.0

 Social/behavioral sciences 20.0 6.9 0.5 72.6

 Humanities 13.9 7.0 0.5 78.6

 Life sciences 33.3 4.8 0.3 61.6

 Physical sciences 33.0 5.5 0.3 61.3

 Mathematics 15.3 15.2 # 69.5

 Computer/information science 8.8 6.1 0.2 84.9

 Vocational/technical 12.2 7.6 0.5 79.7

Cumulative undergraduate GPA 

 Less than 2.00 12.2 10.1 # 77.7

 2.00–2.49 6.9 5.4 # 87.7

 2.50–2.99 8.7 6.9 0.4 84.1

 3.00–3.49 14.8 6.3 0.3 78.6

 3.50 or higher 20.8 6.6 0.4 72.2

Degree-granting institution type 

 Public 13.4 6.3 0.3 80.0

 Nondoctorate-granting 9.3 7.8 0.5 82.4

 Doctorate-granting 15.1 5.7 0.2 79.0

 Private not-for-profit 15.6 6.8 0.3 77.4

 Nondoctorate-granting 12.7 7.4 0.2 79.6

 Doctorate-granting 19.7 5.8 0.3 74.1

 Private for-profit 14.6 6.1 1.2 78.1

Time between postsecondary entry 

 and degree completion

 48 months or less 19.9 5.3 0.4 74.4

 49–60 months 11.3 7.1 0.2 81.5

 61–72 months 9.3 4.9 0.1 85.7

 More than 72 months 11.0 7.8 0.5 80.7

Total undergraduate debt 

 Did not borrow 16.4 6.7 0.4 76.5

 $5,000 or less 11.7 8.2 0.4 79.7

 $5,001–10,000 12.6 6.0 0.1 81.4

 $10,001–20,000 13.2 6.4 0.2 80.3

 $20,001–30,000 13.0 6.0 0.4 80.7

 More than $30,000 12.0 5.5 1.0 81.4

See notes at end of table.

Enrollment status in 2001

________

146
Table IV.2.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to postbaccaTable IV.2.—laureate program enrollment status, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001

Table IV.2.——Continued

Enrolled in

Enrolled Enrolled more than one

Student and institution characteristics full time part time program Not enrolled

Current employment status 

 Working full time 5.6 7.1 0.3 87.1

 Working part time 47.5 5.2 0.8 46.5

 Unemployed/laid off 20.1 3.4 # 76.5

 Out of the labor force 53.9 3.7 0.6 41.8

#Rounds to zero.

‡Reporting standards not met. 

1

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond 

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

Enrollment status in 2001

________

147
Table IV.3.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to their highest 

Table IV.3.—postbaccalaureate program enrollment since receiving a bachelor’s degree, by selected student 

Table IV.3.—and institution characteristics: 2001 

Graduate/ No postadvanced baccalaureate

Student and institution characteristics degree Bachelor’s Associate’s Certificate program

 Total 21.9 1.3 0.4 3.4 73.1

Gender 

 Male 21.1 1.1 0.3 3.1 74.5

 Female 22.5 1.4 0.4 3.6 72.0

Race/ethnicity 

 White, non-Hispanic 20.7 1.1 0.4 3.2 74.6

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 26.7 2.8 0.4 3.4 66.8

 Hispanic or Latino 23.9 1.6 0.2 5.7 68.7

 Asian 25.6 0.6 # 4.1 69.8

 American Indian/Alaska Native 26.9 # # 0.7 72.4

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 19.0 # 1.2 # 79.8

 Other race1 30.5 0.9 # 1.0 67.7

 More than one race 24.2 2.2 1.0 3.0 69.6

Disability status 

 Does not have a disability 23.3 1.3 0.4 3.4 71.6

 Has a disability 23.1 1.3 0.3 3.7 71.6

Parents’ educational attainment 

 Less than high school 18.8 1.3 # 7.0 72.9

 High school or equivalency 18.2 1.5 0.1 2.5 77.7

 Some postsecondary education 21.2 1.6 0.3 3.8 73.2

 Bachelor’s degree 22.7 1.2 0.5 4.1 71.7

 Master’s degree or equivalent 26.5 1.5 0.4 3.0 68.7

 Doctoral/professional degree 28.2 1.1 0.8 3.4 66.6

Age at bachelor’s completion 

 22 or younger 25.2 1.2 0.3 3.1 70.2

 23–24 15.9 1.4 0.7 3.6 78.4

 25–29 19.3 1.2 0.1 3.4 76.0

 30–39 20.0 1.4 0.3 3.3 75.0

 40 or older 24.2 1.2 # 4.8 69.8

Current marital status 

 Single, never married 22.8 1.3 0.5 3.3 72.1

 Married 19.4 1.0 0.2 3.0 76.4

 Separated 20.8 1.9 # 7.8 69.5

 Divorced 27.5 1.7 # 7.0 63.9

 Widowed ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡

See notes at end of table.

Highest postbaccalaureate program enrollment

________

148
Table IV.3.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to their highest 

Table IV.3.—postbaccalaureate program enrollment since receiving a bachelor’s degree, by selected student 

Table IV.3.—and institution characteristics: 2001—Continued

Graduate/ No postadvanced baccalaureate

Student and institution characteristics degree Bachelor’s Associate’s Certificate program

Undergraduate major

 Business/management 14.9 1.2 # 3.1 80.9

 Education 18.3 1.0 0.6 2.4 77.7

 Engineering 21.6 0.5 0.1 2.0 75.9

 Health 24.2 1.9 0.6 3.3 70.0

 Other technical/professional 15.7 0.7 0.6 2.2 80.8

 Social/behavioral sciences 28.6 1.3 0.3 3.7 66.1

 Humanities 20.6 1.5 0.7 4.9 72.3

 Life sciences 38.1 2.0 0.5 3.5 56.0

 Physical sciences 36.4 2.1 # 3.9 57.6

 Math 36.1 0.4 # 5.1 58.5

 Computer/information science 15.3 0.9 # 3.2 80.6

 Vocational/technical 20.6 0.6 # 3.6 75.3

Cumulative undergraduate GPA 

 Less than 2.00 11.1 2.6 2.2 7.2 76.9

 2.00–2.49 10.5 2.1 0.5 3.0 83.9

 2.50–2.99 15.1 1.1 0.4 4.2 79.2

 3.00–3.49 22.2 1.3 0.5 3.4 72.6

 3.50 or higher 31.6 1.2 0.1 2.7 64.4

Degree-granting institution type 

 Public 20.4 1.6 0.3 4.0 73.8

 Nondoctorate-granting 17.6 1.1 0.2 4.4 76.7

 Doctorate-granting 21.5 1.8 0.4 3.8 72.5

 Private not-for-profit 24.9 0.6 0.4 2.3 71.8

 Nondoctorate-granting 22.4 0.9 0.4 1.8 74.4

 Doctorate-granting 28.4 0.3 0.4 3.0 68.0

 Private for-profit 23.6 # 0.3 3.8 72.4

Time between postsecondary entry 

 and degree completion 

 48 months or less 27.6 1.1 0.3 3.1 67.9

 49–60 months 18.7 1.1 0.6 3.1 76.5

 61–72 months 12.7 1.4 0.5 4.6 80.8

 More than 72 months 20.4 1.1 0.3 4.1 74.1

See notes at end of table.

Highest postbaccalaureate program enrollment

________

149
Table IV.3.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to their highest 

Table IV.3.—postbaccalaureate program enrollment since receiving a bachelor’s degree, by selected student 

Table IV.3.—and institution characteristics: 2001—Continued

Graduate/ No postadvanced baccalaureate

Student and institution characteristics degree Bachelor’s Associate’s Certificate program

Total undergraduate debt 

 Did not borrow 24.8 1.0 0.5 4.3 69.5

 $5,000 or less 20.3 1.9 0.2 1.8 75.8

 $5,001–10,000 18.3 1.1 0.4 3.5 76.7

 $10,001–20,000 21.0 1.3 0.3 3.4 74.1

 $20,001–30,000 20.3 1.0 0.3 3.1 75.3

 More than $30,000 21.6 1.3 0.1 2.9 74.0

Current employment status 

 Working full time 14.3 1.0 0.2 3.6 81.0

 Working part time 51.0 2.7 0.9 3.5 42.0

 Unemployed/laid off 28.1 1.7 0.8 3.3 66.2

 Out of the labor force 58.4 1.7 0.5 1.6 37.8

#Rounds to zero.

‡Reporting standards not met. 

1

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond 

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

Highest postbaccalaureate program enrollment

________

150
Table IV.4.—Among the 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients who had enrolled in graduate school since 

Table IV.4.—receiving their bachelor’s degree, percentage distribution according to highest degree 

Table IV.4.—program, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001 

Postbaccalaureate Doctoral/firstStudent and institution characteristics certificate Master’s degree professional degree

 Total 2.7 73.8 23.5

Gender 

 Male 2.1 69.2 28.8

 Female 3.1 77.1 19.9

Race/ethnicity 

 White, non-Hispanic 2.9 72.5 24.6

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 1.2 82.9 15.9

 Hispanic or Latino 3.4 77.2 19.4

 Asian 2.7 70.5 26.8

 American Indian/Alaska Native ‡ ‡ ‡

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander ‡ ‡ ‡

 Other race1 # 67.8 32.3

 More than one race # 80.5 19.6

Disability status 

 Does not have a disability 2.3 75.0 22.7

 Has a disability 3.5 81.5 15.0

Parents’ educational attainment 

 Less than high school 3.1 87.6 9.3

 High school or equivalency 2.8 81.7 15.5

 Some postsecondary education 4.3 77.7 18.0

 Bachelor’s degree 1.4 73.8 24.9

 Master’s degree or equivalent 3.1 73.3 23.6

 Doctoral/professional degree 0.6 54.4 45.0

Age at bachelor’s completion 

 22 or younger 2.6 66.3 31.0

 23–24 4.0 76.2 19.8

 25–29 1.8 84.3 14.0

 30–39 0.4 86.9 12.7

 40 or older 3.9 92.2 3.9

Current marital status 

 Single, never married 2.4 69.4 28.2

 Married 3.3 82.4 14.3

 Separated ‡ ‡ ‡

 Divorced 2.6 84.1 13.2

 Widowed ‡ ‡ ‡

See notes at end of table.

Highest degree program

________

151
Table IV.4.—Among the 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients who had enrolled in graduate school since 

Table IV.4.—receiving their bachelor’s degree, percentage distribution according to highest degree 

Table IV.4.—program, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001—Continued

Postbaccalaureate Doctoral/firstStudent and institution characteristics certificate Master’s degree professional degree

Undergraduate major

 Business/management 1.0 86.7 12.3

 Education 1.6 98.2 0.2

 Engineering # 91.6 8.4

 Health 3.3 79.7 17.0

 Other technical/professional 3.2 72.5 24.4

 Social/behavioral sciences 2.4 67.0 30.6

 Humanities 5.5 77.4 17.1

 Life sciences 2.9 37.2 59.9

 Physical sciences 2.1 44.6 53.3

 Mathematics # 84.2 15.9

 Computer/information science 7.2 90.7 2.1

 Vocational/technical # 78.3 21.7

Cumulative undergraduate GPA 

 Less than 2.00 ‡ ‡ ‡

 2.00–2.49 3.3 82.5 14.2

 2.50–2.99 6.3 76.3 17.4

 3.00–3.49 2.5 73.5 24.0

 3.50 or higher 1.3 72.3 26.3

Degree-granting institution type 

 Public 2.6 75.0 22.4

 Nondoctorate-granting 3.2 86.0 10.8

 Doctorate-granting 2.4 71.2 26.5

 Private not-for-profit 2.9 70.8 26.3

 Nondoctorate-granting 5.1 78.6 16.3

 Doctorate-granting 0.4 62.0 37.6

 Private for-profit ‡‡‡

Time between postsecondary entry and degree completion 

 48 months or less 2.2 63.8 34.0

 49–60 months 3.7 78.7 17.7

 61–72 months 3.4 80.4 16.3

 More than 72 months 2.3 85.4 12.4

Total undergraduate debt 

 Did not borrow 1.5 71.8 26.8

 $5,000 or less 5.1 80.1 14.8

 $5,001–10,000 4.4 68.5 27.2

 $10,001–20,000 3.3 72.6 24.1

 $20,001–30,000 2.4 80.6 17.0

 More than $30,000 1.1 78.1 20.8

See notes at end of table.

Highest degree program

________

152
Table IV.4.—Among the 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients who had enrolled in graduate school since 

Table IV.4.—receiving their bachelor’s degree, percentage distribution according to highest degree 

Table IV.4.—program, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001—Continued

Postbaccalaureate Doctoral/firstStudent and institution characteristics certificate Master’s degree professional degree

Current employment status 

 Working full time 3.7 86.3 10.0

 Working part time 0.7 73.1 26.2

 Unemployed/laid off 3.2 69.1 27.8

 Out of the labor force 2.5 40.3 57.2

#Rounds to zero.

‡Reporting standards not met. 

1

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond 

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

Highest degree program

________

153
Table IV.5.—Among the 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients enrolled in graduate school since receiving their bachelor’s de

Table IV.5.—distribution according to graduate field of study, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001 

Business Public 

 and Health affairs/ 

manage- Edu- Engineer- profes- social Social Psycho- Human- l

Student and institution characteristics ment cation ing sions services sciences logy History ities sc Total 15.2 19.8 5.0 16.0 4.7 2.8 3.2 1.0 8.5 Gender  Male 19.5 10.6 9.9 12.5 3.7 3.6 1.5 1.2 10.1  Female 12.2 26.2 1.7 18.4 5.4 2.3 4.3 1.0 7.4 Race/ethnicity  White, non-Hispanic 14.6 20.2 4.2 16.0 4.5 2.6 3.2 1.4 9.9  Black/African American, non-Hispanic 18.2 16.4 2.9 17.4 9.8 4.3 1.1 0.7 4.7  Hispanic or Latino 19.1 29.5 5.4 10.0 3.1 4.6 3.1 # 6.4  Asian 15.6 7.6 13.8 18.7 1.5 2.2 3.8 # 2.2  American Indian/Alaska Native ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡  Other race1 8.2 8.6 # 18.3 5.3 # 8.2 # 15.2 

 More than one race 7.2 23.7 18.4 19.4 3.8 2.5 1.0 # 7.7 Disability status  Does not have a disability 15.9 19.8 5.3 15.9 5.1 2.8 3.2 1.0 7.7  Has a disability 13.8 24.0 5.6 9.3 6.8 3.9 3.9 2.0 10.5 Parents’ educational attainment  Less than high school 16.5 30.6 1.6 14.0 4.6 4.0 5.4 1.4 5.1  High school or equivalency 21.5 23.0 3.0 17.1 6.0 2.6 1.5 0.9 6.1  Some postsecondary education 12.6 23.5 5.5 14.6 7.4 2.7 4.0 0.6 9.9  Bachelor’s degree 16.3 20.1 3.6 14.4 4.7 3.0 2.8 0.7 8.7  Master’s degree or equivalent 13.7 17.7 10.6 13.0 3.2 3.0 2.1 1.5 9.2  Doctoral/professional degree 7.3 11.0 4.8 23.1 2.5 2.6 5.0 0.8 8.3 

See notes at end of table.

Graduate field of study

________

154
Table IV.5.—Among the 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients enrolled in graduate school since receiving their bachelor’s de

Table IV.5.—distribution according to graduate field of study, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001—Conti

Business Public 

 and Health affairs/ 

manage- Edu- Engineer- profes- social Social Psycho- Human- l

Student and institution characteristics ment cation ing sions services sciences logy History ities scAge at bachelor’s completion  22 or younger 11.8 19.7 5.8 17.0 3.5 2.5 3.2 0.9 9.4  23–24 16.8 18.5 5.9 18.7 4.6 3.8 3.1 0.2 6.2  25–29 18.6 19.6 3.3 11.7 5.7 2.2 3.0 0.2 10.1  30–39 17.9 21.7 5.7 11.5 9.3 5.0 3.8 0.4 3.8  40 or older 26.4 21.7 # 15.3 6.7 2.3 2.5 5.7 9.7 Current marital status  Single, never married 13.5 17.3 6.0 17.5 4.2 3.0 3.1 0.8 8.2  Married 19.2 25.4 3.5 13.9 5.3 2.0 3.0 0.9 9.1  Separated ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡  Divorced 16.2 25.6 0.6 7.6 7.8 4.7 4.0 3.2 8.5  Widowed ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ Undergraduate major  Business/management 61.3 6.9 1.7 1.6 4.4 2.5 # # 2.6  Education 3.3 75.0 0.6 5.4 1.5 0.2 1.9 0.5 2.7  Engineering 13.3 0.5 66.1 0.6 0.6 # # # 1.0  Health 5.4 11.2 # 71.8 1.5 # 1.1 # 0.8  Other technical/professional 11.6 16.2 2.2 15.1 1.9 2.9 0.2 # 8.3  Social/behavioral sciences 6.9 22.4 0.1 7.1 10.5 7.6 10.8 3.6 4.1  Humanities 8.0 25.8 0.8 5.0 2.7 1.7 1.2 1.1 35.8  Life sciences 2.1 9.8 1.7 49.8 0.3 1.6 1.7 # 0.9  Physical sciences 3.3 7.4 17.2 22.3 # # # # 1.8  Mathematics 0.8 24.2 2.6 6.0 # 2.9 1.0 # 6.5  Computer/information science 23.8 2.4 10.7 4.2 # # 1.1 # 4.2  Vocational/technical 10.1 14.8 6.7 # 35.8 3.2 # # 1.1 

See notes at end of table.

Graduate field of study

________

155
Table IV.5.—Among the 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients enrolled in graduate school since receiving their bachelor’s de

Table IV.5.—distribution according to graduate field of study, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001—Conti

Business Public 

 and Health affairs/ 

manage- Edu- Engineer- profes- social Social Psycho- Human- l

Student and institution characteristics ment cation ing sions services sciences logy History ities scCumulative undergraduate GPA  Less than 2.00 ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡  2.00–2.49 20.8 20.7 2.4 12.2 2.5 1.1 3.0 # 8.6  2.50–2.99 20.0 21.0 4.4 12.9 6.7 2.9 2.9 0.3 8.7  3.00–3.49 13.9 21.1 4.5 17.2 4.7 1.8 2.7 1.3 6.1  3.50 or higher 13.0 17.6 6.4 16.4 4.2 3.9 3.9 1.4 10.9 Degree-granting institution type  Public 13.7 21.2 5.1 16.1 5.3 3.0 3.4 0.9 7.0  Nondoctorate-granting 12.7 34.0 2.5 13.8 5.3 3.2 3.0 1.7 7.7  Doctorate-granting 14.1 16.7 6.0 16.9 5.3 2.9 3.5 0.7 6.8  Private not-for-profit 15.5 17.9 4.8 16.5 3.5 2.7 2.9 1.3 11.7  Nondoctorate-granting 19.9 23.8 3.3 14.7 4.0 1.9 3.0 1.1 10.8  Doctorate-granting 10.6 11.4 6.6 18.6 2.9 3.6 2.8 1.5 12.7  Private for-profit ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ Time between postsecondary entry  and degree completion  48 months or less 10.6 17.9 5.4 18.3 4.1 3.4 3.5 0.9 8.9  49–60 months 15.6 20.7 6.0 13.6 4.5 1.5 2.6 0.6 10.8  61–72 months 17.5 27.1 5.4 15.4 4.5 2.4 1.4 # 5.7  More than 72 months 20.0 20.1 3.5 13.4 6.5 3.3 3.1 1.7 7.8 Total undergraduate debt  Did not borrow 14.9 16.9 6.7 16.8 3.7 3.1 3.5 0.9 10.0  $5,000 or less 19.6 17.4 6.5 14.3 4.9 1.1 2.0 2.6 13.5  $5,001–10,000 13.6 23.9 3.1 15.6 4.4 5.2 1.1 2.3 7.8  $10,001–20,000 14.6 22.8 3.1 15.6 4.8 1.7 4.2 0.8 6.0  $20,001–30,000 18.6 18.5 2.8 12.9 7.0 5.4 1.5 0.4 6.4  More than $30,000 6.5 19.0 8.9 22.4 9.1 2.2 3.4 0.4 7.2 

See notes at end of table.

Graduate field of study

________

156
Table IV.5.—Among the 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients enrolled in graduate school since receiving their bachelor’s de

Table IV.5.—distribution according to graduate field of study, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001—Conti

Business Public 

 and Health affairs/ 

manage- Edu- Engineer- profes- social Social Psycho- Human- l

Student and institution characteristics ment cation ing sions services sciences logy History ities scCurrent employment status  Working full time 22.4 26.7 5.8 10.0 5.3 2.2 2.1 1.0 5.8  Working part time 6.6 13.5 6.2 19.0 4.3 4.5 3.9 1.8 14.6  Unemployed/laid off 13.7 16.5 1.6 12.2 4.9 0.8 5.4 0.8 11.3  Out of the labor force 3.2 6.1 2.3 35.2 3.5 3.8 4.9 0.3 7.2 

#Rounds to zero.‡Reporting standards not met. 

1Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

Graduate field of study

________

157
Table IV.6.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to graduate 

Table IV.6.—school path location, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001 

Accepted

but not yet Plans

Enrolled in enrolled Applied to graduate No plans for

Student and institution graduate in graduate graduate school in graduate

characteristics school school school the future school

 Total 27.1 0.9 5.5 49.9 16.7

Gender 

 Male 25.8 0.8 4.4 50.7 18.3

 Female 28.0 0.9 6.4 49.3 15.5

Race/ethnicity 

 White, non-Hispanic 25.7 0.9 4.4 49.8 19.2

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 32.3 1.0 13.7 46.8 6.2

 Hispanic or Latino 30.8 1.1 7.0 50.6 10.5

 Asian 29.8 1.1 5.4 50.7 13.0

 American Indian/Alaska Native 29.5 # 7.3 55.8 7.4

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 20.3 # 8.7 59.4 11.6

 Other race1 32.3 0.5 3.6 52.4 11.3

 More than one race 30.6 # 7.2 52.3 9.9

Disability status 

 Does not have a disability 28.5 1.0 5.7 48.5 16.3

 Has a disability 28.2 1.3 8.0 45.6 16.9

Parents’ educational attainment 

 Less than high school 26.9 1.3 6.6 49.4 15.8

 High school or equivalency 22.4 0.6 5.9 51.9 19.3

 Some postsecondary education 26.6 1.2 6.5 49.0 16.7

 Bachelor’s degree 28.4 1.2 5.0 47.6 17.8

 Master’s degree or equivalent 31.9 0.7 6.0 49.4 12.0

 Doctoral/professional degree 33.3 1.1 4.4 50.6 10.7

Age at bachelor’s completion 

 22 or younger 29.8 1.0 5.1 51.1 13.1

 23–24 21.6 0.8 5.8 52.2 19.6

 25–29 24.2 0.6 5.2 50.2 19.8

 30–39 25.8 0.6 5.9 49.5 18.1

 40 or older 30.9 1.1 7.5 34.9 25.6

Current marital status 

 Single, never married 28.0 1.0 5.6 51.2 14.3

 Married 23.9 0.6 5.3 48.1 22.1

 Separated 28.7 1.8 10.6 53.3 5.6

 Divorced 35.8 1.3 5.2 42.0 15.9

 Widowed ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡

See notes at end of table.

Graduate school path location

________

158
Table IV.6.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to graduate 

Table IV.6.—school path location, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001—Continued

Accepted

but not yet Plans

Enrolled in enrolled Applied to graduate No plans for

Student and institution graduate in graduate graduate school in graduate

characteristics school school school the future school

Undergraduate major 

 Business/management 20.0 0.3 4.7 50.9 24.3

 Education 21.8 1.1 6.6 60.6 10.0

 Engineering 24.6 0.5 4.4 50.8 19.8

 Health 30.1 0.9 4.1 47.3 17.6

 Other technical/professional 18.5 1.2 5.2 48.9 26.3

 Social/behavioral sciences 33.8 1.0 6.2 49.6 9.4

 Humanities 27.8 1.3 6.7 48.5 15.8

 Life sciences 43.4 1.5 6.5 40.0 8.7

 Physical sciences 43.8 # 8.5 38.6 9.2

 Mathematics 40.9 0.6 4.6 41.3 12.7

 Computer/information science 19.9 0.7 2.2 53.1 24.2

 Vocational/technical 25.0 0.7 4.2 54.5 15.7

Cumulative undergraduate GPA 

 Less than 2.00 22.5 1.1 20.9 40.6 14.9

 2.00–2.49 16.6 0.7 6.7 51.1 24.9

 2.50–2.99 21.1 0.6 5.6 54.6 18.1

 3.00–3.49 27.6 0.8 5.9 50.0 15.7

 3.50 or higher 35.4 1.2 4.3 44.8 14.2

Degree-granting institution type 

 Public 26.4 0.9 5.5 49.8 17.4

 Nondoctorate-granting 23.6 0.8 6.8 50.4 18.4

 Doctorate-granting 27.6 0.9 5.0 49.6 17.0

 Private not-for-profit 28.4 0.9 5.6 50.2 15.0

 Nondoctorate-granting 25.7 1.0 6.2 50.5 16.7

 Doctorate-granting 32.1 0.7 4.8 49.8 12.7

 Private for-profit 28.3 # 5.0 44.1 22.6

Time between postsecondary entry and degree completion 

 48 months or less 32.0 1.2 5.1 49.4 12.3

 49–60 months 23.8 0.8 4.8 53.1 17.6

 61–72 months 19.2 0.8 6.6 51.8 21.7

 More than 72 months 26.2 0.7 6.2 48.2 18.8

Total undergraduate debt 

 Did not borrow 31.0 0.9 4.2 46.4 17.5

 $5,000 or less 23.9 1.2 7.0 51.6 16.4

 $5,001–10,000 23.5 0.7 6.7 52.9 16.3

 $10,001–20,000 25.9 0.8 6.6 51.3 15.5

 $20,001–30,000 24.6 1.2 5.4 54.7 14.1

 More than $30,000 25.8 1.0 5.2 50.8 17.2

See notes at end of table.

Graduate school path location

________

159
Table IV.6.—Percentage distribution of 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree recipients according to graduate 

Table IV.6.—school path location, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2001—Continued

Accepted

but not yet Plans

Enrolled in enrolled Applied to graduate No plans for

Student and institution graduate in graduate graduate school in graduate

characteristics school school school the future school

Current employment status 

 Working full time 19.0 0.9 5.3 56.1 18.8

 Working part time 58.0 0.9 5.3 27.2 8.6

 Unemployed/laid off 34.3 0.9 7.2 46.0 11.6

 Out of the labor force 61.7 0.9 7.2 19.9 10.2

#Rounds to zero.

‡Reporting standards not met. 

1

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond 

Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01).

Graduate school path location

________

160
161

Appendix A—Glossary

This glossary describes the variables used in this report. The items were taken directly from the NCES B&B:2000/01

Data Analysis System (DAS), an NCES software application that generates tables from the B&B:2000/01 data. (See

appendix B for a description of the DAS.) In the index below, the variables are organized by general topic and,

within topic, listed in the order they appear in the report. The glossary is in alphabetical order by variable label

(displayed in capital letters to the right of the name).

GLOSSARY INDEX

STUDENT CHARACTERISTICS

Gender ............................................................ GENDER

Race/ethnicity .....................................................RACE2

Citizenship status ........................................... CCCITZN

Speaks non-English language.....................FRGNLANG

Parents’ educational attainment ...................... NPARED

Age at postsecondary entry.............................. AGEPSE

Age received bachelor’s degree .............................. AGE

Combined SAT scores ................................TESATDER

Marital status .................................................... CCMAR

Number of children.......................................... CCDEPS

Home, own or pay rent................................... CCHOME

Type of housing arrangement........................ CCHSTYP

Region of current residence ............................. REGION

Distance from high school to current

residence....................................................CCZIPDST

UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION

Same state as bachelor’s institution .............. SMSTATE

Undergraduate major ..................................BMAJORS3

Cumulative undergraduate GPA ........................... GPA2

GPA in undergraduate major .......................... GPAMAJ

First institution type ......................................... I1SECT9

Total months stopped out...............................STOPTOT

Number of institutions attended ................ CBNUMSCH

Prior attainment...........................................HIOTHDEG

Degree-granting institution type.................. BSECTOR9

Time between high school graduation

and postsecondary entry ................................ HS_PSE

Time between high school graduation

and degree completion ....................................HS_BA

Time between postsecondary entry and

degree completion......................................... PSE_BA

Amount of all undergraduate loans................. CBUGLN

Undergraduate debt still owed among

borrowers ............................................... CBFEDUGO

EMPLOYMENT

Military status.......................................................MILIT

Current employment status .............................. EMPOLF

Current occupation ...............................................OCCD

Annual salary............................................. CEANNERN

Months since last worked for pay............. MOSNOEMP

Unemployment received since last

worked ................................................... CEUNEMPL

Start of career in occupation or industry.......... CECURL

Job related to undergraduate major ............ CERELMAJ

Reason current job not start of career......... CECURJOB

Any occupational license................................. CFLICE1

Any professional certification.........................CFCRTF1

Any community service ............................ COMMSERV

Tutoring/education-related with kids........COMMTUTR

Other volunteering with kids .................... COMMOKID

Church-related volunteering .................... COMMCHUR

Health care/hospital volunteering.............COMMHLTH

POSTBACCALAUREATE ENROLLMENT

Current enrollment status.................................ENRCUR

Highest degree program after bachelor’s

degree............................................................HIDEGC

Graduate field of study .....................................MJCAT1

Graduate school path location ...........................GRDPIP
Appendix A—Glossary

DAS variable name

162

Age received bachelor’s degree AGE

Indicates student’s age on December 31, 1999. Students who are 24 years old on or before this date are considered

independent for financial aid purposes in the 1999–2000 academic year.

22 or younger

23–24

25–29

30–39

40 or older

Age at postsecondary entry AGEPSE

Age when first enrolled in postsecondary education.

18 or younger

19–20

21–24

25 or older

Undergraduate major BMAJORS3

Major field of study for the bachelor’s degree.

Business/management

Education

Engineering

Health

Vocational/technical

Other technical/professional

Social/behavioral sciences

Humanities

Life sciences

Physical sciences

Mathematics

Computer/information science

Degree-granting institution type BSECTOR9

Indicates the sector (level and control) of the institution where the student received the 1999–2000 bachelor’s

degree, including whether the institution was doctorate-granting or not.

Public nondoctorate-granting

Public doctorate-granting

Private not-for-profit nondoctorate-granting

Private not-for-profit doctorate-granting

Private for-profit
Appendix A—Glossary

DAS variable name

163

Undergraduate debt still owed among borrowers CBFEDUGO

Response to the question “Of the amount you borrowed in education loans for your undergraduate education (not

including any money borrowed from family or friends), how much do you still owe?”

Number of institutions attended CBNUMSCH

Total number of postsecondary institutions attended for undergraduate study until completion of the bachelor’s

degree in the 1999–2000 school year.

One

Two

Three

Four or more

Amount of all undergraduate loans CBUGLN

Response to the question “Other than any money you may have borrowed from family or friends, how much did you

borrow in education loans for your undergraduate education?”

Citizenship status CCCITZN

Response to the question “Are you a U.S. citizen?”

Citizen U.S. citizen or U.S. national

Resident alien/student visa Includes permanent residents, other eligible noncitizen

temporary residents, and those in the country on an F1, F2, J1,

or J2 visa

Number of children CCDEPS

Response to the question “How many children do you or your spouse support financially?”

None

One

Two

Three or more

Home, own or pay rent CCHOME

Response to the question “Do you own your home or are you paying rent?”

Owns home

Pays rent

Neither
Appendix A—Glossary

DAS variable name

164

Type of housing arrangement CCHSTYP

Response to the question “What type of housing arrangement do you have?” The percentage of all respondents who

indicated they were living with their parents or relatives is used in this report.

Living with parents/relatives

Other

Marital status CCMAR

Response to the question “Are you currently single (never married), married, separated, divorced, or widowed?”

Single, never married

Married

Separated

Divorced

Widowed

Distance from high school to current residence CCZIPDST

Distance between zip code of residence during high school and zip code of current (2001) residence. The two zip

codes were looked up in a database containing the latitude and longitude of their center points. Those latitudes and

longitudes were input into a formula to produce the distance in miles between the two center points.

Less than 50 miles

50–199 miles

200–499 miles

500 miles or more

Annual salary CEANNERN

Current annual income based on annual salary or rate of pay reported in the 2001 interview.

Reason current job not start of career CECURJOB

Response to the question “Since it isn’t the start of your career, how would you describe your current job?”

Respondents could give one response.

Working while deciding future plans

Just paying the bills

Continuing in the job already held

Continuing in career already in

Working to prepare for graduate school

Doing what want to do

Exploring career options

Is the only job available

Other
Appendix A—Glossary

DAS variable name

165

Start of career in occupation or industry CECURL

Response to the question “Would you consider your current job to be the start of your career in this occupation or

industry?”

Job is start of career

Job is not start of career

Job related to undergraduate major CERELMAJ

Response to the question “Would you say your current job is closely related, somewhat related, or not related to your

undergraduate major?”

Not at all related

Somewhat related

Closely related

Unemployment received since last worked CEUNEMPL

Response to the question “Have you received unemployment compensation at any time since you last worked for

pay?” This analysis looks at respondents who said they have.

Any professional certification CFCRTF1

Response to the question “Do you hold professional certification in an occupational area? By professional

certification, I mean certification that allows you to qualify or advance in an occupational area, but is not required by

law before you can actually begin work.” This analysis looks at respondents who said they do.

Any occupational license CFLICE1

Response to the question “Do you hold an occupational license that is required by the federal, state, or local

government before you may practice in a profession?” This analysis looks at respondents who said they do.

Church-related volunteering COMMCHUR

Indicates whether respondents volunteered in service to a church in the past year as of the 2001 interview. This

analysis looks at respondents who did so.

Health care/hospital volunteering COMMHLTH

Indicates whether respondents volunteered in health service, a hospital, or a nursing home in the past year as of the

2001 interview. This analysis looks at respondents who did so.
Appendix A—Glossary

DAS variable name

166

Other volunteering with kids COMMOKID

Indicates whether respondents did other (noneducation-related) volunteer work with kids (such as coaching) in the

past year as of the 2001 interview. This analysis looks at respondents who did so.

Any community service COMMSERV

Response to the question “In the past year, have you participated in any community service or volunteer work?

Please exclude any court-ordered service you may have done.” This analysis looks at respondents who said they have

participated in such work.

Tutoring/education-related with kids COMMTUTR

Indicates whether respondents volunteered at tutoring or another education activity with kids in the past year as of

the 2001 interview. This analysis looks at respondents who did so.

Current employment status EMPOLF

Current employment status as of the B&B interview, with unemployment (not working, but looking for work) and

out of labor force (not working, not looking for work) status provided. This variable was created based on

respondents’ answers to two items. The first item asked them whether they were (1) working full time; (2) working

part time; (3) laid off or waiting to report to work; (4) not working; (5) a homemaker; or (6) disabled. Those who

reported that they were “not working” were asked whether they were looking for a job. Based on responses to these

questions, the following categories were constructed:

Working full time Working full time

Working part time Working part time

Unemployed Not working, but looking for work

Laid off Laid off or waiting to report to work

Out of the labor force Not working and not looking for work; homemaker; or disabled

These categories were constructed to approximate definitions used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) as

closely as possible. A few differences from the BLS definitions remain. Since those who indicated they were

homemakers or disabled were not asked if they were looking for work, some may be miscategorized who would

actually be considered unemployed by the BLS. Also, unpaid family workers, who are considered employed by the

BLS, were not distinguished in this data set. Finally, the item used to determine whether respondents were looking

for work did not specify the particular activities that the BLS requires for a person to be considered looking for

work. For more information about the BLS definitions of these concepts, visit http://stats.bls.gov/cps/cps_htgm.htm.

Using these categories, this report shows the distribution across all five categories. It also shows the “unemployment

rate” as defined by the following calculation: Unemployment rate = (Unemployed + Laid off) / (Working full time +

Working part time + Unemployed + Laid off).
Appendix A—Glossary

DAS variable name

167

Current enrollment status ENRCUR

Current degree or certificate program enrollment status as of the B&B interview.

Not currently enrolled

Enrolled part time

Enrolled full time

Speaks non-English language FRGNLANG

Response to the question “Are you fluent in any foreign languages?”

Yes

No

Gender GENDER

Student’s gender.

Male

Female

Cumulative undergraduate GPA GPA2

Student grade-point average (GPA) in 1999–2000 on a 4.0 scale.

Less than 2.00

2.00–2.49

2.50–2.99

3.00–3.49

3.50 or higher

GPA in undergraduate major GPAMAJ

Grade-point average in undergraduate major on a 4.0 scale.

Less than 2.00

2.00–2.49

2.50–2.99

3.00–3.49

3.50 or higher
Appendix A—Glossary

DAS variable name

168

Graduate school path location GRDPIP

Indicates what steps the respondent has completed on the path to graduate school after earning the 1999–2000

bachelor’s degree as of the B&B interview.

Enrolled in graduate school

Accepted, not yet enrolled

Applied for graduate school

Plans graduate school in future

No plans to attend graduate school

Highest degree program after bachelor’s degree HIDEGC

Indicates the highest degree, if any, the respondent has attempted since completing the 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree.

Graduate/advanced degree program

Bachelor’s

Associate’s

Certificate

Prior attainment HIOTHDEG

Indicates the highest degree the respondent had completed prior to completing the 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree.

No prior attainment

Certificate

Associate’s degree

Bachelor’s degree or higher

Time between high school graduation and degree completion HS_BA

Indicates the time between high school graduation and the date of bachelor’s degree completion (in months). This

variable was calculated only for those respondents who did not have a prior bachelor’s degree. Only the year of high

school graduation was available, so a high school completion month of June was assigned.

Within 4 years 48 months or less

4–5 years 49–60 months

5–6 years 61–72 months

6–10 years 73–120 months

More than 10 years More than 120 months
Appendix A—Glossary

DAS variable name

169

Time between high school graduation and postsecondary entry HS_PSE

Indicates the time between high school graduation and first entry into postsecondary education (in months). This

variable was calculated only for those respondents who did not have a prior bachelor’s degree. Only the year of high

school graduation was available, so a high school completion month of June was assigned.

Less than 1 year Less than 12 months

1–2 years 12–23 months

2–5 years 24–59 months

5 years or more 60 months or more

First institution type I1SECT9

Sector of the first postsecondary institution attended.

Public 2-year

Public 4-year nondoctorate-granting

Public doctorate-granting

Private not-for-profit 4-year nondoctorate-

 granting

Private not-for-profit doctorate-granting

Private for-profit Includes less-than-2-year, 2-year, and 4-year private for-profit

institutions

Other Includes public less-than-2-year and private not-for-profit lessthan-4-year institutions

Military status MILIT

Indicates the respondent’s status with respect to military service as of the B&B interview.

Veteran

Active duty/reserves

No military service
Appendix A—Glossary

DAS variable name

170

Graduate field of study MJCAT1

Describes the major field of study for the first postbaccalaureate degree or certificate program enrolled in since

completing the 1999–2000 bachelor’s degree, if any, using collapsed categories.

Business and management

Education

Engineering

Health professions

Public affairs/social services

Biological sciences

Mathematics and physical science

Social sciences

History

Humanities

Psychology

Other

Months since last worked for pay MOSNOEMP

Number of months since last worked for pay, as of B&B interview. This analysis looks at the average number of

months.

Parents’ educational attainment NPARED

The highest level of education of either parent.

Less than high school

High school or equivalency

Some postsecondary education

Bachelor’s degree

Master’s degree or equivalent

Doctoral/professional degree

Current occupation OCCD

Respondent’s current occupation.

Educators

Business and management

Engineering/architecture

Computer science

Medical professionals

Editors/writers/performers

Human/protective service professionals

Research, scientists, technical

Administrative, clerical, legal

Mechanics, laborers

Service industries

Other
Appendix A—Glossary

DAS variable name

171

Time between postsecondary entry and degree completion PSE_BA

Indicates the time between first entry into postsecondary education and bachelor’s degree completion (in months).

This variable was calculated only for those respondents who did not have a prior bachelor’s degree.

Within 4 years 48 months or less

4–5 years 49–60 months

5–6 years 61–72 months

6–10 years 73–120 months

More than 10 years More than 120 months

Race/ethnicity RACE2

Student’s race/ethnicity, including Hispanic/Latino and those indicating more than one race. Respondents were asked

two questions. One question asked respondents to identify whether they were of Hispanic or Latino origin or not.

The other question asked them to identify their race, with multiple responses permitted and categories of White;

Black or African American; Asian; Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander; American Indian or Alaska Native; or

Other, specify. Thus, race is defined based on respondents’ self-reports according to these categories. These

questions were combined, with all respondents indicating Hispanic or Latino origin grouped together regardless of

race. Then, those who selected more than one category for race were grouped together. Remaining respondents were

placed in the race category they selected. The resulting categories are as follows:

White, non-Hispanic

Black/African American, non-Hispanic

Hispanic or Latino

Asian

Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

American Indian/Alaska Native

Other race

More than one race

Region of current residence REGION

Indicates region of respondents’ current residence as of the B&B interview. The resulting regions are as follows:

Northeast Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine,

Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New

York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont

Midwest Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota,

Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota,

Wisconsin

South Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky,

Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina,

Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West

Virginia
Appendix A—Glossary

DAS variable name

172

Region of current residence—continued REGION

West Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana,

Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming

Outlying areas Armed Forces Africa, Armed Forces Pacific, Marshall Islands,

Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands

Same state as bachelor’s institution SMSTATE

Indicates whether the respondent lives in same state where baccalaureate institution is located.

Do not live in same state as baccalaureate institution

Live in same state as baccalaureate institution

Total months stopped out STOPTOT

Examining start and end dates for all postsecondary enrollment spells prior to bachelor’s degree receipt, nonenrolled

spells of at least 4 months’ duration were identified. The total duration of all such nonenrolled spells of 4 months or

more was then calculated. This variable differs from the variable of the same name calculated for the 1992–93

Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study. In the previous study, only nonenrolled spells between institutions

were included; in this study, nonenrolled spells in which the respondent eventually returned to the same institution

are also included.

No stopouts lasting 4 months or more

4–5 months

6–11 months

12–23 months

24–35 months

36 months or more

Combined SAT scores TESATDER

SAT combined score from the base year (1999–2000) data, derived as either the sum of SAT verbal and math scores

or the ACT composite score converted to an estimated SAT combined score using a concordance table. Constructed

from agency-reported or institution-reported SAT or ACT scores in the following order of precedence: 1) Agencyreported (ETS) SAT verbal and math scores; 2) Agency-reported (ACT) ACT composite scores; 3) Institutionreported (CADE) SAT verbal and math scores; 4) Institution-reported (CADE) ACT composite scores. All SAT

scores are provided in re-centered scale.

No exam taken or no score reported

Below 1000

1000–1200

Above 1200
173

Appendix B—Technical Notes and Methodology

The 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study

The estimates and statistics reported in the tables and figures of this report are based on

data from the 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01), a spring 2001

follow-up of bachelor’s degree recipients from the 1999–2000 National Postsecondary Student

Aid Study (NPSAS:2000), conducted by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for

Education Statistics. NPSAS:2000 is based on a nationally representative sample of all students

in postsecondary education institutions, including undergraduate, graduate, and first-professional

students. For NPSAS:2000, information was obtained from more than 900 postsecondary

institutions on approximately 50,000 undergraduate, 9,000 graduate, and 3,000 first-professional

students. They represented nearly 17 million undergraduates, 2.4 million graduate students, and

300,000 first-professional students who were enrolled at some time between July 1, 1999 and

June 30, 2000. For B&B:2000/01, those members of the NPSAS:2000 sample who completed a

bachelor’s degree between July 1, 1999 and June 30, 2000 were identified and contacted for a

follow-up interview. The estimates in this report are based on the results of surveys with

approximately 10,000 bachelor’s degree recipients, representing about 1.3 million bachelor’s

degree completers from 1992–93.12 The weighted overall response rate for the B&B:2000/01

interview was 74 percent, reflecting an institution response rate of 90 percent and a student

response rate of 82 percent. (Because the B&B:2000/01 study includes a subsample of

NPSAS:2000 nonrespondents, the overall study response rate is the product of the NPSAS:2000

institution-level response rate and the B&B:2000/01 student-level response rate.)

The B&B:2000/01 data provide a profile of the 1999–2000 cohort of college graduates,

including degree recipients who have been enrolled sporadically over time as well as those who

went to college right after completing high school. The data set contains comprehensive data on

enrollment, attendance, and student demographic characteristics and provides a unique

opportunity to understand the immediate transitions of college graduates into work, graduate

school, or other endeavors.

 

12For more information on the B&B survey, consult U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics,

Methodology Report for the 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (NCES 2003–156) (Washington, DC: 2003).
Appendix B—Technical Notes and Methodology

174

Accuracy of Estimates

The statistics in this report are estimates derived from a sample. Two broad categories of

error occur in such estimates: sampling and nonsampling errors. Sampling errors occur because

observations are made only on samples of students, not entire populations. Nonsampling errors

occur not only in sample surveys but also in complete censuses of entire populations.

Nonsampling errors can be attributed to a number of sources: inability to obtain complete

information about all students in all institutions in the sample (some students or institutions

refused to participate, or students participated but answered only certain items); ambiguous

definitions; differences in interpreting questions; inability or unwillingness to give correct

information; mistakes in recording or coding data; and other errors of collecting, processing,

sampling, and imputing missing data.

Weighted item response rates were calculated for all variables used in this report. The

weighted item response rate was calculated by dividing the weighted number of valid responses

by the weighted population for which the item was applicable. Overall, most of the items had

very high response rates. Items with weighted item response rates below 90 percent are shown in

table B1. Three variables had weighted item response rates below 85 percent. In two of these

cases (the reason the respondent did not consider the current job the start of a career

Table B1.—Lowest weighted item response rates for variables used in this report: 2001 Baccalaureate and

Table B1.—Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:2000/01) 

Variable name Variable label

Incomplete interviews 

assumed applicable

Incomplete interviews 

excluded

Variables with response rates between 85 percent and 90 percent:

 CBFEDUGO Undergraduate debt still owed among borrowers 86.5 90.8

 CCZIPDST Distance from high school to current residence 85.7 92.4

 NPARED Parents’ educational attainment 89.5 89.5

Variables with response rates lower than 85 percent:

 CECURJOB Reason current job not start of career 81.8 97.5

 CEUNEMPL Unemployment received since last worked 69.9 98.7

 GPAMAJ GPA in undergraduate major 76.3 80.9

NOTE: Weighted item response rates were calculated by dividing the total weighted number of valid responses by the weighted

total population for whom the question was applicable. Bias analyses were conducted for variables with a weighted item response

rate below 85 percent.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal

Study (B&B:2000/01).

Item response rate
Appendix B—Technical Notes and Methodology

175

[CECURJOB] and whether the respondent had received unemployment compensation since last

working [CEUNEMPL]), the low weighted response rate is due largely to the fact that the

variables were applicable to a small proportion of the sample. That is, because applicability could

not be determined for respondents with incomplete interviews, those respondents are considered

to have indeterminate responses. Incomplete interviews thus make up a relatively high proportion

of the indeterminate responses for those items. However, it is highly likely that the majority of

incomplete interviews would have been excluded from the item had their information been

gathered. When incomplete interviews are excluded from the calculation of the item response

rates, the response rates for CECURJOB and CEUNEMPL are 97.5 and 98.7 percent,

respectively.

For the remaining variable (grade-point average in undergraduate major [GPAMAJ]), an

analysis of item nonrespondents was conducted. Item respondents were compared to item

nonrespondents on the following variables: percent female (GENDER); percent White, percent

Black, percent Hispanic, and percent Asian (RACE2); percent enrolled full time, part time, or not

enrolled as of 2001 (ENRCUR); percent working full time, part time, or out of the labor force as

of 2001 (EMPOLF); percent majoring in various fields (BMAJORS3); and cumulative GPA

(GPA2). The results suggest that, compared with those who responded to the item GPAMAJ,

nonrespondents were less likely to be White and more likely to be Hispanic; were less likely to

be enrolled full time in school in 2001 and more likely to be not enrolled; were less likely to be

employed part time in 2001; were less likely to have majored in physical sciences or vocational

fields and more likely to have majored in another unspecified major; and had lower overall

GPAs. Therefore, nonrespondents to the item GPAMAJ are likely to have had lower major GPAs

as well. This bias is likely to have depressed any relationships between GPAMAJ and other

variables; that is, the relationships between GPAMAJ and other variables discussed in this report

are likely to be underestimated.

Data Analysis System

The estimates presented in this report were produced using the B&B:2000/01 Data Analysis

System (DAS). The DAS software makes it possible for users to specify and generate their own

tables. With the DAS, users can replicate or expand upon the tables presented in this report. In

addition to the table estimates, the DAS calculates proper standard errors13 and weighted sample

 

13The B&B:2000/01 sample is not a simple random sample, and therefore, simple random sample techniques for estimating

sampling error cannot be applied to these data. The DAS takes into account the complexity of the sampling procedures and

calculates standard errors appropriate for such samples. The method for computing sampling errors used by the DAS involves

approximating the estimator by the linear terms of a Taylor series expansion. The procedure is typically referred to as the Taylor

series method.
Appendix B—Technical Notes and Methodology

176

sizes for these estimates. For example, table B2 contains standard errors that correspond to table

13 of this report, generated by the DAS. If the number of valid cases is too small to produce a

reliable estimate (less than 30 cases), the DAS prints the message “low n” instead of the estimate.

In addition to tables, the DAS will also produce a correlation matrix of selected variables to

be used for linear regression models. Included in the output with the correlation matrix are the

design effects (DEFTs) for each variable in the matrix. Since statistical procedures generally

compute regression coefficients based on simple random sample assumptions, the standard errors

must be adjusted with the design effects to take into account the stratified sampling method used

in the B&B survey.

For more information about the B&B:2000/01 and other Data Analysis Systems, consult

the NCES DAS web site (www.nces.ed.gov/das) or contact:

Aurora D’Amico

National Center for Education Statistics

1990 K Street NW

Room 8115

Washington, DC 20006

(202) 502-7334

E-mail address: Aurora.D’Amico@ed.gov

Statistical Procedures

Two types of statistical procedures were used in this report: testing differences between

means (or proportions) and testing linear trends. Each procedure is described below.

Differences Between Means

The descriptive comparisons were tested in this report using Student’s t statistic.

Differences between estimates are tested against the probability of a Type I error,14 or

significance level. The significance levels were determined by calculating the Student’s t values

for the differences between each pair of means or proportions and comparing these with

published tables of significance levels for two-tailed hypothesis testing.

Student’s t values may be computed to test the difference between estimates with the

following formula:

 

14A Type I error occurs when one concludes that a difference observed in a sample reflects a true difference in the population

from which the sample was drawn, when no such difference is present.
Appendix B—Technical Notes and Methodology

177

Table B2.—Standard errors for table 13: Among 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients with less

Table B2.—than 6 months of stopout between institutions, average number of months between postsecondary

Table B2.—entry and degree completion, by degree-granting institution type and student demographic,

Table B2.—academic, and enrollment characteristics 

Student characteristics Total1 Public Private not-for-profit

 Total 0.45 0.58 0.65

Gender

 Male 0.56 0.56 1.25

 Female 0.67 0.94 0.63

Race/ethnicity

 White, non-Hispanic 0.53 0.69 0.78

 Black/African American, non-Hispanic 1.66 2.01 2.75

 Hispanic or Latino 1.98 2.70 1.73

 Asian 1.12 1.44 1.09

 American Indian/Alaska Native ‡ ‡ ‡

 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander ‡ ‡ ‡

 Other race2 1.47 2.12 1.69

 More than one race 3.14 2.08 3.31

Parents’ educational attainment

 High school or less 1.41 1.67 2.23

 Some postsecondary education 0.87 1.19 1.07

 Bachelor’s degree 0.76 0.83 1.58

 Master’s degree or equivalent 0.52 0.62 0.93

 Doctoral/professional degree 0.57 0.71 0.48

Undergraduate major

 Business/management 1.55 1.76 2.98

 Education 0.94 1.22 1.28

 Engineering 1.22 1.55 0.72

 Health 1.26 1.61 1.81

 Vocational/technical 3.14 2.87 8.44

 Other technical/professional 0.66 0.76 1.28

 Social/behavioral sciences 0.89 1.37 0.66

 Humanities 1.18 1.90 0.91

 Life sciences 0.97 1.28 1.24

 Physical sciences 1.93 2.94 1.01

 Mathematics 1.68 2.57 1.01

 Computer/information science 1.51 1.65 1.52

Time between high school graduation and postsecondary entry

 Less than 12 months 0.44 0.58 0.62

 12–23 months 1.79 1.99 2.43

 24–59 months 5.67 7.48 7.97

 60 months or more 3.21 3.59 6.63

See notes at end of table.

Degree-granting institution type
Appendix B—Technical Notes and Methodology

178

Table B2.—Standard errors for table 13: Among 1999–2000 first-time bachelor’s degree recipients with less

Table B2.—than 6 months of stopout between institutions, average number of months between postsecondary

Table B2.—entry and degree completion, by degree-granting institution type and student demographic,

Table B2.—academic, and enrollment characteristics—Continued

Student characteristics Total1 Public Private not-for-profit

Cumulative undergraduate GPA

 Less than 2.50 1.28 1.58 2.10

 2.50–2.99 0.89 1.12 1.24

 3.00–3.49 0.74 1.04 0.62

 3.50 or higher 0.79 0.79 1.47

Combined SAT scores3

 No exam taken or no score reported 2.59 3.38 4.28

 Below 1000 0.61 0.78 0.66

 1000–1200 0.24 0.32 0.20

 Above 1200 0.26 0.40 0.26

First institution type

 Public 2-year 1.63 1.85 3.06

 Public 4-year nondoctorate-granting 1.17 1.14 10.71

 Public doctorate-granting 0.62 0.62 4.23

 Private not-for-profit 4-year nondoctorate-granting 1.06 7.02 0.87

 Private not-for-profit doctorate-granting 0.71 7.32 0.37

 Private for-profit 5.92 ‡ ‡

 Other ‡ ‡ ‡

Degree-granting institution type

 Public 

 Nondoctorate-granting 1.14 1.14 ‡

 Doctorate-granting 0.68 0.68 ‡

 Private not-for-profit 

 Nondoctorate-granting 1.11 ‡ 1.11

 Doctorate-granting 0.55 ‡ 0.55

 Private for-profit 8.42 ‡ ‡

Number of institutions attended

 One 0.35 0.52 0.27

 Two 0.92 1.14 1.60

 Three 1.36 1.31 3.09

 Four or more 7.05 9.40 7.74

‡Reporting standards not met. 

1

Included in the total but now shown separately are graduates of private for-profit institutions.

2

Respondents identified themselves as belonging to another race. See the glossary for details.

3

Derived from institution- or student-reported SAT or ACT scores, where available. See the glossary for details.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal

Study (B&B:2000/01).

Degree-granting institution type
Appendix B—Technical Notes and Methodology

179

2

2

2

1

1 2

se se

E E

t

+

− = (1)

where E1 and E2 are the estimates to be compared and se1 and se2 are their corresponding

standard errors. This formula is valid only for independent estimates. When estimates are not

independent, a covariance term must be added to the formula:

t =

E -E

se + se - 2(r)se se

1 2

1

2

2

2

1 2

 (2)

where r is the correlation between the two estimates.15 This formula is used when comparing two

percentages from a distribution that adds to 100. If the comparison is between the mean of a

subgroup and the mean of the total group, the following formula is used:

t =

2

sub

2

tot

2

sub

sub tot

se se 2p se

E E

+ −

− (3)

where p is the proportion of the total group contained in the subgroup.16 The estimates, standard

errors, and correlations can all be obtained from the DAS.

There are hazards in reporting statistical tests for each comparison. First, comparisons

based on large t statistics may appear to merit special attention. This can be misleading since the

magnitude of the t statistic is related not only to the observed differences in means or percentages

but also to the number of students in the specific categories used for comparison. Hence, a small

difference compared across a large number of students would produce a large t statistic.

A second hazard in reporting statistical tests for each comparison occurs when making

multiple comparisons among categories of an independent variable. For example, when making

paired comparisons among different levels of income, the probability of a Type I error for these

comparisons taken as a group is larger than the probability for a single comparison. When more

than one difference between groups of related characteristics or “families” are tested for

statistical significance, one must apply a standard that assures a level of significance for all of

those comparisons taken together.

 

15U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, A Note from the Chief Statistician, no. 2, 1993.

16Ibid.
Appendix B—Technical Notes and Methodology

180

Comparisons were made in this report only when p< .05/k for a particular pairwise

comparison, where that comparison was one of k tests within a family. This procedure guarantees

both that the individual comparison would have p< .05 and that for k comparisons within a

family of possible comparisons, the significance level for all the comparisons will sum to p<

.05.17

For example, in a comparison of males and females, only one comparison is possible

(males versus females). In this family, k=1, and the comparison can be evaluated without

adjusting the significance level. When students are divided into five age categories (18 or

younger, 19–23, 24–29, 30–39 and 40 or older) and all possible comparisons are made, then k=10

and the significance level of each test must be p< .05/10, or p< .005. The formula for calculating

family size (k) is as follows:

k j j = ( ) −1

2 (4)

where j is the number of categories for the variable being tested. In the case of age, there are five

age groups, so substituting 5 for j in equation 4, results in the following family size.

 10

2

5(5 1) = − k = (5)

Linear Trends

While many descriptive comparisons in this report were tested using Student’s t statistic,

some comparisons among categories of an ordered variable with three or more levels involved a

test for a linear trend across all categories, rather than a series of tests between pairs of

categories. In this report, when differences among percentages were examined relative to a

variable with ordered categories, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to test for a linear

relationship between the two variables. To do this, ANOVA models included orthogonal linear

contrasts corresponding to successive levels of the independent variable. The squares of the

Taylorized standard errors (that is, standard errors that were calculated by the Taylor series

method), the variance between the means, and the unweighted sample sizes were used to

 

17The standard that p≤ .05/k for each comparison is more stringent than the criterion that the significance level of the

comparisons should sum to p≤ .05. For tables showing the t statistic required to ensure that p≤ .05/k for a particular family size

and degrees of freedom, see Olive Jean Dunn, “Multiple Comparisons Among Means,” Journal of the American Statistical

Association 56 (1961): 52–64.
Appendix B—Technical Notes and Methodology

181

partition total sum of squares into within- and between-group sums of squares. These were used

to create mean squares for the within- and between-group variance components and their

corresponding F statistics, which were then compared with published values of F for a

significance level of .05.18 Significant values of both the overall F and the F associated with the

linear contrast term were required as evidence of a linear relationship between the two variables.

Means and Taylorized standard errors were calculated by the DAS. Unweighted sample sizes are

not available from the DAS and were provided by NCES.

 

18More information about ANOVA and significance testing using the F statistic can be found in any standard textbook on

statistical methods in the social and behavioral sciences.