The college enrollment rates of the Oregon class of 1999 are similar to those of previous classes surveyed and to rates for the United States as a whole. Almost 67 percent of survey respondents were enrolled in a postsecondary institution during the fall of 1999, with an additional 3.6 percent enrolling winter term. With the additional delayed enrollment likely over the next year, the college attendance rate of the class of 1999 at the end of eighteen months following graduation could be as high as 84 percent, based on the findings of this survey. The distribution for class of 1999 graduates is shown in the graph at the end of this summary. The most important factor for respondents choosing an OUS institution was the availability of programs in their desired field of study.
Cost continues to be a dominant factor in respondents' choice of college.
Scholarships played a significantly more important role for class of 1999 respondents. More than 50 percent of respondents attending an OUS institution, almost double the figure for the class of 1997, cited receipt of a scholarship as an important reason for their choice. Students attending other four-year institutions or Oregon community colleges were also more likely to note a scholarship offer as an important reason for their choice. In an unexpected finding, a greater proportion of class of 1999 respondents reported concern about potential cuts to OUS academic programs or other activities, in spite of the fact that there have not been large-scale program cuts since 1993, in the two biennia following the passage of Ballot Measure 5. For the respondents choosing not to go to college, work , cost , and the desire for a break from school were the reasons most frequently cited.