**Table 2: Circumstances and completion rates: Probit estimates**

||Preparatory||Generalsec|ondary|College||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||1988|2006|1988|2006|1988|2006|
|Girl|-0.0216***<br>(0.001)|-0.0443***<br>(0.000)|-0.0229***<br>(0.000)|0.0266***<br>(0.000)|-0.0052***<br>(0.000)|0.0244***<br>(0.000)|
|Alexandria, Port Said, Suez|-0.0903***<br>(0.001)|-0.1297***<br>(0.001)|0.0072***<br>(0.001)|-0.0452***<br>(0.001)|-0.0173***<br>(0.000)|-0.0300***<br>(0.000)|
|Urban lower|<br>-0.0953***<br>(0.001)|<br>-0.0558***<br>(0.001)|<br>-0.0006<br>(0.001)|<br>-0.0589***<br>(0.001)|<br>0.0083***<br>(0.000)|<br>-0.0065***<br>(0.001)|
|Urban upper|<br>-0.0956***<br>(0.001)|<br>-0.0634***<br>(0.001)|<br>0.0016*<br>(0.001)|<br>-0.0595***<br>(0.001)|<br>-0.0017***<br>(0.000)|<br>-0.0488***<br>(0.000)|
|Rural lower<br>Rural upper|<br>-0.2222***<br>(0.001)<br>-0.2600***<br>(0.001)|<br>-0.1497***<br>(0.001)<br>-0.2316***<br>(0.001)|<br>-0.1134***<br>(0.000)<br>-0.1434***<br>(0.000)|<br>-0.1178***<br>(0.001)<br>-0.1795***<br>(0.000)|<br>-0.0454***<br>(0.000)<br>-0.0330***<br>(0.000)|<br>-0.0394***<br>(0.000)<br>-0.1068***<br>(0.000)|
|Mother w/ primary or preparatory<br>Mother w/ secondary<br>Mother w/ college|0.2960***<br>(0.002)<br>0.4146***<br>(0.003)|0.1651***<br>(0.001)<br>0.1656***<br>(0.001)<br>0.0461***<br>(0.001)|0.1168***<br>(0.001)<br>0.4360***<br>(0.002)<br>0.2303***<br>(0.004)|0.2272***<br>(0.001)<br>0.3632***<br>(0.001)<br>0.3564***<br>(0.002)|0.0362***<br>(0.001)<br>0.1053***<br>(0.001)<br>0.0190***<br>(0.001)|0.1338***<br>(0.001)<br>0.2164***<br>(0.001)<br>0.2484***<br>(0.001)|
|Father w/ primary or preparatory<br>Father w/ secondary<br>Father w/ college|0.1948***<br>(0.001)<br>0.3664***<br>(0.002)<br>0.5159***<br>(0.002)|0.1690***<br>(0.000)<br>0.1825***<br>(0.001)<br>0.0989***<br>(0.001)|0.1026***<br>(0.001)<br>0.2678***<br>(0.002)<br>0.5045***<br>(0.002)|0.1153***<br>(0.001)<br>0.1855***<br>(0.001)<br>0.2601***<br>(0.001)|0.0624***<br>(0.001)<br>0.0928***<br>(0.001)<br>0.1478***<br>(0.002)|0.0706***<br>(0.001)<br>0.1439***<br>(0.001)<br>0.1517***<br>(0.001)|
|Father service or industry worker|-0.0428***<br>(0.001)|-0.0745***<br>(0.001)|-0.0523***<br>(0.001)|-0.0856***<br>(0.001)|-0.0193***<br>(0.000)|-0.0781***<br>(0.000)|
|Father in agriculture or elem. ocup.|<br>-0.2997***<br>(0.001)|<br>-0.1259***<br>(0.001)|<br>-0.0844***<br>(0.001)|<br>-0.0941***<br>(0.001)|<br>-0.0451***<br>(0.000)|<br>-0.0608***<br>(0.000)|
|Number of Obs|3,255,266|6,350,947|3,298,129|6,350,947|3,298,129|6,350,947|
|Pseudo R2|0.199|0.127|0.222|0.237|0.183|0.212|

_Source:_ 1988 LFSS; 1998 ELMS; and 2006 ELMPS. _Sample:_ 21-24 year-olds; reference categories are: boy, birth in Great Cairo, uneducated mother (or missing value), uneducated father (or missing value), and father professional, manager, technician or clerck. p<0.10, ** p<0.05, *** p<0.01;

# _Least and most advantaged groups_

In addition to the descriptions given above, there are other informative ways to illustrate the stark disparities among circumstance groups. One way is to compare the characteristics of students belonging to the extremes of the distribution of educational achievements. **Table 3** describes the characteristics of the youth who did not complete basic education and of those who completed college education. Uneducated youth consist in more than 1,300,000 individuals aged 21-24 in 2006 (that number decreased only slightly from 1,500,000 in 1988), and the share of girls increased 7