Stated Briefly: College enrollment patterns for rural Indiana high school graduates

This study examined rural–nonrural differences in college enrollment patterns among Indiana’s 2010 public high school graduates. It found that a similar proportion of graduates of rural and nonrural high schools enrolled in public Indiana colleges. In addition, a similar proportion of the two groups of graduates were presumptively eligible for selective and very selective four-year colleges based on their grade point averages and college entrance test scores. However, the proportion that enrolled in a two-year college was higher for rural graduates than for nonrural graduates, while the proportion that enrolled in a very selective college was lower for rural graduates than for nonrural graduates. Some findings from analyses based on Indiana data differ from those based on analyses of national data, thus emphasizing the importance of relying on state data in making education policy decisions at the state level.