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Percentages of Undergraduate Students Who Were 25 and Older, by Gender, Sector, and Region, Fall 2015

Almanac 2017 August 13, 2017

More than a quarter of all undergraduate students in the United States were 25 or older in the fall of 2015, with women greatly outnumbering men among undergraduates in that age group. Among older students, women were more likely than men to be ages 35 to 64. Among sectors, four-year for-profit institutions had by far the highest percentage of undergraduates 25 and older. Among regions, the Rocky Mountains states had the highest share of older students in the undergraduate population.

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More than a quarter of all undergraduate students in the United States were 25 or older in the fall of 2015, with women greatly outnumbering men among undergraduates in that age group. Among older students, women were more likely than men to be ages 35 to 64. Among sectors, four-year for-profit institutions had by far the highest percentage of undergraduates 25 and older. Among regions, the Rocky Mountains states had the highest share of older students in the undergraduate population.


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Overall representation by gender

RepresentationNumber 25 and olderShare of all undergraduates
All 4,888,486 28.7%
Men 1,985,370 11.7%
Women 2,903,116 17.1%

Age distribution of 25-and-older undergraduates by gender

Representation25-2930-3435-3940-4950-6465 and older
All 37.7% 21.2% 14.0% 17.0% 8.9% 1.1%
Men 41.1% 21.9% 13.4% 15.0% 7.5% 1.2%
Women 35.4% 20.8% 14.5% 18.4% 9.8% 1.1%

By sector

Institution typeNumber 25 and olderAllMenWomen
4-year public 1,313,149 19.0% 18.6% 19.3%
4-year private nonprofit 636,294 23.0% 21.1% 24.4%
4-year for-profit 616,006 72.8% 73.0% 72.6%
2-year public 2,176,005 35.0% 31.8% 37.5%
2-year private nonprofit 24,843 49.6% 36.0% 55.3%
2-year for-profit 122,189 54.3% 54.4% 54.3%

By region

Area of U.S.Number 25 and olderAllMenWomen
New England (Conn., Me., Mass., N.H., R.I., Vt.) 194,561 24.1% 20.4% 27.0%
Mideast (Del., D.C., Md., N.J., N.Y, Pa.) 567,480 23.7% 20.8% 25.9%
Great Lakes (Ill., Ind., Mich., Ohio, Wis.) 635,914 26.2% 23.2% 28.7%
Plains (Iowa, Kan., Minn., Mo., Neb., N.D., S.D.) 342,019 26.8% 24.2% 28.9%
Southeast (Ala., Ark., Fla., Ga., Ky., La., Miss., N.C., S.C., Tenn., Va., W.Va.) 1,137,975 28.5% 26.5% 30.0%
Southwest (Ariz., N.M., Okla., Tex.) 728,255 32.6% 29.6% 34.9%
Rocky Mountains (Colo., Idaho, Mont., Utah, Wyo.) 269,896 36.5% 35.0% 37.7%
Far West (Alaska, Calif., Hawaii, Nev., Ore., Wash.) 1,012,384 32.2% 31.6% 32.6%

Note: Data cover all undergraduate students enrolled at degree-granting institutions in the United States that are eligible to participate in the Title IV federal student-aid program. Of such institutions, 4,271 enroll undergraduate students. Percentages may not sum to totals because of rounding.

Source: Chronicle analysis of U.S. Department of Education data

A version of this article appeared in the August 18, 2017, issue.
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