Hispanic and Black People Likely to Pursue Higher Education Despite Setbacks and Barriers

Black and Hispanic people are the group most likely to consider pursuing higher education despite reporting more barriers and higher rates of dropping out, is one of the findings of a recent report.

According to "The State of Higher Education 2023" from Gallup and Lumina Foundation, college enrollments are down below pre-pandemic numbers, but Hispanic and Black people are the most affected when it comes to staying enrolled. The report credits emotional stress and mental health as the top reasons they consider pausing their studies, while cost and inflation are also factors.

Which Groups are Most Likely to Pursue Higher Education?

Although Black and Hispanic people are among the groups most likely to consider stopping their studies, they are more likely than White and Asian people to consider reenrolling after leaving their studies. According to the report, in 2022, 58 percent of Black adults and 53 percent of Hispanic adults considered enrolling in higher education. This is up from 51 percent of Black adults and 44 percent of Hispanic adults reporting the same in 2021. According to the report, unenrolled White and Asian people are less likely than Black or Hispanic adults to be contemplating enrollment. 42 percent of White adults and 41 percent of Asian adults reported considering doing so in 2022.

For adults who stopped their studies, Blacks (72 percent) and Hispanics (70 percent) said they were more likely to return to college, while 55 percent of White individuals said the same.

All groups, regardless of whether they had been enrolled before, are currently enrolled, or never enrolled said that obtaining knowledge or skills is the main reason they would want to pursue higher education, as well as pursuing personal fulfillment or achievements. These groups assert that higher education would help them get better jobs and make them more competitive candidates.

What Barriers do Black and Hispanic People Face?

The report found that 35 percent of Black people, and 34 percent of Hispanic people reported, "Personal Mental Health Reasons," as the top reason as to why they're not enrolled in higher education. Comparatively, 24 percent of White people said the same. This was the highest reason why Black people were not enrolled in higher education.

For Hispanics, the largest reason they were not enrolled was due to emotional stress, with 37 percent of Hispanic people citing that as the reason why they were not enrolled in higher education.