BERC: College Access in Baltimore, A Decade of College-Going Among City Schools Graduates

Abstract

This report summarizes trends in college-related outcomes among Baltimore City Public School’s (City Schools) graduates over a ten-year timespan, from 2011 to 2020. The data presented centers on core activities in accessing college, from applying for admission and financial aid, to college enrollment and, ultimately, degree completion. We acknowledge that pursuing postsecondary education is but one path to independent adulthood. Many young adults wish to engage in other types of training and preparation that are not represented in this report, such as apprenticeships, on-the-job training, and military service. However, research concludes that individuals with at least some college education have higher lifetime earnings (Kim & Tamborini, 2019), better health outcomes (Kaplan et al., 2017), and greater civic engagement (Campbell, 2009). Moreover, higher education attainment in the aggregate yields benefits for the local economy (Koropeckyj et al., 2017) and greater well-being for the community (Baum et al., 2013). We thus offer the data in this report as one means of monitoring opportunity for Baltimore youth and Baltimore City as a whole.