YouScience survey: Majority of 2023 graduates opting out of four-year college

YouScience, an American Fork-based brain-training exercises, assessment and career development company, has released key findings from its second annual national “2023 Post-Graduate Readiness Report.” The report underscores a significant trend among high school graduates in the Class of 2023, with 55 percent opting out of the traditional four-year college education program. Comparatively, for graduates spanning the 2019-22 classes, this figure stood at 48 percent, signaling a noteworthy transformation within the education landscape.

“This paradigm shift highlights a growing sentiment among recent high school graduates, who are increasingly questioning the value of pursuing a conventional four-year college degree and exploring alternative pathways,” study authors concluded.

The report, based on a nationwide online survey of more than 500 students from the high school graduating classes of 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, highlights the evolving trajectories of postsecondary education, the driving forces behind these changes and the growing necessity for more personalized guidance in today’s swiftly evolving educational and workforce environments. In a time when industry leaders grapple with talent shortages and with nearly 6 million Americans remaining unemployed, this survey emphasizes the critical importance of enhancing the education and engagement of our future workforce, YouScience said.

Key findings of the report include:

• The decision to pursue alternative post-secondary options hints at an evolving postsecondary landscape.
• Twenty-seven percent of respondents in the Class of 2023 reported attending a two-year college, while 13 percent are working as part of a career plan, 9 percent have no plan, 7 percent are attending trade or technical school, 8 percent are taking time off and/or gap year(s) and 5 percent are joining the military.
• There’s a pressing need to raise awareness of the variety of postsecondary careers or educational opportunities at the high school level.
• Thirty percent of the Class of 2023 graduates were unaware of available career and technical education (CTE) programs.
• A breakdown in student-educator communication may be a factor behind the lack of CTE program awareness.
• About 65 percent of the Class of 2023 graduates had five or fewer conversations with teachers or counselors about post-high school choices.
• Over half (51 percent) of the Class of 2023 cited “family members” as their primary influence on their path.
• High school graduates feel uncertain about their current chosen pathways.
• Nearly one-third (31 percent) of the Class of 2023 are not sure they are where they want to be in their education or career path.
• Thirty-four percent of those who graduated from 2020-22 expressed similar uncertainty.
• Sixty-four percent of students who graduated from high school from 2020-23 reported changing their major since their initial selection and 45 percent reported changing their major two or more times.

During their middle and high school years, students are encouraged to shape their educational and career paths through courses that provide a foundational knowledge base. However, a common issue arises when students make these decisions without a clear understanding of their own strengths, often resulting in post-graduation dissatisfaction and disengagement.

“Empowering students with a deeper understanding of their unique strengths enables them to proactively plan their future and make well-informed post-graduation decisions,” said Edson Barton, founder and CEO of YouScience. “Our research highlights the urgency of providing students with more individualized guidance and exposure to diverse pathways. By arming our students with aptitude-based guidance and insight into a wider variety of potential careers earlier and more effectively, we can instill the confidence needed to navigate through high school, postsecondary and career and ultimately set them up for future success.”