More high school graduates are pursuing a two-year degree over a four-year college path, recent studies show.
Ballooning college costs and the student loan debt that accompanies a degree are partly to blame. New borrowing limits for 2026 under President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill” are another factor. Plus, students are increasingly seeking job training and career-driven pathways to secure a foothold in today’s challenging labor market.
Students aged 18 to 20 represented the largest share of first-time associate degree earners in the 2024-25 academic year — accounting for nearly one-third, according to a new report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. For the first time, this age group surpassed those aged 21 to 24, the report found.
Typically, community college students tend to be older than students at four-year colleges or universities, but over the last decade, the number of 18- to 20-year-olds who received an associate degree jumped nearly 50%, the report found.
About 2 million students earned a bachelor’s degree as their highest academic credential in 2024-25, while 865,400 earned an associate degree, up 2.8% and 2.6%, respectively, from the previous year, according to the NSCRC’s Undergraduate Degree Earners report.
