In October 2008, more young adults were enrolled in higher education institutions than at any other time in the nation’s history, the Pew Research Center found.
About 11.5 million people aged 18–24 (or 39.6 percent of that population) were taking classes at two- or four-year colleges and universities. The numbers (up more than 1 percent over the 2007 figure) were due mostly to large enrollment rates at community colleges across the nation, which served to bolster the trend, the center reported.