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💡 The majority of middle / high school students still plan to go to college after graduation

💡 But many plan on getting a job right after high school—whether it’s to save money, gain experience, or take a break before committing to college

💡Some students are exploring hands on career options, and see trade school as a faster, more focused path to success without the four-year commitment

For decades, the traditional path after high school seemed pretty set in stone—at least for most: graduate, go to college, get a degree, start a career. Millennials were certainly told that college was a must to have any kind of success. But headlines have been popping up about Gen Z teens turning away from college—some choosing trade programs, others jumping straight into the workforce, or taking the new ideal path of content creation full-time. And as the years go on, it’s looking less like a phase or fleeting trend. What started during the pandemic—as we explored in YPulse’s Life Plans, Rewritten trend report—has evolved into something much more. Remote learning led many students to question the need for this traditional path, and while finishing high school remained a top priority, we saw earning a bachelor’s degree dropped from their top list of goals. Since then, this pause has sparked a broader rethinking of what education and success can look like. Not to mention, young students have grown up watching Millennials struggle under the weight of student loan debt. Seeing people online carve out fulfilling careers through unconventional paths is also making them question if college is still the best plan after high school.  

In YPulse’s Education and College report, we asked middle and high school students about their plans immediately after high school. While our data shows going to college right after to high school is still the popular path, that doesn’t mean it’s the path for everyone:  

The majority of students still plan on going to college right after high school    

YPulse’s Education and College report shows 61% of middle / high school students say they plan to go to college right after high school. Many still value higher education overall: YPulse’s Life Milestones & Future Plans report shows that 79% of middle / high school students say earning a college degree is important to them, and 55% believe that degree will be very / extremely valuable for their future success. Like for gens before them, college still represents a gateway to better job opportunities, financial stability, and even personal growth. It remains a widely accepted next step into adulthood—and for some, a non-negotiable, especially for those whose families never had the opportunity to attend themselves.  

It’s part of a bigger shift we’ve been tracking since our 2023 Gen Z in Their Job Era trend report. Post-pandemic, with the rise of remote work and digital careers, they’re asking: is four years in classrooms really the only way? According to YPulse’s Education and College report, 80% of middle / high school students say they plan to go to college in general, but only 61% say they’ll go immediately after high school. That gap suggests many aren’t ruling out college altogether—it just might not be part of their very next step. The data also shows a gender divide: 86% of middle/ high school girls say they plan to go to college, compared to just 74% of boys, reinforcing that there’s no longer one-size-fits-all approach to what comes next. 

Many have other plans post-high school like work, trade school, and gap years ifestyle influencers have rebranded morning routines as “opening shifts” 

YPulse’s Education and College report shows the second top thing students plan to do right after high school is going into the workforce, with 42% saying they plan on getting a job first. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that this “job” will be their career—it could be a summer gig, something to save money before school starts, or just a way to test the waters before committing to a four-year program. Not to mention, since students were allowed to select multiple post-high school options in the survey, it’s also likely that many are planning to go to work and go to school simultaneously—not skipping college entirely like some buzzy headlines would suggest.  

That said, there is a real momentum behind students exploring nontraditional paths. We’ve seen over the years a growing interest in alternatives like trade schools, online courses, and other ways to learn specific skills on their own. YPulse data shows 10% of students say they plan to go to trade school immediately after high school, with more middle / high school boys (14%) than girls (7%) saying so. (Which is likely part of why they’re less likely to plan to go straight into college.) And 57% of all these students agree that they don’t need a college degree to be successful. There’s also some frustration with how little they’ve been taught about these options: 69% of middle / high school students say they wish they’d learn more about alternatives to a traditional college education growing up. 

Still, career-related goals are top of mind for many students. Some are thinking beyond short-term work and dreaming of starting their own business (11%), freelancing (8%), or even tapping into app-based gig work (6%.) And this lines up with what YPulse has seen in previous reports: the order of hitting traditional markers of adulthood, like when they’re graduating from college, doesn’t matter to them anymore. In fact, YPulse’s Life Milestones & Future Plans report shows that 85% of students agree, “I don’t care in what order life milestones were done in generations past, I will do it my own way.” That openness is reflected in some of their post-grad plans including travel (14%), gap years (7%), and volunteering (5%). But these aren’t always complete alternatives to college—it’s likely many see them as stepping-stones. YPulse data shows 55% of students say they’re interested in taking a gap year between high school and college (though that doesn’t mean they all will, clearly). Their timelines are flexible—but delaying college too long might make it harder for them to go later, which adds some nuance to their choices.