Majority of county students headed to college
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on July 13, 2011 1:46 PM
Nearly 82 percent of recent high school graduates from the eight county schools plan to go on to college, according to an exit survey done by school officials.
Another 10 percent, or 113 students from the Class of 2011, indicated their intent to go directly to work after high school, while 7.7 percent, or 90 students, plan to enter the military.
This year's graduating class, which had 1,171 members, had 959 students committed to attending a college or university in the fall.
Rosewood High had the largest percentage of students planning to pursue a college degree, according to the survey, with 104 of the 110 graduates indicating that choice. Next was Spring Creek, with 90.8 percent, or 99 of the 109 seniors.
Broken down numerically, 220 of the 275 graduates at Charles B. Aycock said they will attend an institution of higher learning. At other schools, the ratio is 204 of the 231 Eastern Wayne grads, 106 of the 142 seniors at Goldsboro, 143 of 208 graduates at Southern Wayne, 33 of the 39 at Wayne Early/Middle College and 50 of the 57 seniors at Wayne School of Engineering.
Dr. Steven Taylor, school superintendent, said it is impressive to have such a high percentage of a graduating class choosing to further their education, crediting the district's teachers with preparing students to be better prepared for college or career.
The surveys also showed that 280 of the graduates plan to attend four-year public colleges or universities in-state, while 37 have chosen out-of-state schools. Another 67 will be at four-year, in-state, private colleges, while 11 plan to enroll at an out-of-state private institution.
Another 446 students said they plan to enroll in a two-year community college in North Carolina, and nine will pursue a two-year community college education out-of-state.
Nine others said they are interested in attending junior colleges, trade-business schools and nursing schools, both in and out-of-state.
The remaining category, representing an estimated nine students, or 0.8 percent, were youths undecided at the time of the survey.