The percentage of bachelor’s degrees awarded to women increased steadily from the mid-1980s (U.S. Department of Education 2001). A majority of 1999–2000 college graduates were women (57 percent). The bachelor’s degree recipients came from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds. About three-quarters (74 percent) were White; 8 percent were Black or African American; 9 percent were Hispanic or Latino; and 6 percent were Asian. One percent or fewer were Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaska Native, some other race, or more than one race.

About half (49 percent) of the students who completed a bachelor’s degree in 1999–2000 did so by age 22. However, 9 percent were ages 30–39 during their last year of college, and 7 percent were age 40 or older.

Among 1999–2000 college graduates, 28 percent had parents who did not attend college, including 4 percent whose parents did not complete high school and 24 percent whose parents completed high school but did not attend college. In addition, one-quarter (25 percent) had at least one parent who completed a bachelor’s degree, 16 percent had a parent with a master’s degree, and 11 percent had a parent with a doctoral or professional degree.