Older students, women and minorities are increasingly attending college, U.S. News data show. When the nine Colonial Colleges – the institutions that were chartered before the U.S. became a nation – were founded in the 1600s and 1700s, only white, Christian men were allowed to enroll, and the schools usually taught fewer than 100 students. Higher education evolved over the next few centuries as the U.S. established its identity and fought wars abroad and at home, and perceptions about minorities and religion shifted. Today, students at National Universities and National Liberal Arts Colleges look different than those who attended the original nine. The charts below, which analyze ranked schools in the 2017 U.S. News Best Colleges rankings, shed light on who attends college in the 21st century. While most students enroll in college between the ages of 18-24, more than half of the undergraduates at a few National Universities are nontraditional students. The chart below shows the average percentage of students over the age of 25 who attended ranked schools in 2015-2016. The first historically black colleges and universities and women's colleges were created in the 1800s when slavery still existed in the South and certain subjects were considered too taxing for women. With time – and often protest and violence – primarily white institutions that catered only to men began opening their doors to provide a quality education to all races and genders. In 1988, when U.S. News first started analyzing gender-based data, men made up 51.3 percent of students at National Universities and 47.6 percent of students at National Liberal Arts Colleges. Today, among ranked schools, more women attend college at both types of schools. The chart below shows data for the 2015-2016 school year. White students made up 83.8 percent of undergrads at National Liberal Arts Colleges in 1986; that number declined to 64.1 percent in 2015. Black students were and continue to be the largest minority group on campus. Similar trends exist at National Universities. In 1986, 78.7 percent of students who attended National Universities were white. Black students were the highest-represented minority group, at 8.2 percent. In comparison, in 2015, white students made up 55 percent of the student body, and Hispanic and black students accounted for a little more than 11 percent each. Pacific Islander and multiracial students weren't identified in U.S. News data until 2011. Demographics on college campuses are likely to shift further as affordability and accessibility continue to be part of the national conversation. Source
