Higher education is key for the learning that produces a highly skilled workforce and leads to intergenerational social mobility. Rates by race/ethnicity provide an indication of the opportunity structure in the region - the extent to which people from different demographic groups are successfully accessing this education.

The data indicate that local colleges are becoming more selective. Since 2014, total admissions rates have declined by four percentage points, from accepting about 1 in 4 students to accepting approximately 1 in 5 students.

While white and Asian students have roughly similar rates of admission (23% and 21%, respectively), Black and Latino students have lower admissions rates (16% and 18%, respectively). Since 2014, admissions rates have fallen by 4 points for whites, 2 points for Asians and Latinos and 1 point for Blacks.

Students of color face systemic barriers in the American education system, including exclusion, segregation, fewer resources, and lower familial wealth. As a result, students of color are more likely to attend-high poverty schools, have less access to core college preparatory classes, and fare worse on standardized admissions tests, making it harder for people of color to access institutes of higher education. Additionally, legacy admissions preferences perpetuate long-standing inequalities in college access. Family support and understanding of the college admission process and the willingness and/or capacity of institutions to support students from different backgrounds academically, socially, and financially are also important factors.

This indicator the aggregate admission rates for different races / ethnicities for the public colleges/universities in Middlesex and Worcester. There are no four-year public institutions in Norfolk County. The statewide rates are for all four-year public institutions in Massachusetts.