Almost seven out of 10 graduates of Albuquerque Public Schools this year are heading for higher education — and most of them plan to remain in the city.
According to a district survey of 4,249 graduates, 48.3% (2,053) are planning to attend four-year colleges or universities, with another 20.3% (862) heading for two-year or community colleges.
The group earned more than $45 million in scholarships, not including New Mexico Lottery or New Mexico Opportunity scholarships.
“These remarkable graduates began their high school journey in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, facing unprecedented challenges with resilience and determination,” said APS Chief Academic Officer Antonio Gonzales. “They are now poised to start college, begin apprenticeships, and enter the workforce. We have no doubt that these young men and women will achieve extraordinary things and make a significant impact on the world.”
Of those planning to move on to postsecondary-education:
Planning to attend in-state schools: 85.7%.
Planning to attend out-of-state schools: 14.3%.
Planning to attend trade schools, schools of fine arts or do an apprenticeship: 8.2%.
Planning to attend a service academy: 0.1%
Top Colleges/Universities:
University of New Mexico: 47%.
Central New Mexico Community College: 27.1%.
New Mexico State University: 5.5%.
New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology: 1.1%.
Texas Tech University: 1%.
Other paths:
Enlisting in the military: 2.3%.
Planning to enter the workforce full-time: 6.3%.
Planning to take a gap year: 5.5%
In addition, 7.1% are undecided, 1.6% marked “other” and 0.4% will move on to Transition Services, which serves students ages 18 to 22 who have completed the high school portion of their programs but continue to have transition needs, according to their Individual Education Programs.
Seven APS graduates have earned National Merit Scholarships:
- Ryan M. Fried, La Cueva High School, plans to study environmental engineering at Texas Tech University.
- Gwenyth M. Graham, La Cueva, plans to study economics at the University of Alabama.
- Raphael Z. Landau, La Cueva, plans to study biomedical engineering at the University of New Mexico.
- Sasha S. Palko, eCADEMY High School, plans to study electrical engineering at UNM.
- James R. Stuart, La Cueva, plans to study mechanical engineering at the University of Central Florida.
- Levi S. Vugrin, of Eldorado High School, plans to study mathematics at UNM.
- Emily Wang, La Cueva, plans to pursue a career in medicine at UNM.