As of the 2024-2025 academic year, approximately 19.1 million college students are enrolled in postsecondary institutions in the United States. This includes about 16 million undergraduates and roughly 3.2 million graduate students
. Breaking down by degree level for fall 2024:
- Associate degree students: 4.74 million
- Bachelor’s degree students: 8.76 million
- Master’s degree students: 2.08 million
- Doctoral students: 0.64 million
- Other certificates and professional degrees make up the remainder
Enrollment by institution type shows the majority attend public four-year universities (7.9 million), followed by public two-year colleges (4.8 million), and private nonprofit four-year colleges (4.1 million)
. The total number of college students has been increasing recently after a decline over the past decade, with projections estimating enrollment to reach around 19.25 million in 2025
. In summary, the current number of college students in the U.S. is just over 19 million, with a diverse population across undergraduate and graduate levels and various types of institutions