High school (53 percent), social media (31 percent) and their parents (21 percent) were the top sources rising college students whose own parents received higher education cited for learning about their future careers, according to the California Cradle-to-Career Data System’s student experience report for the 2025 academic year.
The report covers the findings of a spring 2025 survey of nearly 7,000 graduating high school seniors about their time in grades 9-12 and postsecondary plans.
For first-generation college goers, school (50 percent) and parents (38 percent) were top sources, followed by social media (27 percent).
“A majority of respondents (78 percent) already had a future career in mind and were taking steps to learn about and prepare for it,” the report states, however, 42 percent of students said they didn’t engage in career planning while in high school. Forty percent did take courses related to future careers.
Seventy-four percent of the teens surveyed anticipated completing A-G requirements.
“There are some important disparities in A-G completion among different demographic groups,” according to the report. “Only 67 percent of first-generation respondents reported being on track to complete AG courses, compared to around 85 percent of continuing-generation students. White, Asian, and Filipino students were also more likely to report being A-G completers. Respondents who reported having higher grades in high school were more likely to report being on track to complete A-G courses.”
Roughly one in five students weren’t sure if they were on track to complete the requirements, which must be met for admission into a California State University (CSU) or University of California (UC) school. Six percent weren’t on track, with the most common reasons being low grades in some of the classes (43 percent) or the courses not being required for their college of choice (34 percent).
Thirty-nine percent of respondents participated in dual enrollment (DE) coursework, most commonly to reduce the number of classes they’d have to take in college (52 percent) or to improve their chances to admission into selective institutions (40 percent). “DE was common across all regions of California, ranging from one third of respondents in the Inland Empire to about half of respondents in the North Coast and Southern San Joaquin Valley,” according to the report. “Students attending high school in rural settings were slightly more likely (44 percent) to take DE courses than those in cities (40 percent) or suburbs (37 percent).”
Most accessed the classes on their high school campus (56 percent) or virtually (44 percent) with 27 percent going to a community college campus.
Post-grad plans
Ninety-four percent of survey participants planned to go to college in fall 2025, with most applying to multiple institutions. “When students planning to attend college were asked where they would likely attend in the fall, just under half (46 percent) reported that they planned to attend a community college, 20 percent planned to attend a CSU campus, and 16 percent planned to attend a UC campus. Another 5 percent planned to attend a private institution in the state, and 6 percent planned to attend an out-of-state institution, while 2 percent said they would start a vocational program,” the report states.
Seventy-two percent of students who expected to start at a community college wanted to transfer to a four-year university.
Overall, 75 percent of students hoped to earn at least a bachelor’s degree. “Degree aspirations were similar across racial/ethnic groups and among first- and continuing generation students, as most hoped to attain a bachelor’s or advanced degree (e.g., master’s or doctoral degree),” according to the report.
Six percent didn’t plan on or weren’t sure about attending college that fall, 78 percent of whom expected to work full- or part-time.
Among those planning to go to college, common concerns revolved around cost, mental health and well-being. Fifty-two percent felt strongly that they were academically prepared.
Students were excited about exploring their independence and personal growth as well as learning about majors, careers and interests.
