A new RAND Corporation study found 66% of middle-income high school students say educators heavily emphasize four-year college when discussing future paths. Only 11% heard similar emphasis on community college and 16% on technical training or apprenticeships. The research also found 4 in 10 juniors had not yet made a post-graduation plan or met with a counselor about it by spring of their junior year. If your school has pointed you almost exclusively toward a four-year application, the data suggests that's a systemic pattern — not specific guidance tailored to you.

What RAND Found

RAND Corporation released a report this week examining how K–12 schools support career-connected learning during the 2025–26 school year.1 Researchers drew on three survey panels collecting perspectives from district leaders, school leaders, and high school students.

The emphasis gap is hard to ignore. When students were asked what postsecondary paths educators discussed with them:

  • Four-year college: 66% said it was heavily emphasized
  • Full-time work: 17%
  • Technical training and apprenticeships: 16%
  • Community college: 11%

That's six times as much emphasis on a four-year bachelor's degree as on community college — and four times as much as on apprenticeships or technical programs.

Who Gets Support, and Who Doesn't

The report surfaces a gap that rarely makes headlines. Among students pursuing a four-year degree, 70% said their school was doing well preparing them to plan for the future. Among students who are not pursuing a bachelor's degree, only about 50% felt the same.1

That 20-point difference means the students who most need help navigating an alternative path are the least likely to get it from their school.

This connects to another finding: by spring of their junior year, more than 4 in 10 students had not made a post-graduation plan or met with a school counselor to discuss one. For students already dealing with overwhelmed school counselors and long wait times, that's a problem without an easy fix.

Benjamin Master, a senior policy researcher at RAND, said districts "should be communicating more clearly to students about how to pursue other pathways, including 2-year college and technical and career training, if those best fit their interests or family financial circumstances."1

Why This Matters If You're Planning Now

If you're a junior building your fall college application timeline, you're likely getting steady pressure toward four-year applications. That's not automatically wrong — but it may not reflect a complete picture of your options.

A few things worth knowing as you plan:

Community college enrollment is climbing. More students are starting at a two-year school, completing lower-cost general education credits, and transferring to a four-year program. For many families, it's a more financially sound sequence than starting at a four-year institution from day one.

Dual enrollment is expanding — but advising around it lags. Students taking college courses in high school often don't understand how those credits transfer or what paths they open. This RAND report suggests the advising gap starts early and carries into the application process.

The relationship between your major and your school is more complex than most high school presentations convey. Research on earnings outcomes shows that at many income levels, what you study matters more than where. A $60,000-a-year graduate from a regional school in a high-demand field can outperform a $200,000 investment at a prestigious institution in a low-earnings major.

Choosing a four-year college because your school emphasized it — without evaluating total cost, program fit, and alternatives — is one of the most documented sources of early student loan regret. If you've never had a real conversation with an adult at your school about community college, apprenticeships, or gap years, that's worth seeking out before May 1. Understanding the full cost picture is part of that conversation.

A four-year college is the right choice for many students. But "right" means you've compared total cost against realistic earnings in your intended field, you know what you're getting that you couldn't get a cheaper way, and you'd still choose this school if a less expensive option produced a similar outcome. If you can't answer those questions yet, you may not be ready to commit.

What to Do With This

If you're a current junior or senior, these are worth acting on before the fall application season closes:

  1. Ask your counselor — directly and specifically — about community college transfer agreements with state universities in your area. Many schools have guaranteed pathways for students who complete an associate degree with strong grades.
  2. Research what technical and apprenticeship programs exist in your intended field. These aren't consolation prizes; many pay during training and lead to careers with strong wage growth.
  3. If you're applying to four-year schools, make sure you're comparing net price — not sticker price. The school that seems most expensive is often not.
  4. Use the senior year planning guide to track your decision points regardless of which path you're on.

The RAND researchers found that schools most often provide work-related learning through coursework and CTE programs — but apprenticeships and hands-on internship opportunities remain rare.1 If your school doesn't connect you to those options, you'll need to find them independently.

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Footnotes

  1. Master, B., et al. (2026). Preparing Students for What Comes Next: Educator and Student Perspectives on Career-Connected Learning in K–12 Schools. RAND Corporation. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA5137-1.html ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  2. Higher Ed Dive. (2026, September). High schoolers say school counselors emphasize college pathways, not CTE. https://www.highereddive.com/news/students-report-heavy-college-emphasis-in-postsecondary-convos-less-so-fo/829599/ ↩