NEARLY 900 GRADUATES FROM CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOLS, CLASS OF 2007, PURSUING HIGHER EDUCATION

PITTSBURGH – Ninety-seven percent of nearly 1000 Catholic high school graduates from the class of 2007 are furthering their education beyond high school.

In a closer look, 878 of the 946 graduates are enrolled in college and 42 are in career programs (including 9 in the armed forces), while 7 are employed, 6 are seeking employment and 14 were still undecided when the report was compiled at the end of October.

The class of 2007 from the twelve high schools commanded a total of $35,108,209 in scholarship offers.

Of the 167 colleges chosen by students, 86 are on the Princeton Review list of Best Colleges in the U.S. Included among these ranked colleges are Duquesne University, the top choice with 115 of the new graduates, the University of Pittsburgh, second with 62 enrolled, and Penn State, 39.

Students also chose several other top ranked universities, including University of Chicago, University of Colorado, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Columbia University, Princeton University, Cornell University, University of Wisconsin, Madison, University of Washington, Seattle, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, New York University, Rutgers University, Ohio State University, Case Western Reserve University, University of Rochester, and Eastman School of Music, to name a few.

Other Pennsylvania institutions on the Princeton Review list include Carnegie Mellon, the choice of 8 students, Allegheny College, Meadville, with 9; Bucknell University, 2; Gettysburg College, 1, Juniata, 1; Lehigh University, 4; Susquehanna University, 2; Temple University, 1; Villanova University, 3; Washington & Jefferson, 12; Westminster College, 7.

The top 15 colleges in terms of attracting recent graduates, in addition to Duquesne, University of Pittsburgh and Penn State, include CCAC, Allegheny Campus, 51; St. Vincent, 48; Robert Morris, 24; CCAC, South Campus, 21, Slippery Rock, 18 LaRoche College 18, Carlow University, 17; Point Park University, 16; California University of PA, 15; Seton Hill University, 15; University of Pittsburgh- Greensburg, 14 and University of Pittsburgh, Johnstown, 13.

Five of the dozen high schools had 100 percent of graduates pursuing further education: Aquinas, Bishop Canevin, Mt. Alvernia, Quigley, and Vincentian, while the other seven ranged from 90 to 98 percent.