There is an urgent need to develop creative ways to make these fields more attractive to the college-age population.

Between 1992 and 2001, university attendance dropped from 19 percent of the college-age population to 6.4 percent.

Religious colleges have lost favor among the traditional college-age population.

By these standards, the 8 percent of the college-age population enrolled in Nicaraguan universities seemed relatively high.

But by the year 2010, white men will account for less than one-third of the college-age population.

An overall drop in the college-age population during that time made the numbers manageable.

That is sure to change during the next 15 years, when demographers predict a 20 percent increase in the college-age population.

West Virginia's college-age population is expected to drop by 14 percent by 2008.

On the average, 62.9% of its college-age population attend institutions of higher learning.

New Jersey has the fifth-largest growth rate among the states in college-age population, state records show.