Despite mounting financial challenges, young people from moderate- and low-income families were no less likely in 2001 than they were in 1993 to attend university, according to a new study by Statistics Canada.
The study probes the relationship between parental education and income and participation in post-secondary education in Canada from 1993 to 2001.
Following a longstanding pattern, youth aged 18 to 24 whose parents were highly educated and had high incomes, that is, over $100,000 annually, continued to be most likely to attend university. However, in the face of sharp increases in tuition fees and student debt, the gap in university participation rates between youths from high-income families and those from modest- or low-income families did not increase from 1993 to 2001.
During that period, average undergraduate tuition fees increased 77 per cent, from $2,023 to $3,577. In terms of student debt, university and college graduates owed 76 per cent more in 2000 than in 1990.
Detailed study—Participation in post-secondary education
