Higher education plans of upper secondary school students:
Interest for studies greatest in Stockholm County
Six out of ten upper secondary students graduating in the academic year of 2011/12 plan to start university studies within three years. Interest is greatest in Stockholm County among both women and men. 72 percent of the women and 65 percent of the men there have plans to study further.
Interest is lowest in Jämtland County where about half the women and one third of the men plan to study further within three years. In total the proportion of those who want to study further is highest among women at 65 percent, compared to 49 percent of the men.
Those who do not want to study within three years want to work instead
The most common reasons that students do not want to continue their studies are because they would rather work and/or are tired of studying.
Among those who do not plan to study further within the next three years after upper secondary school, 27 percent of the women and 12 percent of the men still want to study at a university/institute of higher education later.
A somewhat greater share of men than women feel that it is not economically worthwhile to study and thus do not want to study further within three years.
The students are allowed to give several alternatives to the questions in the survey. Therefore the shares in the graph do not add up to 100 percent.
Lund and Gothenburg most popular universities
According to the results of the survey, the universities at Lund and Gothenburg are the most popular schools among upper secondary school graduates. Gothenburg University is the most popular among the women while Lund University is the most popular among the men. Stockholm University, Uppsala University and the Royal Institute of Technology are also popular.
The main reason that students choose a particular school is the quality of education. Other reasons are because the school is close to home or that it has a good reputation.
However, three fourths of all students feel it is more important to be eligible for a certain programme than to study at a particular school. The percentage is somewhat higher among women than men.
Women choose social sciences and men technology
Social sciences, healthcare and artistic studies are the most popular educational orientations among women. Men prefer technology, economics, natural science and computer technology.
Technology is the most popular subject among men and is also the subject where the difference between men and women is greatest. About 3 percent of the women and 17 percent of the men want to study technology as a first choice.
Healthcare is also a subject where there are differences between women and men. 12 percent of the women and 3 percent of the men have a healthcare orientation as their first choice.
Four out of five are very sure or quite sure of the subject area they want to study. The percentage was about the same for men and women.