Pathways to Graduate School: 5. A Data Overview of U.S. Prospective Graduate Students by Black Students and Gender

Abstract

One understudied segment of the domestic talent pool is the Black or African American individuals who are U.S. citizens and aspire to earn a graduate degree. Gender differences within this talent pool are specifically understudied. The 101,039 individuals who are U.S. citizens, who provided gender and race/ethnicity information, and who had scores on all three GRE® measures are the subjects for this descriptive study, one of a series of five such reports. GRE data from July 1, 2016, to June 30, 2021, supplemented with U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Census data, are analyzed. These individuals, referred to as prospective graduate students (PGS), are examined through six core questions: (a) Who were the PGS? (b) Where did they reside? (c) What were their education and work experiences? (d) What were their undergraduate experiences? (e) What were their plans for graduate study? and (f) What were their emerging graduate school choice sets? Key findings include the following: (a) 34% were 22 years of age or younger; (b) 37% were currently enrolled in college; (c) 75% attended an institution in their home state, with women doing so slightly more than men; (d) 46% were first-generation college students; (e) nearly 60% were Pell Grant–eligible; (f) as undergraduates, women favored life sciences, while men leaned toward physical sciences and engineering; (g) women were slightly more interested in master’s degrees; and (h) 76% included at least one in-state institution in their graduate school choice sets. The report concludes with recommendations for future research and practical applications, particularly in the graduate school application process.

Suggested citation: Millett, C. M. (2025). Pathways to graduate school: 5. A data overview of U.S. prospective graduate students by Black students and gender (Research Report No. GRE-25-05). ETS.