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NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release June 8, 2005

89 Percent of African-American Youths Want to Attend College – Larger Percentage than Whites and Hispanics, According to JA Worldwide/Diversity Pipeline Alliance(SM) Poll

Having Enough Money is the Biggest Obstacle to Attending College

Colorado Springs, Colo. – A new poll of 1,264 youths between the ages of 8 and 18 shows that nearly nine-in-ten (89%) African-American youths plan to go to college, significantly more than young Whites (79%) or Hispanics (77%). However, a larger percentage of African-American youths (63%) said “having enough money” is the greatest challenge to attending college compared to Whites (55%) and Hispanics (59%). Harris Interactive conducted the poll in April 2005 for JA Worldwide (Junior Achievement) and the Diversity Pipeline Alliance (DPA).

The 2005 survey findings are consistent with other DPA research confirming the aspirations of today’s African American youth. “This survey underscores the strong value that African Americans place on attaining a college education”, says Karen Johns, Executive Director of the Diversity Pipeline Alliance, “yet the sad reality is that most of these students will not realize their dream of attaining a college degree. We need to provide stronger college preparation programs to ensure that these young people are fully prepared academically and receive sufficient financial resources so that they can attend college.”

As for college majors, African Americans indicate a higher interest in both “pre-med/biological sciences” and “business/management/accounting” than their White or Hispanic peers. In fact, nearly one-in-four (23%) African-Americans youths selected “pre-med/biological sciences” as their first choice compared to 9 percent of Whites and 11 percent of Hispanics and more than twice as many African Americans (13%) and Hispanics (11%) choose business compared to Whites (5%) The third choice of a major by African-American respondents at 11 percent was “engineering/computer science” which is lower than Whites (13%) and Hispanics (12%).

The Diversity Pipeline Alliance and the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC®) are sponsors of the online JA Education Center located within the JA Student Center. The JA Education Center is designed to help students research the many colleges available to them as well as give them the tools and information to make sound choices about college. For more information, visit the JA Education Center in the JA Student Center at www.ja.org.

About the Diversity Pipeline Alliance(SM)

The Diversity Pipeline Alliance(SM) is a national network of leading organizations who share a common goal of increasing access to business opportunities for underrepresented minorities. By leveraging the resources of our strategic partners, we are able to create a pipeline of academic and career programs to help students better prepare for the college and the workforce. Founding members of the Diversity Pipeline Alliance(SM) include the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), Graduate Management Admission Council®, INROADS, Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO), National Black MBA Association® (NBMBAA®), National Society of Hispanic MBAs® (NSHMBA®), The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management and The PhD project. For more information, visit www.diversitypipeline.org.

About JA Worldwide (Junior Achievement)

JA Worldwide is the world's largest organization dedicated to educating young people about business, economics and entrepreneurship. Through a dedicated volunteer network, JA Worldwide provides in-school and after-school programs for students in grades K-12. JA Worldwide offers educational programs that focus on seven key content areas: business, citizenship, economics, entrepreneurship, ethics/character, financial literacy, and career development. Today, 145 offices reach four million students in the United States, with more than 2.6 million students served by operations in 97 countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.ja.org.

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