How Many Melrose Graduates Attend College?

Next month, many recent high school graduates will be heading off for their freshmen year of college. So how does Melrose High School compare to other communities in terms of graduates attending institutions of higher education?

According to the latest figures available on the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) website, which are from the 2009-2010 school year, Melrose has the third-highest percentage in the region of high school graduates attending college, at 84.7 percent.

Melrose also has the highest percentage of high school graduates attending public four-year colleges, according to the DESE, at 41 percent.

Of communities in the region, Lynnfield has the highest percentage of high school graduates attending college, at 86.8 percent. Of those, most (50.3 percent) attended private four-year colleges. Reading comes in just behind Lynnfield at 86.7 percent, with 53.6 percent of those graduates attending private four-year colleges.

Melrose's immediate neighbors include Wakefield (82.3 percent attending college), Stoneham (82.5 percent), Malden (72.8 percent) and Saugus (71.8 percent).

See the chart below for percentages by city or town.

Figures are the most recent numbers available, from the 2009-10 school year, from the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, showing high school graduates attending institutions of higher education.