Portland Public School Department

Deering and Portland high schools report that three-quarters of their 2006 graduates will attend college in the fall. Of the 550 graduates, 60 percent will attend four-year colleges and 15 percent will attend two-year schools.

Nearly half of those attending college will do so in Maine. The most popular schools chosen by Portland Public School graduates are the University of Maine at Orono, the University of Southern Maine and Southern Maine Community College.

The 2006 graduates also will attend highly selective schools elsewhere in the country, including Yale University, Williams College, Emerson College, Brandeis University, Wesleyan, American University, Dartmouth College and the Art Institute of Chicago.

Three percent of Portland High and Deering graduates will join the military and 2 percent will pursue other, post-secondary education. Of the remaining 20 percent, some will work full-time, a few will volunteer and plans for the rest of the graduates are not known.