Few black students at elite colleges Roughly 15 percent of public high school graduates are black. But despite the widespread use of affirmative action at elite colleges, only one college with a graduation rate of more than 70 percent has that many black students in its freshman class.

Stuck at the bottom Many more black students attend colleges with low graduation rates, shown in red. While young blacks are almost as likely as young whites to go to college, they are half as likely to have a degree.

Hispanics go to two-year colleges Hispanics are more likely than any other group to attend community colleges, which tend to have more dropouts. They are underrepresented at most elite colleges.

Asians outperform Asians represent only 5 percent of public high school graduates, but they make up a greater proportion of the freshman class at nearly every college with a graduation rate of more than 80 percent.