In 2000, 85.4% of Maine residents age 25 and older were high school graduates; 22.9% had obtained a bachelor's degree or higher.
The total enrollment for fall 1999 in Maine's public schools stood at 209,253. Of these, 148,744 attended schools from kindergarten through grade eight, and 60,479 attended high school. Minority students made up approximately 3% of the total enrollment in public elementary and secondary schools in 2001. Total enrollment was estimated at 213,461 in fall 2000 and expected to drop to 198,000 by fall 2005. Enrollment in nonpublic schools in fall 2001 was 18,287. Expenditures for public education in 2000/01 were estimated at $1,634,197.
As of fall 2000, there were 67,216 students enrolled in institutions of higher education. In the same year Maine had 33 degree-granting institutions. In 1997, minority students comprised 4.5% of total postsecondary enrollment. Since 1968, the state's public colleges and universities have been incorporated into a single University of Maine System. The original land grant campus is at Orono; the other major campus in the system is the University of Southern Maine at Portland and Gorham. The state also operates the Maine Maritime Academy at Castine and the Maine Technical College System, comprised of six technical colleges. Of the state's 16 private colleges and professional schools, Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Colby College in Waterville, and Bates College in Lewiston are the best known.