WASHINGTON - Young adults value college, but many haven't enrolled because of money woes, poor preparation, low expectations at home or sheer laziness, a survey finds.

The result is that seven in 10 young workers without college degrees say they are in their jobs by chance, not by choice. Less than two in 10 view their jobs as likely careers.

Overall, most adults age 18 to 25 see college as a way to earn society's respect and ensure financial security, says the survey by Public Agenda, a nonpartisan public opinion group. The positive view of college is true regardless of race, ethnicity or family income.

"Most young people have absorbed the 'Go to college, get more education' message," said Ruth Wooden, the Public Agenda president. "Whether they're getting the nuts-and-bolts, real-life help and guidance they need to reach that goal - to actually succeed in graduating from college - is another matter."

Roughly one in three young Americans do not go on to any higher education, and many of those who enroll don't graduate, the report says.

Other recent analyses offer even lower rates of college enrollment and completion, which has helped fuel a national interest in improving the rigor of high school. Those who graduate from a four-year college tend to have lower unemployment and higher earnings.

The new findings come from random phone interviews of 1,000 young adults last year, plus oversampling to ensure representation of black, Hispanic and Asian adults. The tally includes those with college degrees, college students, college dropouts and full-time workers.

Almost half of those who never enrolled or dropped out said college wasn't for them because they wanted to work and make money. Almost as many said they couldn't afford college.

Yet by age 33, the typical college graduate has earned enough to compensate for both the cost of attending a four-year public school and for earnings passed up during the college years, said Gaston Caperton, president of the nonprofit College Board.

"We need to address disconcerting evidence that the cost of higher education is a deterrent, and in some cases a deal-breaker, for many students," Caperton said.

There are other obstacles, too.

Almost eight in 10 adults without a college degree acknowledged they could have paid a lot more attention and worked harder in high school. More than half said their high school teachers made it easy to do just enough to get by.

And only 32 percent of young adults without a degree said parents strongly expected them to go to college - a huge gap from the 67 percent with degrees who got such encouragement.