If you do not have enough schools, students who miss one level are not barred from attending the next rather, its mostly random.
Adults who are unemployed always have a chance to go to 'University' if there are spaces available and they have not previously attended. 'University' in CSL includes all post-secondary education, not just traditional 4-year colleges and doctorate/masters level graduate programs: Community Colleges, Night School, Correspondence Schools, GED programs, Vocational or Professional certification programs. Remember: ALL ADULTS can go to university, regardless of whether they went to Primary or Secondary school.
That means that 49% of your city graduated from university.