This report provides a first look at selected findings from 1) the 2013 Update and 2) the High School Transcript Study of the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09). HSLS:09 is a nationally representative study of a cohort of students who were ninth-graders in fall 2009. The study focuses on understanding students' trajectories from the beginning of high school into higher education and the workforce. The core research questions for the study explore secondary to postsecondary transition plans and the evolution of those plans; the paths into and out of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields of study and careers; and the educational and social experiences related to these shifts in plans or paths. [For "High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09). 2013 Update and High School Transcript Study: A First Look at Fall 2009 Ninth-Graders in 2013. NCES 2015-037" (June 2015), see ED557571.]