Higher Education Expansion, Social Background and College Selectivity in the United States
Keywords:
Downloads
Abstract
Drawing on two recent cohorts of baccalaureate degreeholders (1993 and 2000), this paper takes a new look at the factors that influence students’ choice of undergraduate institution in the United States. The two cohorts span a period that was marked by rapid institutional and enrollment growth in U.S. universities. Yet, it remains uncertain whether or not this greater expansion has reduced the effects of social origins on college choices. The findings reveal that educational decisions were indeed influenced by socioeconomic effects. Both parental income and education exhibited strong, positive effects, which remained stable across cohorts. At the same time, students’ abilities also had a significant impact on selectivity decisions. Students who attended private, nonreligious high schools were also more likely to graduate from more selective institutions, while gender effects largely subsided once controlling for academic ability.
Downloads
References
Ayalon, H. and Yogev, A. (2005). Field of Study and Students’ Stratification in an Expanded System of Higher Education: The Case of Israel. European Sociological Review, 21, 22741. doi: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1093/esr/jci014
Google Scholar CrossrefBobbitZeher. D. (2007). The Gender Income Gap and the Role of Education. Sociology of Education, 80, 122. doi: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1177/003804070708000101
Google Scholar CrossrefBrint, S. and Karabel, J. (1989). The Diverted Dream: Community Colleges and the Promise of Educational Opportunity in America, 19001985. New York: Oxford University Press.
Google Scholar CrossrefBuchmann, C., DiPrete, T.A. and McDaniel, A. (2008). Gender Inequalities in Education. Annual Review of Sociology, 34, 319 37. doi: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1146/annurev.soc.34.040507.134719
Google Scholar CrossrefColeman, J. and Hoffer, T. (1987). Public and Private Schools: The Impact of Communities. New York: Basic Books.
Google Scholar CrossrefColeman, J.S., Hoffer, T. and Kilgore, S. (1982). Public and Private Schools. Washington, D.C.: National Center for Education Statistics.
Google Scholar CrossrefDale, S.B. and Krueger, A.B. (2002). Estimating the Payoff to Attending a More Selective College: An Application of Selection on Observables and Unobservables. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 117(4), 14911527. doi: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1162/003355302320935089
Google Scholar CrossrefDavies, S. and Guppy, N. (1997). Fields of Study, College Selectivity, and Student Inequalities. Social Forces, 73, 131151. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/sf/75.4.1417
Google Scholar CrossrefDavies, S. and Zarifa, D. (2012). The stratification of universities: Structural inequality in Canada and the United States. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 30(2), 143–158. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2011.05.003
Google Scholar CrossrefEthington, C.A. and Smart, J.C. (1986). Persistence to Graduate Education. Research in Higher Education, 24, 287303.
Google Scholar CrossrefFox, J. (2008). Applied Regression Analysis and Generalized Linear Models. Second Edition. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage
Google Scholar CrossrefRISE International Journal of Sociology of Education 1 (3) 289
Google Scholar CrossrefPublications, Inc.
Google Scholar CrossrefGeiger, R.L. and D.E. Heller. (2011). Financial Trends in Higher
Google Scholar CrossrefEducation: The United States. Working Paper No. 6, Center for the Study of Higher Education, The Pennsylvania State University.
Google Scholar CrossrefGerber, T.P. and Cheung, S.Y. (2008). Horizontal Stratification in Postsecondary Education: Forms, Explanations, and Implications. Annual Review of Sociology, 34, 299318. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.34.040507.134604
Google Scholar CrossrefGoyette, K.A. and Mullen, A.L. (2006). Who Studies Arts and Sciences? Social Background and the Choice and Consequences of Undergraduate Field of Study. The Journal of Higher Education, 77(3), 497538. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.34.040507.134604
Google Scholar CrossrefGrodsky, E. (2007). Compensatory Sponsorship in Higher Education. American Journal of Sociology, 112(6), 16621712.
Google Scholar CrossrefHearn, J.C. (1991). Academic and Nonacademic Influences on the College Destinations of 1980 High School Graduates. Sociology of Education, 64(3), 158171.
Google Scholar CrossrefHurtado, S., Inkelas, K.K., Briggs, C. and Rhee, B. (1997). Differences in College Access and Choice among Racial/Ethnic Groups: Identifying Continuing Barriers. Research in Higher Education, 38(1), 4375.
Google Scholar CrossrefJacobs, J.A. (1999). Gender and the Stratification of Colleges. Journal of Higher Education, 70(2), 161187.
Google Scholar CrossrefKaren, D. (2002). Changes in Access to Higher Education in the United States: 19801992. Sociology of Education, 75(3), 191210. Loury, L.D. and Garman, D. (1995). College Selectivity and Earnings.
Google Scholar CrossrefJournal of Labour Economics, 13, 289308.
Google Scholar CrossrefLucas, S.R. (2001). Effectively Maintained Inequality: Education
Google Scholar CrossrefTransitions, Track Mobility, and Social Background Effects. American Journal of Sociology, 106(6), 16421690. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/321300
Google Scholar CrossrefMare, R.D. (1980). Social Background and School Continuation Decisions. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 75(370), 295305. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01621459.1980.10477466
Google Scholar CrossrefZarifa Higher Education Expansion, Social Background and College Selectivity in the United States
Google Scholar CrossrefMarini, M.M. and Fan, P. (1997). The Gender Gap in Earnings in Career Entry. American Sociological Review, 62, 588604. Mullen, A.L., Goyette, K.A. and Soares, J.A. (2003). Who Goes to
Google Scholar CrossrefGraduate School? Social and Academic Correlates of Educational Continuation after College. Sociology of Education, 76(2), 143 169. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3090274
Google Scholar CrossrefMare, R.D. (1980). Social Background and School Continuation Decisions. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 75(370), 295305.
Google Scholar CrossrefMarini, M.M. and Fan, P. (1997). The Gender Gap in Earnings in Career Entry. American Sociological Review, 62, 588604. Mullen, A.L., Goyette, K.A. and Soares. J.A. (2003). Who Goes to
Google Scholar CrossrefGraduate School? Social and Academic Correlates of Educational Continuation after College. Sociology of Education, 76(2), 143 169.
Google Scholar Crossref[NCES] National Center for Education Statistics. 2009. Digest of Education Statistics, 2008. U.S. Department of Education. (NCES 2009020).
Google Scholar Crossref[NCES] National Center for Education Statistics. 2011. The Condition of Education, 2011. U.S. Department of Education (NCES 2011 033).
Google Scholar CrossrefPascarella, E.T., Cruce, T., Umbach, P.D., Wolniak, G.C., Kuh, G.D., Carini, R.M., Hayek, J.C., Gonyea, R.M., and Zhao, C. (2006). Institutional Selectivity and Good Practices in Undergraduate Education: How Strong is the Link? The Journal of Higher Education, 77(2), 251285.
Google Scholar CrossrefPersell, C.H., Catsambis, S., and Cookson, Jr., P.W. (1992). Differential Asset Conversion: Class and Gendered Pathways to Selective Colleges. Sociology of Education, 65(3), 208225. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2112809
Google Scholar CrossrefPreacher, K.J., Curran, P.J. and Bauer., D.J. (2006). Computational Tools for Probing Interactions in Multiple Linear Regression, Multilevel Modelling, and Latent Curve Analysis. Journal of Educational and Behavioural Statistics, 31(4), 437448. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3102/10769986031004437
Google Scholar CrossrefSchofer, E. and Meyer, J.W. (2005). The WorldWide Expansion of Higher Education in the Twentieth Century. American
Google Scholar CrossrefRISE International Journal of Sociology of Education 1 (3) 291
Google Scholar CrossrefSociological Review, 70(6), 898920. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/000312240507000602
Google Scholar CrossrefShavit, Y., Arum, R. and Gamoran, A. eds. (2007). Stratification in Higher Education. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Google Scholar CrossrefStolzenberg, R. M. (1994). Educational Continuation by College Graduates. American Journal of Sociology, 99, 10421077. Thomas, S.L. (2003). LongerTerm Economic Effects of College
Google Scholar CrossrefSelectivity and Control. Research in Higher Education, 44(3),
Google Scholar Crossref299.
Google Scholar CrossrefTurley, R., Lopez, N., Santos, M. and Ceja. C. (2007). Social Origin and
Google Scholar CrossrefCollege Opportunity Expectations across Cohorts. Social Science Research, 36, 12001218. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2006.09.004
Google Scholar CrossrefXie, Y. and Goyette, K. (2003). Social Mobility and the Educational Choices of Asian Americans. Social Science Research, 32(3), 467498. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0049089X(03)000188
Google Scholar CrossrefZarifa, D. (2012). Choosing fields in an expansionary era: Comparing two cohorts of baccalaureate degreeholders in the United States and Canada. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 30, 328351. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2012.06.003. ISSN: 02765624
Google Scholar CrossrefDownloads
Published
Almetric
Dimensions
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
All articles are published under Creative Commons copyright (CC BY). Authors hold the copyright and retain publishing rights without restrictions, but authors allow anyone to download, reuse, reprint, modify, distribute, and/or copy articles as the original source is cited.
