Improving Admission of Low-SES Students at Selective Colleges

Results From an Experimental Simulation

Datos Bibliográficos

ID9733158
AutoresMichael N Bastedo (0000-0003-3358-2564, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, autor de correspondencia), Nicholas A Bowman (0000-0001-8899-7383, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA)
Año2017
Volumen46
Número2
Páginas67-77
Fecha de publicación2017-03-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaEducational Researcher (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0013-189X • E-ISSN: 1935-102X
EditorialAmerican Educational Research Association (AERA) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.3102/0013189x17699373
OpenAlexW2598246745
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas20
Referencias citadas28

Low-socioeconomic status (SES) students are underrepresented at selective colleges, but the role that admissions offices play is poorly understood. Because admissions offices often have inconsistent information on high school contexts, we conducted a randomized controlled trial to determine whether providing detailed information on high school contexts increases the likelihood that admissions officers ( n = 311) would recommend admitting low-SES applicants. Admissions officers in the detailed-information condition were 13 to 14 percentage points (i.e., 26%–28%) more likely to recommend admitting a low-SES applicant from an underserved high school than those in the limited-information condition, although the limited-information condition provided significant details about family SES and high school context. These findings were consistent regardless of the selectivity of the college, admissions office practices, and participant demographics

Context (archaeology · Demographics · Environmental health · Family medicine · Geography · Medical education · Population · Randomized controlled trial · Socioeconomic status · Sociology · Demography · Global Educational Reforms and Inequalities · Higher Education Research Studies · Medicine · Psychology · School Choice and Performance