Sara Goldrick‐Rab
Biographic Data
| ID | 5452405 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Sara Goldrick‐Rab |
| GIVEN NAMES | Sara |
| FAMILY NAME | Goldrick‐Rab |
| SIGNATURE | RAB S G |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Wisconsin–Madison |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-9352-2099 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 17 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 219 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 17 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2006 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2023 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
Meal Vouchers Matter for Academic Attainment: A Community College Field Experiment
Given growing awareness of the high prevalence of food insecurity among college students, higher education leaders are implementing various food interventions on their campuses. However, there is little research on the efficacy and impact of these initiatives. Using data from a field randomized control trial, we find that a relatively modest financial investment in campus meal cards coupled with proactive outreach by an existing campus office imp…
Policy Dialogue: The Problems and Promises of Higher Education in the United States
Nearly 70 percent of American students enroll in postsecondary education immediately after graduating high school. Yet college and university completion rates remain highly disparate across social and economic groups. White students in the US are 20 percent more likely than Black and Latino students to graduate, and students from high-income backgrounds are roughly five times more likely to graduate than their lower-income peers. As a result, man…
College on the Margins: Higher Education Professionals’ Perspectives on Campus Basic Needs Insecurity
Background A substantial share of undergraduates are basic needs insecure, meaning they lack consistent access to essential material goods like food and shelter. These material hardships are associated with poorer academic success, but we know very little about higher education professionals’ perspectives on the matter. Purpose This paper examines how higher education professionals perceive, understand, and support college students who experience…
What Is the Problem With Student Debt
Effective Treatment for the Student Debt Crisis Requires an Accurate Diagnosis
Experimental Evidence on the Impacts of Need‐Based Financial Aid: Longitudinal Assessment of the Wisconsin Scholars Grant
We conduct the first long‐term experimental evaluation of a need‐based financial aid program, the privately funded Wisconsin Scholars Grant. Over multiple cohorts, the program failed to increase degree completion and graduate school enrollment up to 10 years after matriculation. The program did reduce time‐to‐degree for some students and modestly increased the number of STEM degrees earned. The lack of robust effects raises important questions ab…
College Students and SNAP: The New Face of Food Insecurity in the United States
Over the last decade, multiple studies of food insecurity among college students have found rates from 20% to more than 50%, considerably higher than the 12% rate for the entire US population. Reasons for higher rates of food insecurity among college students include a growing population of low-income college students, high college costs and insufficient financial aid, more financial hardship among many low- and moderate-income families, a weak l…
Going Without: An Exploration of Food and Housing Insecurity Among Undergraduates
The rising price of higher education and its implications for equity and accessibility have been extensively documented, but the material conditions of students’ lives are often overlooked. Data from more than 30,000 two- and 4-year college students indicate that approximately half are food insecure, and recent estimates suggest that at least 20% of 2-year college students have very low levels of food security. At least one-third of 2-year studen…
The Costs of College Attendance: Examining Variation and Consistency in Institutional Living Cost Allowances
Discussions of college costs often focus on tuition and fees, but living cost allowances for room, board, and other expenses account for more than half of the total cost of attending college. The allowances, developed by colleges and universities, also affect student eligibility for federal financial aid and the accuracy of accountability systems. This study examined institutional variation in living cost allowances and assessed the consistency o…
Paying the Price: College Costs, Financial Aid, and the Betrayal of the American Dream
Reducing Income Inequality in Educational Attainment: Experimental Evidence on the Impact of Financial Aid on College Completion
Income inequality in educational attainment is a long-standing concern, and disparities in college completion have grown over time. Need-based financial aid is commonly used to promote equality in college outcomes, but its effectiveness has not been established, and some are calling it into question. A randomized experiment is used to estimate the impact of a private need-based grant program on college persistence and degree completion among stud…
Accelerating College Knowledge: A Fiscal Analysis of a Targeted Early Commitment Pell Grant Program
The persistently low college attainment rates of youth from poor families are partly attributable to their uncertainty about college affordability. The current federal financial aid system does not provide specific information about college costs until just before college enrollment and the information is only available to students completing a complex application. Evidence suggests this late timing reduces their motivation and ability to adequat…
The Community College Effect Revisited: The Importance of Attending to Heterogeneity and Complex Counterfactuals
Community colleges are controversial educational institutions, often said to simultaneously expand college opportunities and diminish baccalaureate attainment. We assess the seemingly contradictory functions of community colleges by attending to effect heterogeneity and to alternative counterfactual conditions. Using data on postsecondary outcomes of high school graduates of Chicago Public Schools, we find that enrolling at a community college pe…
Challenges and Opportunities for Improving Community College Student Success
Many of the democratizing opportunities provided by community colleges are diminished in the eyes of policy makers by inadequate rates of success. In particular, large proportions of students who enter community colleges do not persist for longer than a semester, complete a program, or attain a credential. This review critically examines academic and policy research in search of explanations, emphasizing what is known about challenges stemming fr…
Passing the Torch: Does Higher Education for the Disadvantaged Pay Off Across the Generations? By Paul Attewell and David E. Lavin Russell Sage Foundation. 2007. 268 pages. $39.95 cloth, $17.95 paper
Passing the Torch: Does Higher Education for the Disadvantaged Pay Off Across the Generations? By Paul Attewell and David E. Lavin Russell Sage Foundation. 2007. 268 pages. $39.95 cloth, $17.95 paper Sara Goldrick-Rab Sara Goldrick-Rab University of Wisconsin-Madison Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Social Forces, Volume 88, Issue 2, December 2009, Pages 979–980, https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.0.0263 Published…
Beyond Access: Explaining Socioeconomic Differences in College Transfer
Reducing socioeconomic differences in college transfer requires understanding how and why parental education, occupational class, and family income are associated with changing colleges. Building on prior studies of traditional community college transfer, the authors explore relationships between those factors and two types of transfer among four-year college students. The results indicate that reverse transfer-the move from a four-year to a comm…
Following Their Every Move: An Investigation of Social-Class Differences in College Pathways
As more Americans enter college than ever before, their pathways through the broadly differentiated higher education system are changing. Movement in, out, and among institutions now characterizes students' attendance patterns-half of all undergraduates who begin at a four-year institution go on to attend at least one other college, and over one-third take some time off from college after their initial enrollment. This study investigated whether …
Following Their Every Move: An Investigation of Social-Class Differences in College Pathways
As more Americans enter college than ever before, their pathways through the broadly differentiated higher education system are changing. Movement in, out, and among institutions now characterizes students' attendance patterns-half of all undergraduates who begin at a four-year institution go on to attend at least one other college, and over one-third take some time off from college after their initial enrollment. This study investigated whether …
Going Without: An Exploration of Food and Housing Insecurity Among Undergraduates
The rising price of higher education and its implications for equity and accessibility have been extensively documented, but the material conditions of students’ lives are often overlooked. Data from more than 30,000 two- and 4-year college students indicate that approximately half are food insecure, and recent estimates suggest that at least 20% of 2-year college students have very low levels of food security. At least one-third of 2-year studen…
Reducing Income Inequality in Educational Attainment: Experimental Evidence on the Impact of Financial Aid on College Completion
Income inequality in educational attainment is a long-standing concern, and disparities in college completion have grown over time. Need-based financial aid is commonly used to promote equality in college outcomes, but its effectiveness has not been established, and some are calling it into question. A randomized experiment is used to estimate the impact of a private need-based grant program on college persistence and degree completion among stud…
Beyond Access: Explaining Socioeconomic Differences in College Transfer
Reducing socioeconomic differences in college transfer requires understanding how and why parental education, occupational class, and family income are associated with changing colleges. Building on prior studies of traditional community college transfer, the authors explore relationships between those factors and two types of transfer among four-year college students. The results indicate that reverse transfer-the move from a four-year to a comm…
College Students and SNAP: The New Face of Food Insecurity in the United States
Over the last decade, multiple studies of food insecurity among college students have found rates from 20% to more than 50%, considerably higher than the 12% rate for the entire US population. Reasons for higher rates of food insecurity among college students include a growing population of low-income college students, high college costs and insufficient financial aid, more financial hardship among many low- and moderate-income families, a weak l…
The Community College Effect Revisited: The Importance of Attending to Heterogeneity and Complex Counterfactuals
Community colleges are controversial educational institutions, often said to simultaneously expand college opportunities and diminish baccalaureate attainment. We assess the seemingly contradictory functions of community colleges by attending to effect heterogeneity and to alternative counterfactual conditions. Using data on postsecondary outcomes of high school graduates of Chicago Public Schools, we find that enrolling at a community college pe…
The Costs of College Attendance: Examining Variation and Consistency in Institutional Living Cost Allowances
Discussions of college costs often focus on tuition and fees, but living cost allowances for room, board, and other expenses account for more than half of the total cost of attending college. The allowances, developed by colleges and universities, also affect student eligibility for federal financial aid and the accuracy of accountability systems. This study examined institutional variation in living cost allowances and assessed the consistency o…
What Is the Problem With Student Debt
Experimental Evidence on the Impacts of Need‐Based Financial Aid: Longitudinal Assessment of the Wisconsin Scholars Grant
We conduct the first long‐term experimental evaluation of a need‐based financial aid program, the privately funded Wisconsin Scholars Grant. Over multiple cohorts, the program failed to increase degree completion and graduate school enrollment up to 10 years after matriculation. The program did reduce time‐to‐degree for some students and modestly increased the number of STEM degrees earned. The lack of robust effects raises important questions ab…
Meal Vouchers Matter for Academic Attainment: A Community College Field Experiment
Given growing awareness of the high prevalence of food insecurity among college students, higher education leaders are implementing various food interventions on their campuses. However, there is little research on the efficacy and impact of these initiatives. Using data from a field randomized control trial, we find that a relatively modest financial investment in campus meal cards coupled with proactive outreach by an existing campus office imp…
Effective Treatment for the Student Debt Crisis Requires an Accurate Diagnosis
Accelerating College Knowledge: A Fiscal Analysis of a Targeted Early Commitment Pell Grant Program
The persistently low college attainment rates of youth from poor families are partly attributable to their uncertainty about college affordability. The current federal financial aid system does not provide specific information about college costs until just before college enrollment and the information is only available to students completing a complex application. Evidence suggests this late timing reduces their motivation and ability to adequat…
Following Their Every Move: An Investigation of Social-Class Differences in College Pathways
As more Americans enter college than ever before, their pathways through the broadly differentiated higher education system are changing. Movement in, out, and among institutions now characterizes students' attendance patterns-half of all undergraduates who begin at a four-year institution go on to attend at least one other college, and over one-third take some time off from college after their initial enrollment. This study investigated whether …
Passing the Torch: Does Higher Education for the Disadvantaged Pay Off Across the Generations? By Paul Attewell and David E. Lavin Russell Sage Foundation. 2007. 268 pages. $39.95 cloth, $17.95 paper
Passing the Torch: Does Higher Education for the Disadvantaged Pay Off Across the Generations? By Paul Attewell and David E. Lavin Russell Sage Foundation. 2007. 268 pages. $39.95 cloth, $17.95 paper Sara Goldrick-Rab Sara Goldrick-Rab University of Wisconsin-Madison Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Social Forces, Volume 88, Issue 2, December 2009, Pages 979–980, https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.0.0263 Published…
Beyond Access: Explaining Socioeconomic Differences in College Transfer
Reducing socioeconomic differences in college transfer requires understanding how and why parental education, occupational class, and family income are associated with changing colleges. Building on prior studies of traditional community college transfer, the authors explore relationships between those factors and two types of transfer among four-year college students. The results indicate that reverse transfer-the move from a four-year to a comm…
Challenges and Opportunities for Improving Community College Student Success
Many of the democratizing opportunities provided by community colleges are diminished in the eyes of policy makers by inadequate rates of success. In particular, large proportions of students who enter community colleges do not persist for longer than a semester, complete a program, or attain a credential. This review critically examines academic and policy research in search of explanations, emphasizing what is known about challenges stemming fr…
The Community College Effect Revisited: The Importance of Attending to Heterogeneity and Complex Counterfactuals
Community colleges are controversial educational institutions, often said to simultaneously expand college opportunities and diminish baccalaureate attainment. We assess the seemingly contradictory functions of community colleges by attending to effect heterogeneity and to alternative counterfactual conditions. Using data on postsecondary outcomes of high school graduates of Chicago Public Schools, we find that enrolling at a community college pe…
Accelerating College Knowledge: A Fiscal Analysis of a Targeted Early Commitment Pell Grant Program
The persistently low college attainment rates of youth from poor families are partly attributable to their uncertainty about college affordability. The current federal financial aid system does not provide specific information about college costs until just before college enrollment and the information is only available to students completing a complex application. Evidence suggests this late timing reduces their motivation and ability to adequat…
Paying the Price: College Costs, Financial Aid, and the Betrayal of the American Dream
Reducing Income Inequality in Educational Attainment: Experimental Evidence on the Impact of Financial Aid on College Completion
Income inequality in educational attainment is a long-standing concern, and disparities in college completion have grown over time. Need-based financial aid is commonly used to promote equality in college outcomes, but its effectiveness has not been established, and some are calling it into question. A randomized experiment is used to estimate the impact of a private need-based grant program on college persistence and degree completion among stud…
The Costs of College Attendance: Examining Variation and Consistency in Institutional Living Cost Allowances
Discussions of college costs often focus on tuition and fees, but living cost allowances for room, board, and other expenses account for more than half of the total cost of attending college. The allowances, developed by colleges and universities, also affect student eligibility for federal financial aid and the accuracy of accountability systems. This study examined institutional variation in living cost allowances and assessed the consistency o…
Going Without: An Exploration of Food and Housing Insecurity Among Undergraduates
The rising price of higher education and its implications for equity and accessibility have been extensively documented, but the material conditions of students’ lives are often overlooked. Data from more than 30,000 two- and 4-year college students indicate that approximately half are food insecure, and recent estimates suggest that at least 20% of 2-year college students have very low levels of food security. At least one-third of 2-year studen…
Experimental Evidence on the Impacts of Need‐Based Financial Aid: Longitudinal Assessment of the Wisconsin Scholars Grant
We conduct the first long‐term experimental evaluation of a need‐based financial aid program, the privately funded Wisconsin Scholars Grant. Over multiple cohorts, the program failed to increase degree completion and graduate school enrollment up to 10 years after matriculation. The program did reduce time‐to‐degree for some students and modestly increased the number of STEM degrees earned. The lack of robust effects raises important questions ab…
College Students and SNAP: The New Face of Food Insecurity in the United States
Over the last decade, multiple studies of food insecurity among college students have found rates from 20% to more than 50%, considerably higher than the 12% rate for the entire US population. Reasons for higher rates of food insecurity among college students include a growing population of low-income college students, high college costs and insufficient financial aid, more financial hardship among many low- and moderate-income families, a weak l…
College on the Margins: Higher Education Professionals’ Perspectives on Campus Basic Needs Insecurity
Background A substantial share of undergraduates are basic needs insecure, meaning they lack consistent access to essential material goods like food and shelter. These material hardships are associated with poorer academic success, but we know very little about higher education professionals’ perspectives on the matter. Purpose This paper examines how higher education professionals perceive, understand, and support college students who experience…
What Is the Problem With Student Debt
Effective Treatment for the Student Debt Crisis Requires an Accurate Diagnosis
Policy Dialogue: The Problems and Promises of Higher Education in the United States
Nearly 70 percent of American students enroll in postsecondary education immediately after graduating high school. Yet college and university completion rates remain highly disparate across social and economic groups. White students in the US are 20 percent more likely than Black and Latino students to graduate, and students from high-income backgrounds are roughly five times more likely to graduate than their lower-income peers. As a result, man…
Meal Vouchers Matter for Academic Attainment: A Community College Field Experiment
Given growing awareness of the high prevalence of food insecurity among college students, higher education leaders are implementing various food interventions on their campuses. However, there is little research on the efficacy and impact of these initiatives. Using data from a field randomized control trial, we find that a relatively modest financial investment in campus meal cards coupled with proactive outreach by an existing campus office imp…
Economics (14 works) · Political science (14 works) · Higher Education Research Studies (11 works) · Psychology (10 works) · Economic growth (9 works) · School Choice and Performance (8 works) · Sociology (8 works) · Higher education (7 works) · Medicine (7 works) · Pedagogy (7 works)