College Selectivity and Degree Completion
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8221564 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Scott Heil (CUNY Office of Institutional Research and Assessment, corresponding author), Liza Reisel (0000-0003-0488-7182, Institute for Social Research), Paul Attewell (0000-0003-4578-2416, Graduate Center of the City University of New York) |
| Year | 2014 |
| Volume | 51 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 913-935 |
| Publication date | 2014-10-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Educational Research Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0002-8312 • E-ISSN: 1935-1011 |
| Publisher | American Educational Research Association (AERA) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.3102/0002831214544298 |
| OpenAlex | W2122624334 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 9 |
| References cited | 25 |
How much of a difference does it make whether a student of a given academic ability enters a more or a less selective four-year college? Some studies claim that attending a more academically selective college markedly improves one's graduation prospects. Others report the reverse: an advantage from attending an institution where one's own skills exceed most other students. Using multilevel models and propensity score matching methods to reduce selection bias, we find that selectivity does not have an independent effect on graduation. Instead, we find relatively small positive effects on graduation from attending a college with higher tuition costs. We also find no evidence that students not attending highly selective colleges suffer reduced chances of graduation, all else being equal
Academic achievement · Graduation (instrument · Matching (statistics · Mathematics education · Medical education · Propensity score matching · Selection (genetic algorithm · Selection bias · Significant difference · Statistics · Computer Science · Higher Education Research Studies · Labor market dynamics and wage inequality · Mathematics · Medicine · Psychology · School Choice and Performance
The Role of Higher Education in Intergenerational Mobility
Fit between applicants’ prior knowledge and university selection criteria
Academic selectivity and student progression
Higher Education, Bigger Networks? Differences by Family Socioeconomic Background and Network Measures
Who Goes to College via Access Routes? A Comparative Study of Widening Participation Admission in Selective Universities in Ireland and England
Academic identity, confidence and belonging
What Makes a Quality College? Reexamining the Equalizing Potential of Higher Education in the United States
Lost in Translation
Mismatch and academic performance at America's selective colleges and universities
The Shape of the River
Crossing the Finish Line
No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal
College quality and early adult outcomes
Estimating the Payoff to Attending a More Selective College
How robust is the evidence on the effects of college quality? Evidence from matching
Social Status and the Academic Achievement Gap
America in Black and White
Big-Fish--Little-Pond effect on academic self-concept
A Diagnostic Routine for the Detection of Consequential Heterogeneity of Causal Effects
The Winner-Take-All High School
Assessing the 'Mismatch' Hypothesis
The Campus as a Frog Pond
Black students' graduation from elite colleges
| Citations per year | 1.13 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2018 - 2026 (9) |
| Highly cited | No |