Maintaining Inequality: An Analysis of College Pathways Among Women at Large Public Institutions

• In Event: Navigating Critical Transitions in Higher Education

Abstract

Armstrong and Hamilton (2013) proposed a framework of three college pathways – party, professional, and mobility – that lead to economically unequal post-graduation outcomes for female students. Using the data National Survey of Student Engagement data, we examined the responses from 42,504 women seniors at 183 four-year large public institutions to identify how the potential income of their college major choice relate to the pathways. We found that the economic advantage of major choice is not equally distributed among students: party pathway students select the least lucrative college majors, professional pathway students select the most lucrative majors, and first-generation students on all pathways tend to select majors with less potential income than their peers with college-educated parents.

Authors

• Malika Tukibayeva, Indiana University

• Amy Ribera, Indiana University

• Thomas F. Nelson Laird, Indiana University

• Allison BrckaLorenz, Indiana University