College Choice Revisited: Examining Socioeconomic Disparities in Nonlinear College Transfer Destinations

• In Event: Inequality in Higher Education

Abstract

Though four-year college students transfer at rates similar to those who first enroll at two-year colleges, we know far less about their trajectories comparatively. Specifically, as a result of growing competition for selective colleges and universities, students may engage in nonlinear forms of transfer as an adaptive strategy. Using nationally representative data, I investigate the destinations of students transferring from four-year colleges and how they vary by socioeconomic status. Results suggest that students from the most affluent backgrounds are more likely to engage in ascending transfer patterns by moving to an institution of higher selectivity. As such, this study provides evidence demonstrating the role of college transfer as a mechanism exacerbating class inequalities in higher education.

Author

• George Spencer, University of Georgia