Not If, but When: Income-Based Trends in "Late" College Enrollment

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 8
  In Roundtable Session: College Access, Outcomes, and Stratification

Abstract

There has been widespread concern about widening educational attainment gaps between children from upper- and lower-income families as income inequality has increased. This study examines the phenomenon of “delayed” college enrollment, defined as enrollment more than two years after a cohort’s graduation year, to understand how it affects trends in income-based gaps. This study is situated in the frameworks of income stratification and life course perspective. Results indicate that delayed enrollment increased between 1992 and 2004 among students from low-income families but not among students from high-income families. Consequently, the estimated change in the income gap in enrollment was sensitive to when enrollment was measured. Implications of these trends in relation to the frameworks are discussed.

Author

• Preeya Pandya Mbekeani, Brown University