Class Inequality among College Graduates

• In Event: 028 - Regular Session. Sociology of Higher Education. Varied Choices and Unequal Outcomes among Post-Secondary Students

Abstract

Stratification researchers have reported that the relationship between parental class origins and socio-economic outcomes drops to near zero for individuals who have a baccalaureate degree, leading one scholar to conclude “This … provides a new answer to the old question about overcoming disadvantaged origins. A college degree can do it.” We present contrary evidence from two nationally-representative samples of baccalaureate graduates. There are substantial income differences between graduates from different class origins that can be observed both four and ten years after graduation. These class-related gaps persist after controlling for college selectivity, major, and academic performance. Further analyses also indicate that class disadvantages in the labor market can be partially explained by inequalities established within occupational niches. We develop the implications of this for theories about the educational dimensions of intergenerational mobility.

Authors

• Dirk Witteveen, City University of New York, The Graduate Center

• Paul A. Attewell, CUNY, Graduate Center