Admission Is Not Inclusion: The Effect of Selective College Attendance on First-Generation Students’ Sense of Belonging

• In Event: Sociology of Education Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 7. Belonging in Selective and Elite Institutions

Abstract

First‑generation (FG) college students make up nearly one‑third of today’s undergraduates, yet they continue to face structural and cultural barriers that undermine their sense of belonging in higher education. A strong sense of belonging is critical for FG students’ persistence, degree completion, and well‑being, yet research has only recently begun to examine how institutional context—particularly institutional selectivity—shapes belonging. Existing studies tend to focus on single elite institutions or exclude two‑year colleges entirely, limiting our understanding of how belonging varies across the broader landscape of U.S. higher education. This study addresses these gaps by analyzing the relationship between institutional selectivity and FG students’ sense of belonging at the end of their first year. Using data from the restricted‑use 2012–2017 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:12/17), I use inverse probability treatment weighting to account for differences in student background characteristics and to compare belonging across institutions with varying levels of selectivity. I examine two central questions: (1) Does FG students’ sense of belonging vary by institutional selectivity? and (2) Does selectivity matter more for FG students than for CG students? Additionally, I assess how belonging patterns shift when two‑year institutions are included or excluded from definitions of selectivity. Findings indicate that institutional selectivity significantly predicts belonging when analyses are limited to four‑year institutions, with FG students reporting lower belonging at very, moderately, and minimally selective colleges than at open‑admission colleges. However, this relationship disappears when two‑year colleges are included, suggesting that the effects of selectivity are not consistent across institutional contexts. Overall, the results highlight the importance of institutional culture and classification in shaping FG students’ sense of belonging.

Author

• Peggy Sue Carris, Saint Mary's College