Constraints or Cultivation? Postsecondary Delay Motivations and Degree Attainment

• In Event: Higher Education, Belonging, and Employment

Abstract

Net of other disadvantages, students who delay college enrollment are less likely to complete a bachelor’s degree than those who enroll on-time. However, few studies describe why students decide to delay, and whether those reasons help explain eventual degree attainment. Taking time off between high school graduation and college enrollment to focus on personal development during a “gap year” is quite different from holding off on college because of financial constraints or family obligations. We use the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002) to investigate patterns of postsecondary delay. Our analysis will explore whether the reasons students put off college matter for their postsecondary pathways and how time use during periods of delay can influence the consequences of postponing college.

Authors

• Jasmine Sausedo, Johns Hopkins University

• Stefanie A. Deluca, Johns Hopkins University

• Robert Bozick, RAND Corporation

• Anna Rhodes, Rice University