Inherited Prestige: Intergenerational Access to Selective Colleges

• In Event: 418 - Section on Sociology of Education Paper Session. Intergenerational Transmission of Educational Advantage

Abstract

Given the many economic and social benefits conferred upon the graduates of selective colleges, it is important to understand the avenues through which socioeconomically advantaged students access selective postsecondary institutions. Prior research documents that parental level of education, occupation, and income are associated with the likelihood that a child will attend a selective college. Our study builds upon this literature in examining whether the selectivity of a parent’s undergraduate degree contributes to a child enrolling in a selective college, independent of family income, ascriptive characteristics, and child academic ability. We find that having a parent who graduated from a selective college is associated with a three-fold increase in the likelihood that a child will attend a selective college, even when we control for a variety of family advantages. These findings contribute to the study of the role of education in processes of social mobility and intergenerational inequality by shedding light on how elites transmit status to their children, not just through educational level (i.e. college), but through type of institution (i.e. selective colleges).

Authors

• Karly Sarita Ford, Penn State

• Jason Thompson, New York University