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The earnings payoff from attending a selective college
Dirk Witteveen1, Paul Attewell1
1The Graduate Center, City University of New York, Sociology Department, 365 Fifth Avenue, Room 6112.04, New York, NY 10016, United States.
Social Science Research
|July 15, 2017
Summary
Attending a highly selective college yields significant earnings benefits for graduates, even years after graduation. However, these returns are not equal for all, with gender, major, and background influencing outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Higher Education
- Economics
- Sociology
Background:
- Previous research on college selectivity and graduate earnings shows inconsistent results.
- Some studies report no earnings effect, while others find small or large benefits.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the relationship between college selectivity and graduate earnings using recent national data.
- To investigate potential selection bias in previous studies and its impact on earnings.
Main Methods:
- Utilized two national longitudinal studies of college graduates.
- Employed models sensitive to selection bias to analyze earnings data.
Main Results:
- Found significant and large earnings payoffs for graduates of highly selective colleges, persisting 4 and 10 years post-graduation.
- Observed disparities in earnings based on gender, college major, and family background, impacting overall returns.
Conclusions:
- College selectivity has a striking impact on graduate earnings, despite other influencing factors.
- The benefits of attending selective institutions are substantial but unequally distributed among graduates.
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