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The costs and benefits of enrolling in an academically matched college

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  • Howell, Jessica S.
  • Pender, Matea
Abstract
In response to increased efforts to raise college completion rates through improved academic match between students and their colleges, we examine the costs and benefits to students of following such advice as well as the impact on postsecondary institutions. We analyze data from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, the College Board, the National Student Clearinghouse, and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System to estimate the impact of improved academic match on students’ predicted net price and bachelor's completion probabilities. The results indicate that undermatching low-income students across the distribution of academic ability would experience a substantial boost in bachelor's degree completion probability – 13.5% points, on average – if they attended a college that better matched their academic credentials. Given this average effect and the number of undermatched low-income students who are minimally “treated” under our simulation, we predict that an additional 3500 low-income students per cohort would complete a bachelor's degree. We find that moving all undermatched low-income students into “safety” colleges would not overly burden this set of institutions, which, on average, would only need to increase the size of first-year cohorts by less than 1%. Moreover, such colleges would experience no change in average SAT scores and overall graduation rates. One estimate of the financial impact on colleges is substantial (i.e., on average, $6.5 M–7.5 M annually per cohort per institution that has a simulated net gain in enrollment) if institutions cover full tuition and fees for these additional low-income students.

Suggested Citation

  • Howell, Jessica S. & Pender, Matea, 2016. "The costs and benefits of enrolling in an academically matched college," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 152-168.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:51:y:2016:i:c:p:152-168
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2015.06.008
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sarah R. Cohodes & Joshua S. Goodman, 2014. "Merit Aid, College Quality, and College Completion: Massachusetts' Adams Scholarship as an In-Kind Subsidy," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 6(4), pages 251-285, October.
    2. Long, Mark C., 2010. "Changes in the returns to education and college quality," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 338-347, June.
    3. Stacy Dale & Alan B. Krueger, "undated". "Estimating the Return to College Selectivity Over the Career Using Administrative Earning Data," Mathematica Policy Research Reports d76ec29a0bbb4b1bb9d285b5a, Mathematica Policy Research.
    4. repec:mpr:mprres:6922 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Long, Mark C., 2008. "College quality and early adult outcomes," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 588-602, October.
    6. Caroline Hoxby & Christopher Avery, 2013. "The Missing "One-Offs": The Hidden Supply of High-Achieving, Low-Income Students," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 44(1 (Spring), pages 1-65.
    7. Stacy Berg Dale & Alan B. Krueger, 2002. "Estimating the Payoff to Attending a More Selective College: An Application of Selection on Observables and Unobservables," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 117(4), pages 1491-1527.
    8. Philip Oreopoulos & Kjell G. Salvanes, 2011. "Priceless: The Nonpecuniary Benefits of Schooling," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 25(1), pages 159-184, Winter.
    9. Philip Oreopoulos & Uros Petronijevic, 2013. "Making College Worth It: A Review of Research on the Returns to Higher Education," NBER Working Papers 19053, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Smith, Jonathan & Pender, Matea & Howell, Jessica, 2013. "The full extent of student-college academic undermatch," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 247-261.
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    12. Dominic J. Brewer & Eric R. Eide & Ronald G. Ehrenberg, 1999. "Does It Pay to Attend an Elite Private College? Cross-Cohort Evidence on the Effects of College Type on Earnings," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 34(1), pages 104-123.
    13. Dan A. Black & Jeffrey A. Smith, 2006. "Estimating the Returns to College Quality with Multiple Proxies for Quality," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 24(3), pages 701-728, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Graetz, Georg & Öckert, Björn & Nordström Skans, Oskar, 2020. "Family background and the responses to higher SAT scores," Working Paper Series 2020:8, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    2. Page, Lindsay C. & Scott-Clayton, Judith, 2016. "Improving college access in the United States: Barriers and policy responses," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 4-22.
    3. Tamara Linkow & Amanda Parsad & Alina Martinez & Hannah Miller, "undated". "Study of Enhanced College Advising in Upward Bound: Impacts on Where and How Long Students Attend College," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 3d7ea66734974a83b402c4cf5, Mathematica Policy Research.
    4. Iriti, Jennifer & Page, Lindsay C. & Bickel, William E., 2018. "Place-based scholarships: Catalysts for systems reform to improve postsecondary attainment," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 137-148.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    College choice; College cost; College completion; Low-income students;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education

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