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College Enhancement Strategies and Socioeconomic Inequality

Author

Listed:
  • Gregory C. Wolniak

    (New York University)

  • Ryan S. Wells

    (University of Massachusetts Amherst)

  • Mark E. Engberg

    (Loyola University Chicago)

  • Catherine A. Manly

    (University of Massachusetts Amherst)

Abstract

The study provides new information on the relationships between students’ socioeconomic backgrounds, utilization of college enhancement strategies, and subsequent 4-year college enrollment. Enhancement strategies represent student behaviors used to bolster the competitiveness of a college application, such as Advanced Placement exams and a variety of extracurricular activities. By drawing on two national datasets that span the 1990s (NELS) and the 2000s (ELS), the study uncovers how these relationships have changed during a period marked by escalating demand for college and growing class inequality. The findings provide partial evidence of class adaptation (Alon in Am Soc Rev 74:731–755, 2009) based on the combination of increased use of multiple enhancement strategies (“high overall use”) among higher SES students and increased influence of high overall enhancement strategy use in predicting college enrollment, particularly selective college enrollment. Implications are discussed in terms of the higher education system and pervasive social inequality.

Suggested Citation

  • Gregory C. Wolniak & Ryan S. Wells & Mark E. Engberg & Catherine A. Manly, 2016. "College Enhancement Strategies and Socioeconomic Inequality," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 57(3), pages 310-334, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:reihed:v:57:y:2016:i:3:d:10.1007_s11162-015-9389-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s11162-015-9389-4
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Michael B. Paulsen & Edward P. St. John, 2002. "Social Class and College Costs," The Journal of Higher Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 73(2), pages 189-236, March.
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    4. Martha J. Bailey & Susan M. Dynarski, 2011. "Gains and Gaps: Changing Inequality in U.S. College Entry and Completion," NBER Working Papers 17633, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    7. Ryan S. Wells & Cassie M. Lynch, 2012. "Delayed College Entry and the Socioeconomic Gap: Examining the Roles of Student Plans, Family Income, Parental Education, and Parental Occupation," The Journal of Higher Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 83(5), pages 671-697, September.
    8. 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.
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    Cited by:

    1. Karly S. Ford & Kelly Ochs Rosinger & Qiong Zhu, 2021. "Consolidation of Class Advantages in the Wake of the Great Recession: University Enrollments, Educational Opportunity and Stratification," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 62(7), pages 915-941, November.

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