Potholes on the Road to College: High School Effects in Shaping Urban Students' Participation in College Application, Four-year College Enrollment, and College Match

Headnote

Abstract

This article examines the extent to which indicators of the college-going climate of urban high schools are associated with students' application to, enrollment in, and choice among four-year colleges. The investigators examine two mechanisms by which high schools may shape college enrollment among low-income students in an urban school system: (1) by ensuring whether seniors who aspire to a four-year college degree take the steps to apply to and enroll in a four-year college, and (2) by influencing whether students enroll in colleges with selectivity levels at or above the kinds of colleges they are qualified to attend (a "college match"). We investigate different approaches to measuring college-going climate and develop new indicators. Findings suggest that qualifications and college aspirations will not necessarily translate into four-year college enrollment if urban high schools do not develop organizational norms and structures that guide students effectively through the college application process. Urban students who attend high schools where there is a pattern of four-year college-going, where teachers report high expectations and strong supports for college attendance, and where there is high participation in financial aid application are more likely to plan to attend, apply to, be accepted into, and enroll in a four-year college that matches their qualifications.

Keywords

urban high schools, social capital, college-going culture, college access, college match

Two recent evaluations of policy initiatives aimed at increasing access to the nation's top colleges for low-income students came to strikingly similar conclusions: The high school that students attend matters in terms of whether qualified low-income students are able to respond to new policy initiatives (Avery et al. 2006; Koffman and Tienda 2008). These findings are quite consistent with prior studies. Low-income students with similar qualifications are less likely than their more advantaged peers to apply to top-tier private and flagship state universities (Palláis and Turner 2006), and high school college-going patterns are strongly associated with individual students' likelihood of college application and enrollment and the quality of college that students attend (Alexander and Eckland 1977; Manski and Wise 1983).

These findings present a significant challenge to policy efforts aimed at increasing access to college for low-income and minority students. Over the past several years, the policy discussion around increasing college access has coalesced around two...