98-105 / Access to Postsecondary Education for the 1992 High School Graduates / Choice of Institutions by College-Qualified Applicants Who are Accepted for Admission

Access to Postsecondary Education for the 1992 High School Graduates

Choice of Institutions by College-Qualified Applicants Who are Accepted for Admission

College-qualified students who take the college entrance examinations have a choice of where to apply, but they have a choice of where to enroll only if they are accepted for admission by a four-year institution. In the NELS:88 survey, students were asked to name two of the institutions to which they applied and whether they were accepted. Table 25 compares the percentage of college-qualified students who applied to, were accepted by, and enrolled in private and public four-year institutions\36\. Almost half (45 percent) of the college-qualified students who took both steps toward admission applied to at least one private four-year institution, and three-quarters (77 percent) applied to at least one public four-year institution. Eventually 29 percent enrolled in a private and 55 percent enrolled in a public four-year institution.

Application rates of college-qualified students to private four-year institutions were directly related to family income: nearly 60 percent of students from high-income families applied to at least one private four-year institution, compared to 43 percent of middle-income and 38 percent of low-income students. Private college application rates were highest for the children of college graduates (55 percent), but were about the same for both groups of those whose parents had no 4-year degree (38 and 39 percent). Over half of the college-qualified Asian students (52 percent) had applied to at least one private four-year institution, compared with 37 percent of the college-qualified Hispanics.

Reflecting the differences in application rates, enrollment in private four-year colleges and universities was also directly related to family income, with 41 percent of high-income students enrolling, compared to 27 percent of middle-income and 22 percent of low-income college-qualified students who had taken both steps toward admission. Also reflecting the application rates, students whose parents were college graduates had higher private college enrollment rates (37 percent), but there was no difference in the private college enrollment rates of those whose parents had some college education compared to those who had no more than a high school education (22 and 23 percent). Private four-year college application and enrollment rates represent one of the few instances in this study where a direct relationship to family income levels is not also reflected in a direct relationship to parental education levels.

Given the large difference in the average tuition between public and private four-year colleges, it is not surprising that the application rates at private four-year institutions are directly related to family income. Low-income students and parents are undoubtedly aware that private college tuition is much higher. However, they may not be aware that financial aid can substantially reduce the difference in the actual net cost to the family unless the student has applied and been accepted, since the financial aid award offers are typically sent at the same time as the letters of acceptance. That is, the real effect of financial aid on college choice can be appropriately evaluated only by examining the behavior of those students who have been accepted for admission at four-year colleges, because they are the only ones who know how much financial aid has been awarded and can therefore actually compare the net costs at various institutions.

Table 26 shows where the students who were accepted to four-year colleges chose to enroll. Among the students who were accepted to any four-year institution, 89 percent enrolled in one. There were no differences in the four-year college enrollment rates of those who had been accepted among racial-ethnic groups or between low- and middle-income students. High-income students, however, were somewhat more likely to enroll in a four-year institution compared with low- and middle-income students (93 percent compared to 88 percent). Among students who were accepted to private four-year institutions, over three-quarters (76 percent) enrolled in one, 16 percent enrolled in a public four-year institution, and 6 percent in a less-than-four-year institution. For these students, there were no measurable differences in the choice of attending either a less-than-4-year, private four-year, or public four-year institution by family income, parental education, or race-ethnicity. Similarly, among students who were accepted to a public four-year institution, 81 percent enrolled in one, 8 percent enrolled in a private four-year institution, and 9 percent attended a less-than-four-year institution. There were also no differences in these enrollment choices by family income, parental education, or race-ethnicity.

In summary, low-income students who have been accepted to public four-year colleges and universities or those who have been accepted to private four-year colleges and universities are just as likely to enroll in them as were middle- and high-income students. There is also no difference in the enrollment rates of blacks, Hispanics, Asians, or whites who have been accepted to four-year public or private colleges and universities.

Footnote:

36/ Applications to public 2-year colleges and other less-than-4-year institutions were not considered relevant for this analysis. Nearly one quarter (22 percent) applied to both public and private 4-year institutions. U.S. Department of Education, , National Educational Longitudinal Study: 1988-1994 (NELS:88), Data Analysis System.