How Low-income Origins Affect Postsecondary Entry and Degree Completion

Abstract

The enduring connection between socioeconomic background and educational attainment is uncontested. However, it is unclear whether the main barrier to educational opportunity is college access or degree attainment. Using data from a 14-year U.S. survey, this study shows that low-income youth remain disadvantaged in both entry into college and degree attainment. Nearly half of adults from low-income backgrounds do not complete any postsecondary schooling. For those who do enroll, young adults from low-income families are less likely to earn bachelor’s degrees, partly due to their poorer academic achievement in adolescence, but also due to patterns of part-time enrollment in two-year colleges. While some argue that community colleges provide access to low-income youth who would not otherwise have gone to school, the findings here suggest that access is limited, since many with higher education goals still do not enroll at all, and most others who enroll fail to earn a degree.