The relations between race, family characteristics, and where students apply to college

This paper examines the impact of race, family background, and parental investments on a behavioral manifestation of educational expectations: where students apply to college. Submitting an application to colleges is an important step in the transition to college because the majority of four-year colleges require students to apply before enrolling. This paper documents the effects of social origins on the selectivity of where high school seniors applied, based on a national sample from the class of 2004. The results show general support for the contention that social background and parental investments influence where students apply to college. Minority students are more likely to apply to selective colleges than comparable white students. Parental education is positively associated with the selectivity of the college to which students apply. Family structure and sibship size, however, are not associated with applying to a selective college. Parental economic and interactional investments are also associated with where students apply to college. I further examine the interplay between family background and race and find that family background exerts a uniform influence on where students apply irrespective of race and ethnic origin.