Beyond the Degree: Investigating the Influence of Race on College Graduation Rates

Darboe, Ebrima

Beyond the Degree: Investigating the Influence of Race on College Graduation Rates

Author(s)

Darboe, Ebrima

Date Issued

April 10, 2023

Abstract

There has been increasing research over the past few years that highlights a gap in college graduation rates between Black and White students in the United States. This paper analyzes how race affects college enrollment and graduation outcomes. The goal of this study is to better understand how race impacts college graduation and more particularly, what other factors contribute to the variation in college completion rates between Black and White students. The factors along with race considered in this paper are total family income, parents’ education, gender, family composition, and high school GPA. The concepts of cultural capital and mismatch theory are used as theoretical frameworks to explain the disparities in college graduation rates between Black and White students. Data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 is used in this study to explore the association between race and college enrollment and completion using probit regression techniques. According to this study, Black and White students enroll in college at statistically comparable rates but graduate at considerably disproportionate rates.

Major

Economics

Honors

Business and Economics, 2023

First Reader(s)

Ormiston, Russell A.