- After controlling for student-level and school-level variables, the odds of enrolling in a 4-year college or university are higher for African Americans and Hispanics than for Whites. These findings suggest that the lower observed 4-year college enrollment rates for African Americans and Hispanics than for Whites are explained by racial/ethnic group differences in other variables in the model.
- The likelihood of enrolling in a 2-year college increases with the share of Hispanics in the student body but decreases with the share of African Americans in the student body.
- After controlling for other student- and school-level variables, African Americans are less likely than students of other racial/ethnic groups to enroll in a 2-year college.
- The odds of enrolling in either a 2-year or 4- year college relative to not enrolling increase with the frequency with which the parent discusses with the student education-related topics, contacts the school to volunteer, and initiates contact with school about academics.
- The odds of enrolling in either a 2-year or 4-year college decline as the frequency of parent-initiated contact with the school about behavioral issues increase.
- The share of a student’s friends who plan to attend a 2-year college is positively associated with the likelihood of enrolling in a 2-year college and negatively related to the likelihood of enrolling in a 4-year college. The share of a student’s friends who plan to attend a 4-year institution is positively related to enrollment in both a 2-year and 4-year institution, although the magnitude of the relationship is greater for 4-year than for 2-year enrollment.
- The odds that a student will enroll in a 2- year college increase with the share of the prior year’s high school graduating class that enrolled in a 2-year college, whereas the odds of enrolling in a 4-year college increase with the share of the prior year’s graduates that enrolled in a 4-year college.
- Disruptions to social capital, as measured by the number of times a student’s family moves, are associated with lower odds of enrolling in either a 2-year or 4-year college in the fall after graduating from high school relative to not enrolling.
- In terms of school-level effects, none of the three measures of the extent to which a school encourages parental involvement is a statistically significant predictor of college enrollment after controlling for other variables. However, the likelihood of enrolling in a 2-year or 4-year college is related to the volume of resources that may be accessed via social networks at the school.
- Student-level measures of parental involvement are related to the likelihood of enrolling in a 2-year or 4-year college relative to not enrolling, even after controlling for measures of economic capital, cultural capital, and human capital. The analyses suggest that parents convey norms and standards in ways that promote college enrollment through interactions with the student, the school, and other parents.
- African Americans realize a smaller college enrollment premium for each unit of parent-student discussions about education-related issues but a larger college enrollment premium for each unit of parent-initiated contact with the school about academic issues.
- African Americans and Hispanics not only possess fewer of the types of capital that promote college enrollment but also attend schools with fewer of the resources that promote college enrollment.
- The results suggest that allocating resources to promote parental involvement is an effective approach for programs that are designed to increase the college enrollment of underrepresented groups.