Competition and Competition in College Enrollment: The Role of Race, Class, and Shadow Education in College Enrollment in the United States

Date
2022-07-27
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Abstract

Research on college access has documented the importance of family background and school context on college enrollment, but less is known about the role of family investment outside of school. Shadow education, private academic services purchased outside the realm of mainstream schools, is a growing industry and one strategy for improving college admissions prospects in an increasingly competitive gatekeeping process. Students who are more socioeconomically advantaged and from racial minority backgrounds are more likely to utilize shadow education activities, but whether these activities, which can range from a couple hundred to multiple thousands of dollars, yield benefits still remains an open question. This paper explores the relationship between college admissions shadow education activities and students’ college enrollment outcomes. Using the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009, I estimate the effect of three shadow education activities – taking a college exam prep course, hiring a college counselor, and attending a college camp – on students’ likelihood of enrolling in any four-year college as well as their likelihood of enrolling in a selective college. I employ doubly robust propensity score analysis to both account for selection bias and identify differential treatment effects for students of different racial/ethnic and class backgrounds. Through understanding whether these shadow education activities affect college enrollment and who benefits most from using shadow education activities, this paper contributes to existing knowledge on the role shadow education may be playing in exacerbating or ameliorating inequality in college access.

Description
Degree
Master of Arts
Type
Thesis
Keywords
Education, Shadow Education, Postsecondary Outcomes, Propensity Score Analysis
Citation

Lee, Jee Sun (Jasmin). "Competition and Competition in College Enrollment: The Role of Race, Class, and Shadow Education in College Enrollment in the United States." (2022) Master’s Thesis, Rice University. https://hdl.handle.net/1911/113237.

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