College Choice as Capital Conversion and Investment: A New Model. ASHE Annual Meeting Paper.
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| Title: | College Choice as Capital Conversion and Investment: A New Model. ASHE Annual Meeting Paper. |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | McDonough, Patricia M. |
| Peer Reviewed: | N |
| Page Count: | 34 |
| Publication Date: | 1997 |
| Document Type: | Reports - Research Tests/Questionnaires Speeches/Meeting Papers |
| Descriptors: | Academic Aspiration, Capital, Cognitive Style, College Attendance, College Bound Students, College Choice, Cultural Influences, Decision Making, Economic Factors, Educational Benefits, Educational Economics, Expectation, High Schools, Higher Education, Models, Predictive Measurement, Regression (Statistics), Selective Colleges |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a model of college choice that suggests that students' choice of college can be related to perceived "capital conversion" benefits. The model was tested on an evenly distributed sample (n=22,109) of students; one group attending elite colleges (with average freshman Scholastic Assessment Test scores of 1200 or higher) and the other attending less-selective colleges. Data for the 40 variables explored in the study were drawn from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) 1994 Freshman Survey. Descriptive analyses provided a profile of elite college students, and regression analyses identified the variables most strongly associated with attendance at highly selective institutions. The study findings support a pattern suggesting that students attending elite schools base future expectations on cultural capital, while those at non-elite schools base expectations on economic capital. Table 1 lists student descriptive statistics, and Table 2 provides standardized regression coefficients for the four selective college choice models. Appendices list elite (non-military) colleges in the CIRP database and provide an outline of the Cultural Capital College Choice Multivariate Model used in the study. (Contains approximately 50 references.) (CH) |
| Entry Date: | 1997 |
| Accession Number: | ED403785 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a model of college choice that suggests that students' choice of college can be related to perceived "capital conversion" benefits. The model was tested on an evenly distributed sample (n=22,109) of students; one group attending elite colleges (with average freshman Scholastic Assessment Test scores of 1200 or higher) and the other attending less-selective colleges. Data for the 40 variables explored in the study were drawn from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) 1994 Freshman Survey. Descriptive analyses provided a profile of elite college students, and regression analyses identified the variables most strongly associated with attendance at highly selective institutions. The study findings support a pattern suggesting that students attending elite schools base future expectations on cultural capital, while those at non-elite schools base expectations on economic capital. Table 1 lists student descriptive statistics, and Table 2 provides standardized regression coefficients for the four selective college choice models. Appendices list elite (non-military) colleges in the CIRP database and provide an outline of the Cultural Capital College Choice Multivariate Model used in the study. (Contains approximately 50 references.) (CH) |
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