Distance to Degrees: How College Proximity Shapes Students' Enrollment Choices and Attainment across Race-Ethnicity and Socioeconomic Status

Riley Acton, Kalena E. Cortes (), Lois Miller () and Camila Morales ()
Additional contact information
Kalena E. Cortes: Texas A&M University
Lois Miller: University of South Carolina
Camila Morales: University of Texas at Dallas

No 17338, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Leveraging rich data on the universe of Texas high school graduates, we estimate how the relationship between geographic access to public two- and four-year postsecondary institutions and postsecondary outcomes varies across race-ethnicity and socioeconomic status. We find that students are sensitive to the distance they must travel to access public colleges and universities, but there are heterogeneous effects across students – particularly with regard to distance to public two-year colleges (i.e., community colleges). White, Asian, and higher-income students who live in a community college desert (i.e., at least 30 minutes driving time from the nearest public two-year college) substitute towards four-year colleges and are more likely to complete bachelor's degrees. Meanwhile, Black, Hispanic, and lower-income students respond to living in a community college desert by forgoing college enrollment altogether, reducing the likelihood that they earn associate's and reducing the likelihood that they ultimately transfer to four-year colleges and earn bachelor's degrees. These relationships persist up to eight years following high school graduation, resulting in substantial long-term gaps in overall degree attainment by race-ethnicity and income in areas with limited postsecondary access.

Keywords: college accessibility; college proximity; college choices; college enrollment; college attainment; associate's degree; bachelor's degree; college enrollment patterns; two-year colleges; four-year colleges; public postsecondary institutions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I21 I23 I24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 58 pages
Date: 2024-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ure
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Working Paper: Distance to Degrees: How College Proximity Shapes Students’ Enrollment Choices and Attainment Across Race-Ethnicity and Socioeconomic Status (2025)
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