RAND Research Topic: College-bound Students

Preserving Access and Quality in an Era of Rising University Tuition Fees

Sep 24, 2012

Many countries have long traditions of full or partial government funding for higher education, but as they struggle with fiscal pressures, they seek ways to shift costs to users. Implementing greater cost sharing without coherent policies to mitigate its impact on students and institutions threatens to worsen both student access and institutional quality.

Charter School Students in Chicago Enjoy Better Graduation, College Entry Rates

May 7, 2008

Chicago's multi-grade charter high schools (those serving students in grades 7-12, 6-12 or K-12) appear to improve their students' chances of graduating and attending college, as compared with the city's traditional public high schools.

First Year of Post-9/11 GI Bill Assessed

Nov 11, 2010

Data on the experiences of student veterans and campus administrators during the first year of the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

In Pursuit of Prestige: Strategy and Competition in U.S. Higher Education

Jan 1, 2004

This volume examines higher education as an industry. The authors focus on how institutions serve four identifiable markets that generate revenue (student enrollment, research funding, public fiscal support, and private giving).

Does It Pay to Attend an Elite Private College? Evidence on the Effects of Undergraduate College Quality on Graduate School Attendance

Jan 1, 1998

In this paper the authors analyze whether undergraduate college quality affects the likelihood that an individual attends graduate school.

Job Opportunities, Economic Resources, and the Postsecondary Destinations of American Youth

Aug 1, 2009

Using two measures of job opportunities—local unemployment rates and the percentage of local workers employed in jobs that require a bachelor's degree—I find support for the warehouse hypothesis. In areas where unemployment is low, with ample jobs that do not require a bachelor's degree, youth have higher odds of entering the labor force.

Not Making the Transition to College: School, Work, and Opportunities in the Lives of Contemporary American Youth

Jul 1, 2011

In applying latent class analysis techniques, we identified multiple types of students who do not pursue college. One group of non-enrollees (27.6%) reports forgoing college because the economic barriers are too high – either because of college affordability or family financial responsibility.

Warming Up, Cooling Out, or Holding Steady? Persistence and Change in Educational Expectations After High School

Oct 1, 2008

This article examines the expectation to complete a bachelor's degree among a predominantly low-income, mainly African American, panel of Baltimore youths at the end of high school, at age 22, and at age 28.

Better Late Than Never? Delayed Enrollment in the High School to College Transition

Sep 1, 2005

In this paper, we examine the antecedents and consequences of timing in the transition from high school to college.

Exposure to Pro-Smoking Media in College Students: Does Type of Media Channel Differentially Contribute to Smoking Risk?

Jan 1, 2013

This study used ecological momentary assessment to examine whether differences in smoking risk were observed for exposures to different pro-smoking media channels.

Military Veterans' Experiences Using the Post-9/11 GI Bill and Adapting to Life on Campus

Nov 11, 2010

The Post-9/11 GI Bill increased the higher education benefits available to eligible individuals, but its implementation presented challenges to both student veterans and campus administrators.

College Admissions and the Stability of Marriage

Jan 1, 1961

A procedure for assigning applicants to colleges which removes all uncertainties and, assuming there are enough applicants, assigns to each college precisely its quota.

Calls of Duty: The New GI Bill

Delayed and erroneous payments plagued the early implementation of the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Both the VA and the U.S. Congress have since taken steps to mitigate initial problems with the law, but higher education institutions will continue to need to guide students in understanding their benefit options.

How Military Veterans Are Using the Post-9/11 GI Bill and Adapting to Life in College

Nov 5, 2010

The Post-9/11 GI Bill increased the higher education benefits available to eligible individuals. Offering benefits to nearly 2 million veterans, it is more generous than previous bills but beneficiaries report challenges in using the new benefits.