College-Going Trajectories Across Early Adulthood: An Inquiry Using Sequence Analysis

Though the diversification of pathways through higher education is widely recognized, little is known about longer-term patterns of undergraduate participation and attainment. I used sequence analysis to examine college-going across early and middle adulthood in nationally-representative data. Clustering of sequence data revealed four latent groups of college-goers: marginal students, rapid completers, lifelong students, and delayed completers. Rapid completers cleaved closest to “normal” college attendance, though even among this group non-standard practices were evident. I also examined how employment, marital, and parental transitions vary among these clusters. Rapid completers were most distinctive, and had the most uniform employment and family trajectories. Other clusters had trajectories that were less uniform and involved earlier transitions than rapid completers, but were more uniform and had later transitions than those who never attended college. Findings support the contention that non-standard pathways through higher education are a mechanism for the reproduction of inequality among college-goers.