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Elite Schools and Opting In: Effects of College Selectivity on Career and Family Outcomes

Author

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  • Suqin Ge
  • Elliott Isaac
  • Amalia Miller

Abstract

Using College and Beyond data and a variant of Dale and Krueger’s matched-applicant approach, we revisit the question of how attending an elite college affects later-life outcomes. We expand the scope by examining additional outcomes and not restricting the sample to full-time workers. For men, controlling for selection eliminates the relationship between college selectivity and earnings; there are also no effects on men’s educational attainment or family outcomes. We find significant effects for women: attending a school with a 100-point-higher average SAT score increases women’s probability of advanced degree attainment and earnings while reducing their likelihood of marriage.

Suggested Citation

  • Suqin Ge & Elliott Isaac & Amalia Miller, 2022. "Elite Schools and Opting In: Effects of College Selectivity on Career and Family Outcomes," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 40(S1), pages 383-427.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlabec:doi:10.1086/717931
    DOI: 10.1086/717931
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    Cited by:

    1. Sandra E. Black & Jeffrey T. Denning & Jesse Rothstein, 2023. "Winners and Losers? The Effect of Gaining and Losing Access to Selective Colleges on Education and Labor Market Outcomes," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(1), pages 26-67, January.
    2. Naijia Guo & Charles Ka Yui Leung, 2021. "Do elite colleges matter? The impact on entrepreneurship decisions and career dynamics," Quantitative Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 12(4), pages 1347-1397, November.
    3. Schwerter, Jakob, 2020. "Impact of universities in a flat hierarchy: Do degrees from top universities lead to a higher wage?," VfS Annual Conference 2020 (Virtual Conference): Gender Economics 224583, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    4. Naven, Matthew & Whalen, Daniel, 2022. "The signaling value of university rankings: Evidence from top 14 law schools," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    5. Naomi Friedman-Sokuler & Moshe Justman, 2025. "Family background, education, and earnings: the limited value of “test-score transmission”," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 1075-1112, September.
    6. Serena Canaan, 2024. "The Impact of Delaying Early School Tracking on Fertility and Marriage Outcomes," Upjohn Working Papers 24-403, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    7. Busso, Matías & Montaño, Sebastián & Muñoz-Morales, Juan S., 2023. "Signaling Specific Skills and the Labor Market of College Graduates," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 12720, Inter-American Development Bank.
    8. Jack Mountjoy & Brent Hickman, 2020. "The Returns to College(s): Estimating Value-Added and Match Effects in Higher Education," Working Papers 2020-08, Becker Friedman Institute for Research In Economics.
    9. Del Bono, Emilia & Fumagalli, Laura & Holford, Angus & Rabe, Birgitta, 2022. "University access: the role of background and COVID-19 throughout the application process," ISER Working Paper Series 2022-07, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    10. Ghazala Azmat & Jack Britton, 2024. "Labour Market Returns to Higher Education," Sciences Po Economics Publications (main) hal-04709561, HAL.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • I26 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Returns to Education
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand

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