A Closed System?

It’s well known that children of college graduates are more likely to graduate from college than children whose parents don’t have college degrees. But what factors drive those who become first-generation college graduates?

It turns out that money is the key. A new study from an NC State sociologist found that first-generation college graduates are more likely to come from families that have higher incomes. And that challenges our generalizations about how open the education system really is, says Anna Manzoni, an associate professor of sociology and a co-author of the study. “College is actually mostly closed to the disadvantaged,” she says.

“College is actually mostly closed to the disadvantaged.”
— Anna Manzoni

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, the study found that among students whose parents do not have a college degree, nearly a third go on to become college graduates. Among parents who did not graduate from college, actions like talking to their children about school, working with them on school projects and choosing neighborhoods for good schools did not matter.

Instead, the resources those parents have best predicted whether their children would graduate from college. The study also found students who come from college-educated families but don’t attend college are more likely to be from lower-income households. Among students with at least one parent who graduated from college, 34% do not graduate from college themselves, meaning more than a third don’t achieve the educational levels of their parents. “We think a college education is the ticket to social mobility no matter where you are from,” Manzoni says. “I’m not so sure about that.”