Search Results

Descriptive analyses reveal that among the population represented by NLSY79, about one-third of the college attenders delayed initial college entry, with more than one-quarter of college delayers entering 10 years or more after high school graduation. Delayers are more likely to have commenced studies at two-year colleges and to have chosen a major field of study in STEM than non-delayers, a tendency that appears to become more pronounced for those who delay entry the longest. Of those who enrolled (with or without delay), about two-thirds ended a first enrollment spell without earning a degree and, of those, seventy-five percent returned later re-enrolled at the same or a different college to continue their studies. Generally, non-delayers were more likely than delayers to complete a degree by the end of the first enrollment spell, to return for a second enrollment spell if they had not earned a degree, and to complete a degree eventually. However, periods of enrollment following interruptions do appear to enable completion of degrees. Interestingly, among delayers who also interrupted college enrollment, those w ho started at two-year colleges and later went on to four-year colleges ended up with a bachelor’s degree at a higher rate than those who started at four-year colleges.

Through a novel application of multilevel growth curve modeling, associations between college timing decisions and the level and rate of growth of earnings trajectories were explored by gender, college type, and degree completion. The results point to several important and, in some respects, counterintuitive findings. First, the relationship between initial college enrollment delay and changes in earnings at, during, and after initial college enrollment differed between women and men. Second, among those who delay initial college enrollment, those attending a four-year college without earning a bachelor’s degree fared worst in terms of lifetime earnings. Third, men who delayed entry and earned an associate degree at the end of the first college enrollment spell manifested lower earnings trajectories than men who did not receive the degree. Men who stayed longer in college or earned the associate degree following at least two interruptions appeared to fare somewhat better. Fourth, short-term interruptions appear to have been more favorable to earnings trajectories than short-term delays in college entry. Fifth, for those who leave the first college enrollment without earning a degree, returning to college appears to result in higher earnings than if they had not re-enrolled provided that the interruption was short or a degree is earned at the end of the second enrollment spell.

Taken together, the findings suggest the relevance of college timing decisions in accounting for differences in earnings trajectories. While explanations likely reside in labor market conditions, college practices and access to finance (subsidies in particular) at each age and stage as the cohort passed through the young adult years into middle age, specific implications for college practices and higher edu cation policy follow. Colleges, whether four- or two-year, might draw on both the magnitudes of the patterns and then pursue inquiries to gauge the extent to which existing practices enable and support choices that can be best aligned to learning goals. Further, a particular need is for more complete information on the consequences of timing choices. Policies establishing eligibility for student financial aid subsidies and loans can be evaluated, in the light of financing constraints that might oblige delays, interruptions, barriers to re-enroll, or shorter enrollment spells that are less favorable in terms of eventual earnings trajectories. Further, accreditation might allow for more nuanced appraisal of campus effectiveness with respect to conventional measures of retention and completion.

Future research to extend and apply the results of this study might consist of replication that tracks a more recent youth cohort, to gauge the extent to which the patterns of college timing decisions and their associations with earnings trajectories persist, under different college practices, financing arrangements, and labor market opportunities and constraints. In addition, future research might undertake more detailed, complete cost-benefit calculations evaluated at each age/stage of college timing decisions.