Graduation Rates by Type of First College Attended

Anne K. Driscoll, University of California, Davis

Among students who aspire to a B.A., those who first enroll in a community college are less likely to earn a bachelor’s degree than those who first enroll in a four-year school. This study explores reasons for this difference in graduation rates. The analyses use longitudinal data to ask who benefits most and least from two-year colleges in terms of earning a B.A. and how pre-transfer and post-transfer experiences contribute to the lower graduation rate of community college students. The odds of earning a B.A. are compared across SES and academic performance categories for students who started at two-year and four-year colleges. Then, the odds of transfer and college graduation given transfer are estimated for community college students. Results suggest that both SES and academic performance predict odds of transferring, but only SES is associated with earning a B.A. given transfer to a four-year school.