THOMAS J. ESPENSHADE Office of Population Research 249 Wallace Hall Princeton University Princeton, NJ 08544 t: 609-258-5233 f: 609-258-1039 e: tje@princeton.edu w: class.princeton.edu |
WHO GETS TO ATTEND SELECTIVE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES, AND HOW DOES THE PROCESS PROMOTE SOCIAL MOBILITY OR REINFORCE INEQUALITY?
The National Study of College Experience (NSCE) explores how courses, activities, social networks, and individual backgrounds affect the experiences of applying to and attending college. We find that the athlete admission “advantage” has been growing, while the underrepresented minority advantage has declined. Eliminating affirmative action would substantially reduce the share of African Americans and Hispanics among admitted students. Preferences for athletes and legacies, however, only mildly displace members of minority groups. A second project tests the “frog pond” model of college admission decisions. Using data from more than 45,000 applications to three elite universities in the fall of 1997, we find that an applicant’s chances of being accepted are increased if the individual comes from a high school with relatively less talented students. I am collaborating with faculty and administrative colleagues to direct the Campus Life in America Student Survey (CLASS), a study of 12,000 freshmen and returning juniors that measures the prevalence and impact of diversity experiences in college and that evaluates what college and university administrators can do to maximize the educational benefits of diversity. CURRICULUM VITA (pdf) SELECTED PUBLICATIONS: “Ansley J. Coale, 1917-2002,” T.J. Espenshade, J. Trussell, and C.F. Westoff, Biographical Memoirs, Volume 87, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., 2005, pp. 3-15. “The Frog Pond Revisited: High School Academic Context, Class Rank, and Elite College Admission,” T.J. Espenshade, L.E. Hale, and C.Y. Chung, Sociology of Education, October 2005, 78(4): 269-293. “Self-Efficacy, Stress, and Academic Success in College,” A. Zajacova, S.M. Lynch, and T.J. Espenshade, Research in Higher Education, September 2005, 46(6): 677-706. “The Opportunity Cost of Admission Preferences at Elite Universities,” T.J. Espenshade and C.Y. Chung, Social Science Quarterly, June 2005, 86(2): 293-305. “Admission Preferences for Minority Students, Athletes, and Legacies at Elite Universities,” T.J. Espenshade, C.Y. Chung, and J.L. Walling, Social Science Quarterly, December 2004, 85(5): 1422-1446. “Immigrant Incorporation and Political Participation in the United States,” S.K. Ramakrishnan and T.J. Espenshade, International Migration Review, Fall 2001, 35(3): 870-909. Link to Espenshade OPR faculty page. opr.princeton.edu/faculty Link to Office of Population Research page: opr.princeton.edu/ |
