Social Class and College Graduation: Some Misconceptions Corrected

Abstract

From past research on the relationship of class origins and education, social scientists generally agree that, although class membership is a strong determinant of who goes to college, it does not determine who graduates. This study presents evidence to suggest that social class and college graduation are in fact, significantly related, especially among the college entrants who were only average students in high school. Rather than economic or intellective factors, the link between the independent and dependent variables appears to be the "psychocultural dimension" of class. Two major explanations are offered for the equivocal findings of earlier research: inattention to the diverse social composition of student bodies at different institutions and neglect of the prolonged academic careers of the college dropouts who came back.

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