The influence of financial indebtedness and other factors on the application, acceptance, and enrollment of bachelor's degree recipients within one year of receiving their bachelor's degree.

Abstract

This dissertation examines the contribution of undergraduate indebtedness and other factors to the decisions of 1992--93 baccalaureate degree recipients to apply to graduate or first professional school, their likelihood of being accepted, and if accepted their decisions to enroll within one year of receiving their bachelor's degree. A literature review of relevant economic, sociological, and psychological research helped to produce a comprehensive theoretical model to estimate who is likely to apply to, be accepted to, and enroll in a graduate and first professional school. The sample is from the Baccalaureate and Beyond database developed by the National Center for Education Statistics. It includes students who graduated from college, who were U.S. citizens, who were not American Indians or Alaskan Natives, and who expected to earn a doctoral degree. Both descriptive and regression analyses were conducted to compare students who apply, get accepted and attend with those who do not within one year of receiving their bachelor's degree, and to predict the three outcomes. The logistic regression analyses revealed that indebtedness had a modest effect on the odds of applying to graduate or first professional school for one particular group of student borrowers. When compared to their peers without debt, students with debt ranging from $5,000 to $9,999 were less likely to apply. Beyond this, however, indebtedness was found not to be a deterrent to students applying or enrolling in graduate or first professional school. Having taken the GRE, being male, being Black compared to White, being Asian compared to White, majoring in a pure field, and having a higher grade point average each were found to have a positive influence upon application to graduate or first professional school. Taking the GRE was found to have a positive influence on being accepted. Family income, having taken the GRE, GPA, and satisfaction with undergraduate curriculum each had a positive effect on students' decisions to enroll after they applied and were admitted. The B&B did not include data on the offers of financial aid that applicants received; therefore the influence of fellowship and graduate student assistant offers could not be examined.