Who Gets Their First Choice? Race and Class Differences in College Admissions Outcomes

Abstract

The debate over race-conscious admissions has gained prominence, notably in cases such as Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard. In debates on race-conscious admissions, the question is often not whether a student will go to college, but which college the student will attend. Using data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009, we examined racial and socioeconomic disparities in the probability of acceptance to a student’s first-choice college based on institutional selectivity. Race was a significant predictor of acceptance to a first-choice college, with Black and Asian students facing odds of acceptance that were 46% to 59% lower than those of White peers. However, at highly competitive or most selective colleges, race was no longer a significant predictor, and racial disparities in acceptance rates diminished. Socioeconomic status had no significant association with the probability of acceptance to a first-choice college.