Paying for the Prestige: Differences in College Investment between Asian American and White Families

Much research has focused on the relative success of Asian Americans in U.S. higher education, particularly their high rates of enrollment and graduation compared to White Americans. In this research, we investigate one factor that may influence these outcomes: whether Asian American families invest more financially in their children’s college education. Using data from the 2015–2016 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, we find that Asian American families contribute more not only absolutely but also proportionate to their incomes. This is not due to their greater financial resources but is related to Asian American students’ attendance at more selective institutions. Asian American families may adopt college investment strategies that place more value on selective institutions, perhaps because of perceived intrinsic value, high esteem in their social networks, limited information about other institutions, and/or because they anticipate that such experiences more easily translate into desired occupations.

[1]  Brenda Gambol.  Multi-dimensional hyper-selectivity and divergent mobilities: second-generation Filipinos and Chinese , 2022, Ethnic and Racial Studies.

[2]  Yu Xie.  A bamboo ceiling in the classroom? , 2022, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[3]  N. Bandelj,et al.  Investment, Saving, and Borrowing for Children: Trends by Wealth, Race, and Ethnicity, 1998–2016 , 2021, RSF.

[4]  Rachel E. Dwyer,et al.  Financial Stress, Race, and Student Debt During the Great Recession , 2021, Social currents.

[5]  Yvonnes Chen.  Chin, M. M. (2020). Stuck: Why Asian Americans Don't Reach the Top of the Corporate Ladder , 2021, Work and Occupations.

[6]  Devon R. Goss.  Ambitious and Anxious: How Chinese College Students Succeed and Struggle in American Higher Education , 2021, Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews.

[7]  S. Fishman.  Race, ethnicity and nativity and the prestige of colleges attended. , 2021, Social science research.

[8]  Tiffany J. Huang.  Negotiating the workplace: second-generation Asian American professionals’ early experiences , 2020 .

[9]  Yu Xie,et al.  The influence of family background on educational expectations: a comparative study , 2020, Chinese Sociological Review.

[10]  Ying-jeou Ma,et al.  Ambitious and Anxious , 2020 .

[11]  Eric Grodsky,et al.  Inequality and Opportunity in a Perfect Storm of Graduate Student Debt , 2019, Sociology of Education.

[12]  Caitlin Zaloom.  Indebted: How Families Make College Work at Any Cost , 2019 .

[13]  K. Goyette,et al.  Aiming high: social and academic correlates of applying to and attending ‘reach’ universities , 2019, British Journal of Sociology of Education.

[14]  Sherman D. Hanna,et al.  Are Asian Households in the U.S. More Likely than Other Households to Help Children with College Costs? , 2019, Journal of Family and Economic Issues.

[15]  Jason N. Houle,et al.  Racial Disparities in Student Debt and the Reproduction of the Fragile Black Middle Class , 2018, Sociology of Race and Ethnicity.

[16]  Pawan H. Dhingra.  What Asian Americans Really Care about When They Care about Education , 2018 .

[17]  Yool Choi.  Student Employment and Persistence: Evidence of Effect Heterogeneity of Student Employment on College Dropout , 2018 .

[18]  Afet Dundar,et al.  Completing College: A National View of Student Completion Rates--Fall 2011 Cohort. (Signature Report No. 14). , 2017 .

[19]  Paul Attewell,et al.  The earnings payoff from attending a selective college. , 2017, Social science research.

[20]  L. M. Nunn.  Parenting to a Degree: How Family Matters for College Women’s Success , 2017 .

[21]  J. Okamura.  The Latinos of Asia: How Filipino Americans Break the Rules of Race , 2017 .

[22]  E. Walton.  The Latinos of Asia , 2017 .

[23]  B. Logan,et al.  Overworked? An Observation of the Relationship Between Student Employment and Academic Performance , 2016 .

[24]  Sara Goldrick-Rab.  Paying the Price: College Costs, Financial Aid, and the Betrayal of the American Dream , 2016 .

[25]  Robert Bozick,et al.  Premigration School Quality, Time Spent in the United States, and the Math Achievement of Immigrant High School Students , 2016, Demography.

[26]  Melissa Humphries,et al.  Planning for the American Dream: The College-Savings Behavior of Asian and Latino Foreign-Born Parents in the United States , 2016 .

[27]  Yu Xie,et al.  Why do Asian Americans academically outperform Whites? - The cultural explanation revisited. , 2016, Social science research.

[28]  Laura T. Hamilton.  Parenting to a Degree: How Family Matters for College Women's Success , 2016 .

[29]  Jason N. Houle,et al.  Young, Black, and (Still) in the Red: Parental Wealth, Race, and Student Loan Debt , 2016, Race and social problems.

[30]  Yu Xie,et al.  Family Background, Private Tutoring, and Children’s Educational Performance in Contemporary China , 2016, Chinese sociological review.

[31]  Min Zhou,et al.  The Asian American Achievement Paradox , 2015 .

[32]  R. Robinson.  Population Policy and Reproduction in Singapore: Making Future Citizens , 2014 .

[33]  Tomás R. Jiménez,et al.  When White Is Just Alright , 2013 .

[34]  Laura T. Hamilton.  More Is More or More Is Less? Parental Financial Investments during College , 2013 .

[35]  B. Robnett,et al.  Race, Social Support and College Student Retention: A Case Study , 2012 .

[36]  Hyunjoon Park,et al.  The Academic Success of East Asian American Youth , 2012, Sociology of education.

[37]  S. Sun.  Population Policy and Reproduction in Singapore: Making Future Citizens , 2011 .

[38]  Marybeth Gasman,et al.  In Search of a "Good College": Decisions and Determinations Behind Asian American Students' College Choice , 2011 .

[39]  M. Desmond,et al.  Contributions to College Costs by Married, Divorced, and Remarried Parents , 2011 .

[40]  Sondra G. Beverly,et al.  Staying on Course: The Effects of Savings and Assets on the College Progress of Young Adults , 2011, American Journal of Education.

[41]  Hyunjoon Park,et al.  Parental Involvement and Students’ Cognitive Outcomes in Korea , 2011 .

[42]  Brian P. An.  The relations between race, family characteristics, and where students apply to college , 2010 .

[43]  A. Portes,et al.  The Adaptation of the Immigrant Second Generation in America: A Theoretical Overview and Recent Evidence , 2009, Journal of ethnic and migration studies.

[44]  John E. Grable,et al.  The Academic Impact of Financial Stress on College Students , 2008 .

[45]  M. Long.  College quality and early adult outcomes , 2008 .

[46]  A. Gamoran,et al.  Diversification and Inequality in Higher Education: A Comparison of Israel and the United States , 2008 .

[47]  K. Goyette,et al.  College for some to college for all: social background, occupational expectations, and educational expectations over time. , 2008, Social science research.

[48]  Vincent J. Roscigno,et al.  Racial inequality and college attendance: The mediating role of parental investments ☆ , 2007 .

[49]  J. Brand,et al.  Regression and matching estimates of the effects of elite college attendance on educational and career achievement , 2006 .

[50]  K. Goyette,et al.  Who Studies the Arts and Sciences? Social Background and the Choice and Consequences of Undergraduate Field of Study , 2006 .

[51]  Cynthia Feliciano.  Does Selective Migration Matter? Explaining Ethnic Disparities in Educational Attainment among Immigrants' Children 1 , 2005 .

[52]  Scott L. Thomas,et al.  Post-Baccalaureate Wage Growth within Four Years of Graduation: The Effects of College Quality and College Major , 2005 .

[53]  Chunyan Song,et al.  College Attendance and Choice of College Majors Among Asian‐American Students , 2004 .

[54]  Lingxin Hao.  Wealth of Immigrant and Native-Born Americans 1 , 2004 .

[55]  Dongbin Kim.  The Effect of Financial Aid on Students' College Choice: Differences by Racial Groups , 2004 .

[56]  Anthony P. Carnevale,et al.  Socioeconomic Status, Race/Ethnicity, and Selective College Admissions. A Century Foundation Paper. , 2003 .

[57]  R. Oaxaca.  Male-Female Wage Differentials in Urban Labor Markets , 1973 .

[58]  L. Schultz.  Education , 1964 .

[59]  David Kaplan.  Explanation Revisited , 1961, Philosophy of Science.

[60]  J. Massé.  "Every B Closes the Door": The College Choice Process Among Silicon Valley High School Seniors , 2019 .

[61]  Johnathan G. Conzelmann,et al.  2015-16 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:16): Student Financial Aid Estimates for 2015-16. First Look. NCES 2018-466. , 2018 .

[62]  J. Vespa,et al.  America ’ s Families and Living Arrangements : 2007 , 2013 .

[63]  Douglas Houston,et al.  Closing the Asian-White Wealth Gap? , 2009 .

[64]  Isao Takei,et al.  Do College-Educated, Native-Born Asian Americans Face a Glass Ceiling in Obtaining Managerial Authority , 2008 .

[65]  Jennifer Ma,et al.  Education Pays: The Benefits of Higher Education for Individuals and Society , 2007 .

[66]  S. Baum,et al.  Trends in College Pricing, 2003. , 2003 .

[67]  Yu Xie.  SOCIAL MOBILITY AND THE EDUCATIONAL CHOICES OF ASIAN AMERICANS , 2002 .

[68]  Mia Tuan.  Forever Foreigners or Honorary Whites?: The Asian Ethnic Experience Today , 1998 .

[69]  Lawrence M. Spizman,et al.  Race, Financial Aid Awards and college Attendance , 1994 .

[70]  A. Blinder.  Wage Discrimination: Reduced Form and Structural Estimates , 1973 .