The influence of age at degree completion on college wage premiums

Although studies have shown a significant wage gain associated with the possession of a college degree, few have considered at what age the degree was received to estimate this college wage premium. Given the recent increase in the enrollment of older students, this study examines how the size of the premium is affected by college timing while focusing on a possible gender difference. Results from fixed-effects models show that those who complete their degree at 25 or older receive a significantly lower premium than those who graduate at a younger age, while the penalty for late graduation is much smaller for women than men. A further analysis suggests that the late college penalty is partly due to the delayed onset of the cumulative benefits higher education provides, and that women are penalized less for late degree completion because they gain less from college education over the course of time to begin with.