Does Social Class Matter Equally for the Timely Transition Into and Out of College? Evidence from the NLSY97

Although the positive relationship between social determinants and college attainment is well established, less is known about how social class specifically relates to the linear and timely completion of postsecondary degrees. In this paper, we empirically examine on-time completion of bachelor’s degrees using social class proxies for a national sample of U.S. high school graduates, using the life course perspective and social selection hypothesis to contextualize social effects on the two key transitions—timely full-time enrollment and timely degree completion—that bound the traditional 4-year college pathway. We find strongly positive associations between several social indicators and attainment of both transition events, although effects are larger and more numerous for the initial transition, indicating social selection may be more influential in launching the 4-year college pathway than in completing it. Gradients of social advantage also appear more complexly gendered and racialized at the start of the college pathway than at the end. Finally, we confirm that parenthood is highly incompatible with a 4-year path to a degree regardless of social class and conspicuously more likely to interfere with the timely completion of a bachelor’s degree than other major life transitions.