Graduate School Choice: An Examination of Individual and Institutional Effects.

Using the 2000/01 Baccalaureate & Beyond Longitudinal Study (BB next, the student submits applications to graduate schools, and thirdly, the student enrolls in a graduate program. Dependent students who obtained high undergraduate grade point averages majored in the humanities, social or behavioral sciences, mathematics, or life and physical sciences, and attended a master’s or doctoral institution were most likely to aspire to, apply for, and enroll in graduate school. This study also found that, when controlling for all other variables in the models, Hispanic students are more likely to aspire to and apply for graduate school, and African-American students are more likely to aspire to, apply for, and enroll in graduate school than white students. A key variable of interest, undergraduate indebtedness, does not affect graduate school choice when accounting for all other variables in the model.