title: Race, secondary school course of study, and college type.
abstract: Race shapes many aspects of students' high school experiences relevant to post-secondary educational attainment. We examine the racially-specific effects of high school course of study on type of college attended, whether two-year or four-year, using NELS 1988-2000 and a comprehensive measure of course intensity derived from students' patterns of course-taking. Results include the presence of racially-specific effects of high school course of study, with racial/ethnic minority students in the middle course intensity ranges more likely to attend four-year college than Whites with similar coursework. Using a theory of racialized meritocracy, we also find that educational expectations mediate the relationships among race, course of study, and post-secondary attendance differently for students of different racial groups, such that they play a larger role in mediating the relationship between course of study and post-secondary attendance for White students.
authors.affiliation: University of North Carolina-Charlotte, Department of Sociology, 9201 University City Boulevard, Charlotte, NC 28223, United States. Electronic address: Elizabeth.stearns@uncc.edu.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Stearns
authors.forename: Nandan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jha
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Potochnick