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Post-secondary Educational Attainment of Immigrant and Native Youth
- Social Forces
- The University of North Carolina Press
- Volume 87, Number 1, September 2008
- pp. 121-152
- 10.1353/sof.0.0104
- Article
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We examine immigrant generation differences in college attendance and college type among youth ages 18 through 26 who have graduated from a U.S. high school. Results indicate that first-and second-generation immigrants are significantly more likely to attend college than their third-plus generation counterparts of similar race/ethnicity, socioeconomic and family background characteristics. While parental behaviors and expectations for college attendance do not significantly mediate these generational differences, these factors appear to indirectly affect college-going behavior through their impact on students' verbal ability and academic achievement during high school. Interaction models including race/ethnicity and generation status reveal that the second-generation effects on college attendance are largely driven by Chinese youth, whereas the first-generation effects on college attendance are largely driven by black immigrant students.