Understanding Differences in the Choice of College Attended: The Role of State Public Policies

This study uses multilevel modeling to examine, after taking student-level predictors of enrollment into account, the effects of state public policies on the type of institution high school graduates attend. Four types of state policies (direct appropriations, tuition, financial aid, and K-12 academic preparation) influence the type of college high school graduates select. Observed socioeconomic status differences in college enrollment patterns are not explained by the student- and state-level variables in the model.