Does it pay to attend a for-profit college? Horizontal stratification in higher education

Abstract

Mostly absent from the research investigating the economic returns to postsecondary education are examinations of the economic value of attending a for-profit institution, despite this sector's rapid growth over the past decade. Using the most recent available wave of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, I find that individuals who pursued their postsecondary education at a for-profit college earn significantly lower weekly compensation than individuals who did not attend a for-profit college. This difference is robust to the addition of individual, regional, and employment controls, and it is particularly concentrated among 2-year degree holders, women, and those working in the management and professional fields. Implications for the horizontal stratification of higher education are explored.