NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS

Statistical Analysis Report March 2001

Postsecondary Education Descriptive Analysis Reports

Competing Choices:

Men’s and Women’s Paths

After Earning a Bachelor’s Degree

Michael S. Clune

Anne-Marie Nuñez

Susan P. Choy

MPR Associates, Inc.

C. Dennis Carroll

Project Officer

National Center for Education Statistics

U.S. Department of Education

Office of Educational Research and Improvement NCES 2001–154
U.S. Department of Education

Rod Paige

Secretary

National Center for Education Statistics

Gary W. Phillips

Acting Commissioner

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the primary federal entity for collecting, analyzing, and

reporting data related to education in the United States and other nations. It fulfills a congressional mandate to

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NCES activities are designed to address high priority education data needs; provide consistent, reliable, complete,

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March 2001

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Suggested Citation

U.S. Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics. Competing Choices: Men’s and Women’s

Paths After Earning a Bachelor’s Degree, NCES 2001–154, by Michael S. Clune, Anne-Marie Nuñez, and Susan P.

Choy. Project Officer: C. Dennis Carroll. Washington, DC: 2001.

For ordering information on this report, write:

U.S. Department of Education

ED Pubs

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or call toll free 1-877-4ED-PUBS or go to the Internet: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/edpubs.html

Contact:

Aurora D’Amico

(202) 219–1365
iii

Executive Summary

During the last 30 years, women have made

great strides in educational attainment, particularly in participating in postsecondary education,

where they not only enroll and attain at higher

rates than men but also do better academically

and have higher educational expectations, on average (U.S. Department of Education 2000;

Berkner, McCormick, and Cuccaro-Alamin 1996;

NPSAS:93 Data Analysis System; McCormick et

al. 1999). However, the superior performance of

women at the undergraduate level has not translated into greater enrollment than males at the

graduate level or enrollment rates equal to males

in all types of graduate programs (McCormick et

al. 1999).

At the same time that young adults are making

decisions about graduate study and employment

after earning their bachelor’s degree, many are

also facing choices about marriage and parenthood. These latter life transitions may play a

greater role in women’s decisions about schooling

and employment at this juncture because women

generally marry and have children at younger ages

than do men. Thus, choices about getting married

and having children may compete with choices

about employment and graduate study more for

women than for men. This report aims to provide

a context for understanding the paths that women

and men take toward graduate degrees, employment, marriage, and parenthood during the first 4

years after earning their bachelor’s degree. In particular, the analysis seeks to identify how these

behaviors are interrelated.

This analysis draws upon data from the 1993

Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study

(B&B:1993/1997), which identified students who

received their bachelor’s degree during academic

year 1992–93. The analysis also used follow-up

surveys conducted in 1994 and 1997 to trace

changes in employment and graduate enrollment,

along with changes in marital status and entry into

parenthood. In order to obtain complete information about graduates’ paths 4 years after degree

receipt, this analysis was limited to graduates who

responded to the second follow-up survey in 1997.

The findings of the report are summarized below.

Gender Differences

Women’s and men’s characteristics and experiences differed both at the time they received

their bachelor’s degree and during the next 4

years.

Characteristics at Bachelor’s Degree

Receipt

Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients,

women differed from men on a number of characteristics, including age, marital and parenthood

status, undergraduate major, grade-point average

(GPA), and educational aspirations. Compared

with men, women were more likely to be under

age 23 (51 percent vs. 42 percent) or over age 29

(19 percent vs. 13 percent). They were also more

likely than men to have married (29 percent vs. 24

percent) and to have children (16 percent vs. 12

percent) by the time they graduated.
Executive Summary

iv

With respect to their undergraduate experiences, women were more likely than men to major

in certain fields, most notably education (18 percent vs. 6 percent) and health professions (10 percent vs. 4 percent). Men, in contrast, were more

likely than women to major in business and management (26 percent vs. 19 percent) and engineering (12 percent vs. 2 percent). Women

graduated with higher GPAs than men: 61 percent

of women had GPAs of 3.0 or higher, compared

with 49 percent of men.

Finally, at the time they earned their bachelor’s

degree, women were more likely than men to expect to earn a graduate degree (87 percent vs. 83

percent). Marital status as well as gender was related to educational plans, with single1 women

being more likely to expect to earn a graduate degree (89 percent) than married women (83 percent) and both married and single men (82 percent

and 84 percent, respectively). Among those expecting to earn a graduate degree, married women

were less likely than single women and both married and single men to expect to earn a firstprofessional or doctoral degree (figure A).

Experiences After Graduation

During the first 4 years after graduation,

women and men had different experiences with

respect to marriage, parenthood, graduate enrollment, graduate attainment, and employment.

Among those who had not married by the time

they graduated, women were more likely than men

to have married within 4 years (32 percent vs. 28

percent) (figure B).

Entry into parenthood occurred at lower rates

than marriage. Within 4 years, 13 percent of

bachelor’s degree recipients who were not parents

 

1Throughout the report, “single” refers to individuals who

have never been married.

Figure A.—Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients

Figure A.—who expected to earn a graduate degree,

Figure A.—percentage distribution according to degree

Figure A.—expected at the time of bachelor’s degree

Figure A.—receipt, by marital status and gender

NOTE: Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding. “Single”

means never been married; “married” means married at time of

bachelor’s degree receipt.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for

Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal

Study, Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.

80

4

16

66

8

27

69

7

24

65

9

25

0

20

40

60

80

100

Master’s degree First-professional

degree

Doctoral degree

Percent

Married women Single women Married men Single men

Graduate degree goal at bachelor’s degree receipt

Figure B.—Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients

Figure B.—who at the time of graduation had never been

Figure B.—married, cumulative percentage married each

Figure B.—month for the next 4 years, by gender

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for

Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal

Study, Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

0 6 12 18 24 30 36 42 48

Months since bachelor’s degree receipt

Women

Men

Cumulative 

percentage married

100

80

60

40

20

0
Executive Summary

v

at graduation became parents. As with marriage,

women were more likely than men to make this

transition (15 percent vs. 11 percent).

After 4 years, 29 percent of bachelor’s degree

recipients had enrolled in a graduate degree program. While women and men were equally likely

to enroll, women were more likely to enroll in

master’s degree programs and men were more

likely to enroll in first-professional and doctoral

programs (figure C).

Figure C.—Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients

Figure C.—who enrolled in a graduate degree program

Figure C.—within 4 years of graduation, percentage

Figure C.—distribution by highest level of enrollment,

Figure C.—by gender

NOTE: Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for

Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal

Study, Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.

68 19 13

83 11 7

0 20 40 60 80 100

Men

Women

Percent

Master’s degree First-professional degree Doctoral degree

Fifteen percent of the 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients earned a graduate degree within 4

years. While women and men were about equally

likely to earn a graduate degree within this time

frame (16 percent and 15 percent, respectively),

among those who did, men were more likely to

earn a first-professional or doctoral degree.

Among those who earned a graduate degree, 13

percent of women and 23 percent of men earned a

first-professional or doctoral degree.

Women and men were about equally likely to

be employed during the first 4 years after earning

their bachelor’s degree, but among those working,

men were more likely to be employed full time.

For example, 2 years after graduation, 84 percent

of women and 86 percent of men were employed;

however, 92 percent of employed men were

working full time, compared with 87 percent of

employed women.

Age, Major, and Grade-Point Average

In addition to gender, several other characteristics of bachelor’s degree recipients were related

to their patterns of marriage, parenthood, graduate

enrollment and attainment, and employment.

These characteristics include age at graduation,

undergraduate field of study, and undergraduate

GPA.

First, older graduates were more likely to have

married before earning their bachelor’s degree.

Among women who had not married by the time

they graduated, women under 30 were more likely

than women who were older to marry within the

next 4 years. For both men and women, those ages

25–29 at graduation were more likely than those

in other age groups to become parents within 4

years of graduation. Age was a factor for graduate

enrollment as well, with both men and women

who were age 22 or younger when they earned

their bachelor’s degree more likely than older

graduates to enter graduate school within 4 years

after graduation.

Second, graduates who majored in professional

fields2 as a group were more likely to be married

and to have children before graduating, compared

with graduates who majored in the arts and sciences. Those majoring in the arts and sciences

 

2Business and management, education, engineering, health

professions, and public affairs/social services.
Executive Summary

vi

were more likely than those in professional fields

to enroll in a graduate program. Probably due to

their higher levels of graduate enrollment, bachelor’s degree recipients who majored in the arts and

sciences were less likely to be employed during

the first 4 years following graduation.

Finally, graduates with higher GPAs were more

likely to be married and have children before

graduating. Those with higher GPAs were also

more likely to enroll in a graduate program, enroll

in a first-professional or doctoral program, and

attain a graduate degree within 4 years of bachelor’s degree receipt.

Interrelationships Among

Transitions

In general, marriage, parenthood, graduate enrollment and attainment, and employment appeared to have different interrelationships for

women and men.

Marriage

Graduate enrollment and marriage were negatively related for women, but not for men. Thirtythree percent of women who did not enroll in a

graduate program within 4 years of bachelor’s

degree receipt married during that period, compared with 29 percent of those who did enroll. In

contrast, the marriage rate for men was about the

same whether they enrolled (27 percent) or not (29

percent).

Parenthood

Graduate enrollment and parenthood were

negatively related for both men and women: 12

percent of men and 16 percent of women who did

not enroll in a graduate program within 4 years of

bachelor’s degree receipt became parents during

that time. In contrast, 9 percent of men and 10

percent of women who enrolled did so. Women

who enrolled in first-professional or doctoral programs were less likely to marry and become parents than were those who enrolled in master’s

programs.

Graduate School Enrollment and

Attainment

Marriage and parenthood are more related to

graduate outcomes for women than for men.

Compared with women who did not marry before

earning their bachelor’s degree, women who did

marry before earning their bachelor’s degree were

less likely to enroll in a graduate program or to

enroll in a first-professional or doctoral degree

program. Similarly, women who married before

graduation were less likely to attain a graduate

degree, and, among those who attained, less likely

to attain a first-professional or doctoral degree.

Similar consistent negative links to graduate enrollment and attainment were observed among

women who became parents after graduation.

Among men, marriage before earning a bachelor’s degree was related to a lower rate of enrollment in graduate school, but marriage within the

next 4 years was not related to the rate of enrollment. In addition, marriage after graduation was

not related to the type of degree program chosen.

Among men who enrolled, neither marriage nor

parenthood were related to men’s graduate degree

attainment.

Employment

While men and women were about equally

likely to be employed after earning their bachelor’s degree, differences existed according to

marital and parenthood status. Among those who

married before graduating, women were generally
Executive Summary

vii

less likely than men to work after graduating. In

contrast, among graduates who did not marry

within 4 years of graduating, women were generally more likely than men to be employed. Parenthood negatively affected women’s employment:

women who became parents either before or

within 4 years after graduating were less likely

than men to work.

Effects of Marriage and Parenthood

on Graduate Enrollment After

Controlling for Other Variables

For this report, multivariate analyses were conducted to examine the net effects of parenthood

and marriage on enrolling in a graduate degree

program after taking into account variables other

than gender that might be related to graduate enrollment—such as age, race/ethnicity, parents’

education, and undergraduate education (control

and level of institution, major, and GPA). Analyses were conducted for women and men separately.

For women, marriage before bachelor’s degree

receipt was negatively related to graduate enrollment. After controlling for other characteristics,

23 percent of women who married before receiving their bachelor’s degree enrolled in graduate

school, compared with 33 percent of women who

had not yet married 4 years after earning their

bachelor’s degree. Marriage was not significantly

related to graduate enrollment for men, however,

after controlling for other characteristics.

References

Berkner, L.K., McCormick, A.C., and CuccaroAlamin, S. (1996). Descriptive Summary of

1989–90 Beginning Postsecondary Students: 5

Years Later, With an Essay on Postsecondary

Persistence and Attainment (NCES 96–155).

U.S. Department of Education, National Center

for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S.

Government Printing Office.

McCormick, A., Nuñez, A.-M., Shah, V., and

Choy, S.P. (1999). Life After College: A Descriptive Summary of 1992–93 Bachelor’s Degree Recipients in 1997 (NCES 1999–155).

U.S. Department of Education, National Center

for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S.

Government Printing Office.

U.S. Department of Education, National Center

for Education Statistics. (2000). The Condition

of Education 2000 (NCES 2000–062). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
viii

Foreword

This report aims to provide a context for understanding women’s and men’s paths toward

graduate degrees, employment, marriage, and parenthood during the first 4 years after earning

their bachelor’s degree. The first section provides a profile of male and female bachelor’s degree

recipients in 1992–93, examining their demographic and educational characteristics, including

their postbaccalaureate degree expectations. The second and third sections describe transitions

into marriage, parenthood, graduate enrollment and attainment, and postbaccalaureate employment. Several aspects of each outcome of interest are studied, including the overall rates, annual

rates, rates at specific points in time, and additional characteristics of the transition (such as the

degree program for graduate enrollment). The fourth section revisits the postgraduate transitions

studied in sections two and three, but focuses on their interrelationships. The fifth, and final, section describes attempts to identify the net effects of individual variables on the likelihood of

graduate enrollment after controlling for other related variables.

The report uses data collected through the 1992–93 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal

Study (B&B:1993) and the two follow-ups conducted in 1994 and 1997 (B&B:1993/1994 and

B&B:1993/1997). The B&B Study tracks the experiences of a cohort of college graduates who

received their bachelor’s degrees during the 1992–93 academic year and were first interviewed as

part of the 1992–93 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:1993). The B&B panel

used for this report consists of the 83 percent of NPSAS:1993 respondents who participated

in all three rounds of interviews. This panel was weighted to represent all 1992–93 bachelor’s

degree recipients. Detailed information on this survey is available on the NCES website:

http://nces.ed.gov.

The estimates presented in this report were produced using the B&B:1993/1997 Data

Analysis System (DAS). The DAS is a microcomputer application that allows users to specify

and generate their own tables from the B&B:1993/1997 data and is available for public use

through the NCES website. The DAS produces the design-adjusted standard errors necessary for

testing the statistical significance of differences shown in these tables. Additional information

about the DAS is included in appendix B of this report and on the NCES website at

http://nces.ed.gov/das.
ix

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of all those who contributed to this report. At MPR Associates, Shirley He and Chloe Huynh ran the tables. Laura Horn provided helpful suggestions at all stages. Barbara Kridl supervised the production of the report. Andrea

Livingston edited it, and Francesca Tussing produced the graphics and formatted the tables, with

the help of Renee Macalino.

Special thanks are due to the following for their careful reviews and thoughtful comments:

Dennis Carroll, Paula Knepper, Roslyn Korb, Marilyn McMillen, Stephen Broughman, and Edith

McArthur of NCES; Elizabeth Warner from Planning and Evaluation Service, Lisa Anthony

from the Office of the General Counsel, Brenda Compton-Turner from the Office of Bilingual

Education and Minority Language Affairs, Clifford Adelman from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, and Ricardo Hernandez from the Office of Vocational and Adult Education.
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xi

Table of Contents

Page

Executive Summary .................................................................................................................. iii

Foreword.................................................................................................................................... viii

Acknowledgments...................................................................................................................... ix

List of Tables ............................................................................................................................. xiii

List of Figures............................................................................................................................ xvi

Introduction............................................................................................................................... 1

Research Questions ............................................................................................................... 2

Data and Measurement Issues ............................................................................................... 2

Report Organization .............................................................................................................. 5

Profile of 1992–93 Bachelor’s Degree Recipients................................................................... 7

Patterns of Marriage and Parenthood..................................................................................... 17

Marriage Before Graduation.................................................................................................. 17

Marriage After Graduation.................................................................................................... 17

Parenthood Before Graduation.............................................................................................. 21

Parenthood After Graduation ................................................................................................ 21

Patterns of Graduate School Enrollment, Graduate Degree Attainment, and

Employment............................................................................................................................... 27

Graduate School Enrollment ................................................................................................. 27

Graduate Degree Attainment................................................................................................. 34

Employment After Graduation.............................................................................................. 34

Interrelationships Among Transitions.................................................................................... 41

Marriage ................................................................................................................................ 41

Parenthood............................................................................................................................. 41

Graduate School Enrollment ................................................................................................. 44

Graduate Degree Attainment................................................................................................. 47

Employment .......................................................................................................................... 48

Controlling for Related Variables ........................................................................................... 51

Summary and Conclusions....................................................................................................... 59
Table of Contents

xii

Page

Bibliography .............................................................................................................................. 61

Appendix A—Glossary ............................................................................................................. 63

Appendix B—Technical Notes and Methodology .................................................................. 71
xiii

List of Tables

Table Page

1 Percentage distribution of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients according to selected

demographic characteristics, by gender........................................................................... 8

2 Percentage distribution of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients according to selected

enrollment characteristics, by gender .............................................................................. 10

3 Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who expected to earn a graduate

degree, and among those who did, percentage distribution according to graduate

degree expected at the time of bachelor’s degree receipt, by gender and selected

demographic and enrollment characteristics ................................................................... 13

4 Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who expected to earn a graduate

degree, and among those who did, percentage distribution according to graduate

degree expected at the time of bachelor’s degree receipt, by gender and marital and

parenthood status at graduation....................................................................................... 15

5 Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who had married before

graduation, by gender and selected demographic and enrollment characteristics........... 18

6 Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who had not married before graduation,

the percentage who married within 4 years of graduation, by gender and selected

demographic and enrollment characteristics ................................................................... 19

7 Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who had not previously married, the

percentage who married during each of the 4 years following graduation, by gender

and age............................................................................................................................. 21

8 Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who had children before

graduation, by gender and selected demographic and enrollment characteristics........... 22

9 Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who did not have children before

graduation, the percentage who had a first child within 4 years of graduation, by

gender and selected demographic and enrollment characteristics................................... 23

10 Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who did not previously have children,

the percentage who had a first child during each of the 4 years following graduation,

by gender and age............................................................................................................ 25
List of Tables

xiv

Table Page

11 Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who enrolled in a graduate degree

program within 4 years of graduation, by gender and selected demographic and

enrollment characteristics................................................................................................ 28

12 Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who had not previously enrolled, the

percentage who enrolled in a graduate degree program during each of the 4 years

following graduation, by gender and age ........................................................................ 29

13 Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who enrolled in a graduate degree

program within 4 years of graduation, percentage distribution according to the highest

level of enrollment, by gender and selected demographic and enrollment

characteristics .................................................................................................................. 31

14 Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who were enrolled in any

postsecondary education at the end of each year following graduation, by gender and

selected demographic and enrollment characteristics ..................................................... 32

15 Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who were enrolled in any postsecondary

education at the end of each year following graduation, percentage who were enrolled

full time, by gender and selected demographic and enrollment characteristics .............. 33

16 Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who attained a graduate degree

within 4 years of bachelor’s degree receipt, by gender and selected demographic and

enrollment characteristics................................................................................................ 35

17 Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who had not previously attained a

graduate degree, the percentage who did so during each of the 4 years following

bachelor’s degree receipt, by gender and age.................................................................. 36

18 Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who attained a graduate degree within 4

years of graduation, percentage distribution according to highest degree earned, by

gender and selected demographic and enrollment characteristics................................... 37

19 Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who were employed at the end of

each year following graduation, by gender and selected demographic and enrollment

characteristics .................................................................................................................. 38

20 Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who were employed, percentage who

were employed full time at the end of each year following graduation, by gender and

selected demographic and enrollment characteristics ..................................................... 39

21 Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who had not married before graduation,

the percentage who married within 4 years of graduation, by gender and selected

enrollment and employment characteristics .................................................................... 42
List of Tables

xv

Table Page

22 Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who did not have children before

graduation, the percentage who became parents within 4 years of graduation, by

gender and selected enrollment and employment characteristics.................................... 43

23 Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who enrolled in a graduate degree

program within 4 years of graduation, by gender and marital and parenthood status..... 44

24 Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who enrolled in a graduate degree

program within 4 years of graduation, percentage distribution according to the highest

level of enrollment, by gender and marital and parenthood status.................................. 46

25 Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who attained a graduate degree

within 4 years of bachelor’s degree receipt, by gender and marital and parenthood

status................................................................................................................................ 47

26 Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who attained a graduate degree within 4

years of graduation, percentage distribution according to highest degree earned, by

gender and marital and parenthood status ....................................................................... 48

27 Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who were employed during

various months following graduation, by gender and marital and parenthood status ..... 49

28 Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who enrolled in a graduate degree

program within 4 years of earning their bachelor’s degree and the adjusted percentage

after taking into account the covariation of the variables listed in the table ................... 53

29 Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who enrolled in a graduate degree

program within 4 years of earning their bachelor’s degree and the adjusted percentage

after taking into account the covariation of the variables listed in the table: Women .... 55

30 Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who enrolled in a graduate degree

program within 4 years of earning their bachelor’s degree and the adjusted percentage

after taking into account the covariation of the variables listed in the table: Men.......... 57

Appendix Table

B1 Standard errors for table 3: Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who

expected to earn a graduate degree, and among those who did, percentage distribution

according to graduate degree expected at the time of bachelor’s degree receipt, by

gender and selected demographic and enrollment characteristics................................... 74
xvi

List of Figures

Figure Page

Executive Summary Figures

A Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who expected to earn a graduate degree,

percentage distribution according to degree expected at the time of bachelor’s degree

receipt, by marital status and gender ............................................................................... iv

B Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who at the time of graduation had never

been married, cumulative percentage married each month for the next 4 years, by

gender .............................................................................................................................. iv

C Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who enrolled in a graduate degree

program within 4 years of graduation, percentage distribution by highest level of

enrollment, by gender...................................................................................................... v

Text Figures

1 Percentage distribution of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients according to age at

the time of bachelor’s degree receipt, by gender............................................................. 9

2 Percentages of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who were married and who had

children when they graduated, by gender........................................................................ 9

3 Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients with undergraduate majors in

various fields, by gender.................................................................................................. 11

4 Percentage distribution of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients according to

undergraduate grade-point average (GPA), by gender .................................................... 12

5 Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who expected to earn a graduate degree,

percentage distribution according to degree expected at the time of bachelor’s degree

receipt, by marital status and gender ............................................................................... 15

6 Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who at the time of graduation had never

been married, cumulative percentage married each month for the next 4 years, by

gender .............................................................................................................................. 20
List of Figures

xvii

Figure Page

7 Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who at the time of graduation had no

children, cumulative percentage with children each month for the next 4 years, by

gender .............................................................................................................................. 24

8 Cumulative percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who had ever

enrolled in a graduate degree program each month for the next 4 years, by marital

status and gender ............................................................................................................. 45
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1

Introduction

During the last 30 years, women have made great strides in educational attainment, particularly in participating in postsecondary education, where they not only enroll and attain at

higher rates than men but also do better academically and have higher educational expectations,

on average. Among 1998 high school graduates, 69 percent of women, compared with 62 percent

of men, were enrolled in postsecondary education the October following their high school

graduation (U.S. Department of Education 2000). Among students who began postsecondary

education during 1989–90, women were more likely than men to have attained a bachelor’s degree by 1994 (61 percent vs. 53 percent) (Berkner, McCormick, and Cuccaro-Alamin 1996).

Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients, women reported a higher average grade-point average (GPA) than men (3.11 vs. 2.98) (NPSAS:93 Data Analysis System). In 1993, 87 percent of

female bachelor’s degree recipients reported that they expected to earn a graduate degree, compared with 83 percent of their male counterparts (McCormick et al. 1999).

However, the superior performance of women at the undergraduate level has not translated

into greater enrollment than men at the graduate level or enrollment rates equal to men in all

types of graduate programs. Four years after earning a bachelor’s degree, women were no more

likely than men to have enrolled in a graduate degree program. In each case, about 30 percent

enrolled (McCormick et al. 1999). Furthermore, among those who enrolled in a graduate program, men were nearly twice as likely as women to enroll in an MBA, first-professional, or doctoral degree program (46 percent vs. 24 percent, respectively). Three-quarters of women and 54

percent of men enrolled in a master’s program other than an MBA.

Why are women not entering graduate school at higher rates than men, given their higher

undergraduate GPAs and degree expectations? Why are women so much less likely to pursue

MBA, first-professional, and doctoral degrees? One explanation might be that men and women

choose different undergraduate fields of study. Another contributing factor might be differences

in the age distribution of bachelor’s degree recipients. However, there is another set of factors

that may also influence levels of graduate enrollment and attainment by gender—the competing

choices women and men face after receiving the bachelor’s degree. During these years, graduate

study and employment are just two areas in which young adults make choices. In addition, many

are also making decisions about marriage and becoming parents. While both men and women

make such decisions during the early years after receiving the bachelor’s degree, these issues may
Introduction

2

influence women’s decisions about schooling and employment more than men’s because women

generally marry and enter parenthood at younger ages. In 1998, the estimated median age at marriage for women was 25.0, compared with 26.7 for men (Lugaila 1998). In addition, traditional

roles assign women greater responsibility for household work and child care and, therefore, less

freedom to pursue career ambitions (Hochschild 1989). Thus, choices regarding marriage and

parenthood may affect choices about employment and graduate study more for women than for

men.

Research Questions

This analysis aims to provide a context for understanding women’s and men’s paths toward

postgraduate degrees, employment, marriage, and parenthood during the 4 years after earning

their bachelor’s degree. In doing so, the analysis seeks to identify how these transitions are interrelated and how specific characteristics of employment and enrollment are related to marital

status and parenthood. Specifically, the report examines the following questions:

• What are the patterns of transition into marriage, parenthood, graduate study, and employment during the first 4 years after college? How do these patterns differ for women

and men? What other characteristics, such as age and undergraduate field of study,

help explain differences in the postgraduate behaviors of women and men?

• What are the interrelationships among types of transitions? For example, how do enrollment transitions vary by gender and marital status? How do marital transitions vary

by enrollment status?

• Are the interrelationships among the various types of postgraduate transitions stronger

for women or men? For example, does becoming a parent have a stronger influence on

women’s likelihood of graduate enrollment than it does for men?

Data and Measurement Issues

This analysis draws upon data from the 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study

(B&B:1993/1997), which identified students who received their bachelor’s degree during academic year 1992–93. The analysis also used follow-up surveys conducted in 1994 and 1997 to

trace changes in employment and graduate enrollment, along with changes in marital status and

entry into parenthood. In order to obtain complete information about graduates’ paths 4 years after degree receipt, this analysis was limited to graduates who responded to the second follow-up

survey in 1997.
Introduction

3

Transitions

This report examines five possible transitions in the lives of bachelor’s degree recipients

during the years immediately following graduation: marriage, parenthood, graduate enrollment,

graduate attainment, and employment. In the initial survey conducted in 1992–93, respondents

indicated both their marital and parenthood status. In the 1994 and 1997 follow-up surveys, respondents reported any changes in status, the dates of these changes, monthly patterns of enrollment and employment, and the timing and nature of graduate degree receipt. Using the data

collected in these surveys, this report looks at the following outcomes:

• Transitions before bachelor’s degree receipt—Some bachelor’s degree recipients have

already married, become parents, or both by the time they graduate. This analysis examines the proportions of bachelor’s degree recipients who had made these transitions

before earning their bachelor’s degree.

• Transitions within 4 years of bachelor’s degree receipt—While marriage and enrollment are not necessarily permanent states, having ever married or ever enrolled in

graduate school are important transitions. This analysis examines the proportion of

bachelor’s degree recipients who made transitions into marriage, parenthood, graduate

enrollment, or graduate attainment during the first 4 years after graduation.

• Annual transitions during the first 4 years after bachelor’s degree receipt—Understanding patterns of postgraduate transitions requires further scrutiny beyond the total

proportion of graduates ever making a transition. The timing of transitions and whether

they are rising or declining is also of interest. This analysis examines the proportions of

graduates who made transitions during each year after graduation among those who

had not previously made such a transition.

• Proportions enrolled and employed—Enrollment and employment are not permanent

states, and virtually all graduates become employed at some time during the early years

after bachelor’s degree receipt. To better understand their patterns of enrollment and

employment, the proportions of graduates who were enrolled and employed are examined at specific points in time, namely the 12th, 24th, 36th, and 48th months following

receipt of the bachelor’s degree.

• Characteristics of enrollment, attainment, and employment—Students may enroll or

attain at three different graduate program levels (master’s, first-professional, and doctoral). In addition, enrollment and employment may be full time or part time. These

characteristics of enrollment and employment are considered in the analysis.

Comparison Groups

In examining each outcome described above, this report examines a range of demographic

and educational characteristics of graduates that might influence outcomes during the years following graduation. The report also examines how the outcomes are interrelated. One hypothesis
Introduction

4

is that marriage and parenthood affect the likelihood of enrollment and employment, especially

for women; another is that enrollment affects the likelihood of marriage and childbearing. Because the relationships between the demographic transitions and enrollment behavior are likely to

be further complicated by other background characteristics, a multivariate analysis was conducted to determine the effect of marriage and parenthood on graduate enrollment, net of background characteristics such as age and major.

The analysis considers several contrasts. First, it considers differences between women and

men; these differences are considered for all women and men and also between women and men

with similar characteristics, such as women and men under age 23 at bachelor’s degree receipt.

Second, the analysis considers differences within gender. For example, female graduates under

age 23 at the time of bachelor’s degree receipt are compared with older female graduates, and

similar comparisons are made for men. Third, the analysis considers changes in the likelihood of

an event occurring over time. For women and men overall and within groups organized by characteristics, the likelihood of an event occurring during the first year after graduating is compared

with the likelihood of such an event happening at a later time.

The Timing of Postbaccalaureate Events

When studying events that occur over time, it is often not helpful to take measurements at a

calendar point in time. For example, it would have been possible to measure enrollment in

graduate school by June 1997 for 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients. For most 1992–93

graduates, June 1997 represents a date approximately 4 years after their graduation in spring

1993. However, for others who graduated in summer 1992, June 1997 is approximately 5 years

after graduation. Thus, the estimate of enrollment 4 years later would be biased upward because

those who graduated in summer 1992 would have been exposed to the possibility of enrolling in

graduate school for a longer period than those who graduated in spring 1993. The same problem

arises when looking at the likelihood of an event occurring during a particular month. For example, those who graduated in July 1992 should have been more likely than those who graduated in

May 1993 to marry during June 1993.

Instead of measuring outcomes by a particular calendar date, this analysis uses the month of

graduation as the baseline for measuring later events—that is, event timing is measured according to the number of months that have elapsed since graduation. As a result, it is possible to

measure graduate enrollment for all 1992–93 graduates with the same amount of exposure to the

possibility of enrolling in graduate school. Sample members include graduates who received their

bachelor’s degree any time from July 1992 through June 1993. The second follow-up interviews

were conducted from April through December 1997. Respondents were asked about their be-
Introduction

5

haviors from the date of bachelor’s degree receipt to the second follow-up interview. Thus, the

longest observation period is for a July 1992 graduate who completed the second interview during December 1997, a period of 66 months, while the shortest is for a June 1993 graduate who

completed the second interview in April 1997, a period of 47 months. Because the number of respondents with 47-month observation periods is relatively small, the analysis uses the 4-year cutoff of 48 months as a point of measurement. Consequently, postgraduate behaviors and events

are measured through June 1996 for those who graduated in July 1992 and through May 1997 for

those who graduated in June 1993.

Report Organization

This report is organized into five sections. The first section provides a profile of female and

male bachelor’s degree recipients in 1992–93, examining their demographic and educational

characteristics and the first set of transitions described above—those they made before receiving

their bachelor’s degree. The second and third sections look at the transitions made during the first

4 years after earning their bachelor’s degree, emphasizing marriage, parenthood, graduate school

enrollment, graduate degree attainment, and postbaccalaureate employment. In these sections,

several aspects of each outcome of interest are studied, including the overall rates, annual rates,

rates at specific points in time, and additional characteristics of the transition (such as the degree

program for graduate enrollment). The fourth section revisits the postgraduate transitions studied

in sections two and three, but focuses on their interrelationships. The fifth, and final, section describes attempts to identify the net effects of individual variables on the likelihood of graduate

enrollment after controlling for other related variables.
THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
7

Profile of 1992–93 Bachelor’s Degree Recipients

Women’s and men’s behaviors during the early years after earning their bachelor’s degree

are likely to be related to their characteristics and situations before graduation. Therefore, this

section reviews how women and men differed with respect to their demographic characteristics,

educational experiences, and degree aspirations when they received their bachelor’s degree.

At graduation, women and men differed on a number of demographic characteristics, notably age, marital status, and parenthood status (table 1). Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients, women (51 percent) were more likely than men (42 percent) to be 22 years or younger

(figure 1). Women were also more likely than men to be in the oldest age category: a higher percentage of women (19 percent) than men (13 percent) were age 30 or older when they graduated.

Conversely, men tended to be more concentrated than women in the 23–24 and 25–29 age categories when they graduated (30 percent vs. 20 percent, and 15 percent vs. 10 percent, respectively). In addition, women were more likely than men to be married and to have children at the

time they graduated. Twenty-nine percent of women were married when they graduated, compared with 24 percent of men, and 16 percent of women had children, compared with 12 percent

of men (figure 2).

Women and men who received their bachelor’s degree during 1992–93 also differed on

certain characteristics related to their undergraduate education, including time to graduation, type

of institution attended, field of study, and GPA (table 2). Women were more likely than men to

complete their bachelor’s degree in 4 or fewer years (40 percent vs. 31 percent). Also, although

similar proportions of men and women graduated from public or private institutions, men were

more likely than women to graduate from doctorate-granting institutions.

In terms of their undergraduate fields of study, women and men had made quite different

choices. Figure 3 shows the percentages of men and women who majored in each field, arrayed

to show first the fields in which men were more likely to major than women, then the fields in

which women were more likely to major than men.1 About equal percentages of women majored

in education (18 percent) and business and management (19 percent), although women were

more likely than men to major in education (18 percent vs. 6 percent) and less likely than men to

major in business and management (19 percent vs. 26 percent). In addition, women’s under-

 

1Men and women were about equally likely to major in one field shown in table 2: public affairs/social services.
Profile of 1992–93 Bachelor’s Degree Recipients

8

Table 1.—Percentage distribution of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients according to selected

Table 1.—demographic characteristics, by gender

Total Women Men

 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 

Age received bachelor’s degree 

 22 or younger 46.7 50.7 42.0 

 23–24 24.6 20.3 29.8 

 25–29 12.3 10.2 14.9 

 30 or older 16.4 18.9 13.3 

Race/ethnicity

 American Indian/Alaskan Native 0.6 0.8 0.4 

 Asian/Pacific Islander 4.6 3.8 5.5 

 Black, non-Hispanic 5.9 7.2 4.4 

 Hispanic 5.1 5.6 4.5 

 White, non-Hispanic 83.4 82.2 84.9 

 Other 0.4 0.4 0.3 

Parents’ educational attainment

 Less than high school 4.6 5.3 3.8 

 High school or equivalency 26.8 27.9 25.4 

 Some postsecondary education 19.3 19.7 18.9 

 Bachelor’s degree 23.8 22.9 24.9 

 Advanced degree 25.5 24.2 27.0 

Marital status at bachelor’s degree receipt

 Married 26.4 28.6 23.6 

 Separated 0.5 0.7 0.2 

 Divorced 3.2 4.3 1.8 

 Widowed 0.2 0.4 0.0 

 Cohabiting, not married 1.4 1.4 1.4 

 Single, never been married 68.4 64.6 73.0 

Parenthood status at bachelor’s degree receipt

 No children 86.1 84.2 88.3 

 One or more children 14.0 15.8 11.7 

NOTE: Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond

Longitudinal Study, Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.
Profile of 1992–93 Bachelor’s Degree Recipients

9

Figure 1.—Percentage distribution of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients according to age at the time of

Figure 1.—bachelor’s degree receipt, by gender

NOTE: Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond

Longitudinal Study, Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.

51

20

10

19

42

30

15 13

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

22 or younger 23–24 25–29 30 or older

Age at bachelor’s degree receipt

Percent

Women Men

Figure 2.—Percentages of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who were married and who had children

Figure 2.—when they graduated, by gender

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond

Longitudinal Study, Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.

29

16

24

12

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Married One or more children 

Marital and parenthood status at bachelor’s degree receipt

Percent

Women Men
Profile of 1992–93 Bachelor’s Degree Recipients

10

Table 2.—Percentage distribution of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients according to selected enrollment

Table 2.—characteristics, by gender

Total Women Men

 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0

Timing of postsecondary enrollment 

 Immediately following high school 82.1 82.6 81.6 

 Delayed 1 year 6.9 6.2 7.8 

 Delayed 2 or more years 10.9 11.2 10.6 

Time to bachelor’s degree

 Four or fewer years 35.7 39.5 31.1 

 More than 4, up to 5 years 27.8 25.7 30.3 

 More than 5 years 36.5 34.7 38.6 

Degree-granting institution control

 Public 4-year 66.8 65.8 68.0 

 Private, not-for-profit 4-year 31.7 32.9 30.4 

 Private, for-profit 1.5 1.3 1.7 

Degree-granting institution level

 Nondoctorate 43.2 45.8 40.1 

 Doctorate 55.3 52.5 58.6 

 Other 1.5 1.7 1.3 

Attendance at 2-year institution

 Never attended 69.6 68.7 70.7 

 Attended 30.4 31.3 29.4 

Baccalaureate degree major

 Professional fields 51.6 52.4 50.6 

 Business and management 22.1 19.0 25.8 

 Education 12.6 18.0 6.1 

 Engineering 6.1 1.6 11.5 

 Health professions 7.5 10.2 4.2 

 Public affairs/social services 3.3 3.7 2.9 

 Arts and sciences 34.4 33.1 35.8 

 Biological sciences 4.4 3.9 5.0 

 Mathematics/other sciences 5.7 4.2 7.5 

 Social science 9.4 8.6 10.4 

 History 1.9 1.3 2.6 

 Humanities 9.2 10.1 8.2 

 Psychology 3.7 5.1 2.1 

 Other 14.1 14.5 13.6 

GPA at bachelor’s degree institution

 Under 2.5 15.1 12.0 18.9 

 2.5 to 2.99 29.0 26.6 32.0 

 3.0 to 3.49 33.0 34.2 31.5 

 3.5 or above 22.9 27.2 17.7 

NOTE: Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond

Longitudinal Study, Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.
Profile of 1992–93 Bachelor’s Degree Recipients

11

Figure 3.—Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients with undergraduate majors in various fields,

Figure 3.—by gender

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond

Longitudinal Study, Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.

5

10

10

18

1

4

4

9

2

19

2

8

4

6

3

5

8

10

12

26

0 10 20 30 40 50

Psychology

Humanities

Health professions

Education

History

Biological sciences

Mathematics and other sciences

Social sciences

Engineering

Business and management

Percent

Men

Women

Fields in which men were more

likely than women to major

Fields in which women were

more likely than men to major

graduate GPAs were notably higher than those of men (figure 4): 27 percent of women had GPAs

of 3.5 or higher, compared with 18 percent of men. More men than women had GPAs below 3.0.

At the time they earned their bachelor’s degree, women and men had different expectations

for graduate degree attainment (table 3). During the year they graduated, more women than men

indicated that they expected to earn a graduate degree (87 percent vs. 83 percent). Among

bachelor’s degree recipients who were 22 or younger, who majored in a professional field (including engineering), or who had a GPA below 3.0, women were more likely than men to expect

to earn a graduate degree. Among those with expectations beyond a bachelor’s degree, women

were more likely than men to expect to earn a master’s degree (70 percent vs. 66 percent), while

men were more likely than women to expect to earn a first-professional degree (9 percent
Profile of 1992–93 Bachelor’s Degree Recipients

12

Figure 4.—Percentage distribution of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients according to undergraduate 

Figure 4.—grade-point average (GPA), by gender

NOTE: Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond

Longitudinal Study, Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.

12

27

34

27

19

32 32

18

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Under 2.5 2.5 to 2.99 3.0 to 3.49 3.5 or above

Grade-point average

Percent

Women Men

vs. 6 percent). However, similar percentages expected to earn a doctoral degree (24 percent of

women and 26 percent of men).

Marriage and parenthood status at the time of graduation appeared to influence women’s

degree expectations, but not those of men (table 4). Single women were the most likely to expect

to earn a graduate degree: 89 percent, compared with 83 percent of married women, 84 percent of

single men, and 82 percent of married men. But among those with graduate degree expectations,

married women stood out as being considerably more likely than others to expect to earn a master’s degree: 80 percent, compared with 66 percent of single women, 65 percent of single men,

and 69 percent of married men (figure 5).

Among those without children when they graduated, more women than men (88 percent vs.

83 percent) indicated that they expected to attain an advanced degree (table 4). Among those with

children, the proportions of women and men who expected to earn a graduate degree did not differ significantly (86 and 84 percent, respectively). However, when comparing women with and

without children among those expecting to earn a graduate degree, those with children were less

likely to expect to earn a first-professional degree and more likely to expect to earn a master’s

degree.
Profile of 1992–93 Bachelor’s Degree Recipients

13

Table 3.—Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who expected to earn a graduate degree, and

Table 3.—among those who did, percentage distribution according to graduate degree expected at the time

Table 3.—of bachelor’s degree receipt, by gender and selected demographic and enrollment characteristics

Expected Degree expected

to earn a Master’s First- Doctoral

graduate degree degree professional degree

 Total 86.9 70.1 6.3 23.6

Age received bachelor’s degree

 22 or younger 89.9 65.9 8.5 25.6

 23–24 84.3 71.9 4.3 23.8

 25–29 84.0 73.7 4.4 21.8

 30 or older 83.6 77.5 3.3 19.1

Race/ethnicity

 American Indian/Alaskan Native 91.9 58.1 7.2 34.7

 Asian/Pacific Islander 89.8 46.0 17.7 36.3

 Black, non-Hispanic 88.9 55.5 9.8 34.7

 Hispanic 91.1 65.9 7.9 26.2

 White, non-Hispanic 86.2 73.1 5.3 21.6

 Other — ———

Parents’ educational attainment

 Less than high school 85.7 70.7 3.8 25.6

 High school or equivalency 85.1 73.7 4.9 21.5

 Some postsecondary education 89.5 69.8 7.1 23.1

 Bachelor’s degree 84.0 71.4 5.3 23.3

 Advanced degree 90.8 65.3 8.1 26.5

Degree-granting institution 

 Public 4-year 86.7 70.8 6.0 23.1

 Private, not-for-profit 4-year 87.8 67.9 7.0 25.2

Degree-granting institution level

 Nondoctorate 87.2 74.7 4.2 21.1

 Doctorate 88.1 66.4 8.2 25.4

Baccalaureate degree major

 Professional fields 86.2 77.7 4.5 17.8

 Business and management 81.1 83.8 5.3 10.9

 Education 92.8 72.8 3.3 24.0

 Engineering 91.9 68.8 5.3 26.0

 Health professions 81.9 79.1 4.2 16.7

 Public affairs/social services 90.1 73.7 8.3 18.0

 Arts and sciences 89.5 56.9 9.2 34.0

 Biological sciences 89.6 42.3 18.5 39.2

 Mathematics/other sciences 89.8 63.8 5.5 30.7

 Social science 92.1 57.8 12.9 29.3

 History 83.5 47.0 12.5 40.5

 Humanities 86.4 65.5 3.5 31.1

 Psychology 92.3 47.9 7.6 44.5

 Other 83.7 72.4 6.3 21.3

GPA at bachelor’s degree institution

 Under 2.5 82.2 75.5 5.5 19.0

 2.5 to 2.99 86.6 72.8 5.9 21.3

 3.0 to 3.49 88.2 70.0 6.8 23.3

 3.5 or above 88.0 66.9 6.4 26.7

Women
Profile of 1992–93 Bachelor’s Degree Recipients

14

Table 3.—Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who expected to earn a graduate degree, and

Table 3.—among those who did, percentage distribution according to graduate degree expected at the time

Table 3.—of bachelor’s degree receipt, by gender and selected demographic and enrollment characteristics

Table 3.——Continued

Expected Degree expected

to earn a Master’s First- Doctoral

graduate degree degree professional degree

 Total 83.4 65.7 8.6 25.8

Age received bachelor’s degree 

 22 or younger 85.5 59.9 11.6 28.5

 23–24 80.9 67.6 6.6 25.8

 25–29 82.2 71.8 6.0 22.2

 30 or older 83.5 73.5 6.4 20.1

Race/ethnicity

 American Indian/Alaskan Native — ———

 Asian/Pacific Islander 87.1 54.4 10.8 34.8

 Black, non-Hispanic 91.0 59.7 9.5 30.8

 Hispanic 88.9 59.3 9.9 30.8

 White, non-Hispanic 82.4 67.3 8.3 24.4

 Other — ———

Parents’ educational attainment

 Less than high school 81.3 69.1 6.5 24.4

 High school or equivalency 80.1 70.9 6.3 22.8

 Some postsecondary education 84.9 67.5 7.0 25.5

 Bachelor’s degree 80.8 68.1 8.2 23.8

 Advanced degree 87.3 56.1 12.8 31.1

Degree-granting institution 

 Public 4-year 82.1 68.3 7.8 23.9

 Private, not-for-profit 4-year 86.3 61.6 10.4 28.0

Degree-granting institution level

 Nondoctorate 82.1 68.4 6.4 25.3

 Doctorate 85.2 63.5 10.1 26.4

Baccalaureate degree major

 Professional fields 82.2 75.5 5.8 18.8

 Business and management 80.2 81.5 5.4 13.1

 Education 88.7 69.8 2.0 28.2

 Engineering 81.7 73.0 4.5 22.5

 Health professions 83.7 57.5 14.5 28.0

 Public affairs/social services 86.1 70.6 9.6 19.8

 Arts and sciences 88.4 53.5 12.6 33.9

 Biological sciences 93.3 25.1 30.0 44.9

 Mathematics/other sciences 86.0 63.3 5.8 30.9

 Social science 87.2 60.4 16.9 22.8

 History 92.7 63.8 8.3 27.9

 Humanities 86.5 54.9 4.7 40.3

 Psychology 92.9 37.4 6.3 56.3

 Other 74.8 62.2 8.0 29.8

GPA at bachelor’s degree institution

 Under 2.5 75.3 78.5 6.9 14.6

 2.5 to 2.99 82.5 69.9 5.4 24.7

 3.0 to 3.49 85.5 58.8 10.7 30.5

 3.5 or above 88.5 60.2 11.6 28.2

—Sample size too small for a reliable estimate.

NOTE: Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study,

Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.

Men
Profile of 1992–93 Bachelor’s Degree Recipients

15

Table 4.—Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who expected to earn a graduate degree, and

Table 4.—among those who did, percentage distribution according to graduate degree expected at the time

Table 4.—of bachelor’s degree receipt, by gender and marital and parenthood status at graduation

Expected Degree expected

to earn a Master’s First- Doctoral

graduate degree degree professional degree

 Total 86.9 70.1 6.3 23.6

Marital status at graduation

 Married 82.5 80.2 3.7 16.1

 Single, never been married 88.8 65.7 7.6 26.6

Parenthood status at graduation

 No children 87.5 68.7 6.9 24.4

 One or more children 86.4 74.7 3.7 21.6

 Total 83.4 65.7 8.6 25.8

Marital status at graduation

 Married 81.6 68.6 7.0 24.4

 Single, never been married 83.6 65.2 9.5 25.3

Parenthood status at graduation

 No children 83.0 65.5 9.0 25.5

 One or more children 84.0 69.8 7.8 22.4

NOTE: Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study,

Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.

Women

Men

Figure 5.—Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who expected to earn a graduate degree, percentage

Figure 5.—distribution according to degree expected at the time of bachelor’s degree receipt, by marital

Figure 5.—status and gender

NOTE: Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding. “Single” means never been married; “married” means married at time

of bachelor’s degree receipt.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond

Longitudinal Study, Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.

80

4

16

66

8

27

69

7

24

65

9

25

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Master’s degree First-professional degree Doctoral degree

Degree goal

Percent

Married women Single women Married men Single men
THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
17

Patterns of Marriage and Parenthood

This section reviews patterns of marriage and parenthood among the 1992–93 bachelor’s

degree recipients, both before and after receiving their degree. It describes differences by gender,

age, race/ethnicity, parents’ educational attainment, undergraduate institution type, field of study,

and GPA.

Marriage Before Graduation

Thirty-four percent of female graduates and 26 percent of male graduates married before

earning their bachelor’s degree (table 5). For men and for women, having married before graduation was related to various demographic characteristics, most notably age. As might be expected,

the proportion who had ever been married at the time of graduation increased with age for both

men and women. Among women age 22 or younger when they graduated, 14 percent had married

before graduating, compared with 87 percent of those age 30 or older. Among men, 9 percent of

those 22 or younger had married before graduating, compared with 82 percent of those 30 or

older. Across all age groups, men were less likely than women to have married.

While women were generally more likely than men to have married before graduating, the

proportions of men and women who did so differed by institution type, field of study, and GPA

in similar ways for women and men. For example, for both women and men, those who graduated from doctorate-granting institutions were less likely than those who graduated from nondoctorate-granting institutions to have married before graduating. Similarly, for both genders,

those majoring in professional fields were more likely than those majoring in arts and sciences to

have married. In addition, for both men and women, as their undergraduate GPA increased, so

did their likelihood of having been married.

Marriage After Graduation

During the 4 years after graduation, marriage is a fairly common experience for bachelor’s

degree recipients. Among graduates who had not married before graduating, 30 percent married

during the first 4 years after college (table 6). Overall, women were more likely than men to

marry during this time frame (32 percent vs. 28 percent) (figure 6). Within age groups, a higher

rate of marriage for women was observed among graduates age 24 or younger: 31 percent
Patterns of Marriage and Parenthood

18

Table 5.—Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who had married before graduation, 

Table 5.—by gender and selected demographic and enrollment characteristics

Total Women Men

 Total 30.2 34.0 25.6 

Age received bachelor’s degree

 22 or younger 11.9 14.1 8.5 

 23–24 21.0 25.4 17.3 

 25–29 45.3 51.7 39.9 

 30 or older 85.2 87.1 81.9 

Race/ethnicity

 American Indian/Alaskan Native 57.2 61.5 —

 Asian/Pacific Islander 15.2 15.4 14.9 

 Black, non-Hispanic 24.8 23.4 27.6 

 Hispanic 33.5 37.4 27.5 

 White, non-Hispanic 30.9 35.2 25.8 

 Other — ——

Parents’ educational attainment

 Less than high school 57.6 58.6 56.0 

 High school or equivalency 38.9 43.3 32.8 

 Some postsecondary education 30.3 35.2 23.9 

 Bachelor’s degree 24.5 28.2 20.2 

 Advanced degree 20.5 21.6 19.4 

Degree-granting institution 

 Public 4-year 30.3 35.4 24.4 

 Private, not-for-profit 4-year 29.9 31.6 27.5 

Degree-granting institution level

 Nondoctorate 34.9 38.6 29.6 

 Doctorate 26.6 30.0 22.8 

Baccalaureate degree major

 Professional fields 36.2 41.5 29.5 

 Business and management 32.9 37.2 29.0 

 Education 41.8 43.6 35.1 

 Engineering 28.7 29.7 28.6 

 Health professions 44.4 48.9 31.1 

 Public affairs/social services 32.1 37.4 23.8 

 Arts and sciences 22.9 24.8 20.7 

 Biological sciences 19.2 22.0 16.4 

 Mathematics/other sciences 26.8 26.0 27.4 

 Social science 17.1 19.4 14.8 

 History 24.9 31.0 21.5 

 Humanities 25.4 26.9 23.0 

 Psychology 28.8 29.5 26.7 

 Other 26.3 27.9 24.1 

GPA at bachelor’s degree institution

 Under 2.5 20.7 23.0 18.9 

 2.5 to 2.99 24.2 26.5 21.9 

 3.0 to 3.49 29.6 32.3 26.0 

 3.5 or above 45.8 49.3 39.3 

—Sample size too small for a reliable estimate.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study,

Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.
Patterns of Marriage and Parenthood

19

Table 6.—Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who had not married before graduation, the 

Table 6.—percentage who married within 4 years of graduation, by gender and selected demographic and

Table 6.—enrollment characteristics

Total Women Men

 Total 30.0 31.8 28.0

Age received bachelor’s degree

 22 or younger 28.9 31.0 26.0

 23–24 33.4 37.8 30.1

 25–29 31.8 30.8 32.4

 30 or older 15.1 11.5 19.6

Race/ethnicity

 American Indian/Alaskan Native — ——

 Asian/Pacific Islander 17.3 22.5 12.4

 Black, non-Hispanic 20.1 16.9 26.8

 Hispanic 27.4 26.9 28.1

 White, non-Hispanic 31.8 34.4 29.1

 Other — ——

Parents’ educational attainment

 Less than high school 34.8 37.4 30.6

 High school or equivalency 30.3 30.7 29.8

 Some postsecondary education 31.4 32.7 29.9

 Bachelor’s degree 31.8 35.6 27.9

 Advanced degree 27.2 29.2 25.1

Degree-granting institution 

 Public 4-year 32.5 35.1 29.9

 Private, not-for-profit 4-year 25.1 26.3 23.7

Degree-granting institution level

 Nondoctorate 32.0 33.8 29.8

 Doctorate 29.2 31.0 27.4

Baccalaureate degree major

 Professional fields 33.2 37.2 29.0

 Business and management 29.6 31.3 28.3

 Education 39.4 43.4 27.1

 Engineering 30.9 37.7 29.7

 Health professions 39.0 43.0 30.2

 Public affairs/social services 30.2 26.7 34.7

 Arts and sciences 27.3 27.4 27.2

 Biological sciences 22.3 22.8 21.8

 Mathematics/other sciences 28.7 31.3 26.9

 Social science 27.7 26.5 28.7

 History 24.4 21.8 25.6

 Humanities 25.9 25.6 26.4

 Psychology 36.1 34.7 40.2

 Other 26.6 26.7 26.5

GPA at bachelor’s degree institution

 Under 2.5 30.5 30.4 30.6

 2.5 to 2.99 28.7 30.7 26.7

 3.0 to 3.49 30.9 33.1 28.3

 3.5 or above 32.5 35.6 27.6

—Sample size too small for a reliable estimate.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study,

Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.
Patterns of Marriage and Parenthood

20

Figure 6.—Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who at the time of graduation had never been

Figure 6.—married, cumulative percentage married each month for the next 4 years, by gender

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond

Longitudinal Study, Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

0 6 12 18 24 30 36 42 48

Months since bachelor’s degree receipt

Cumulative 

percentage married

Women

Men

50

40

30

20

10

0

of females age 22 or younger married within 4 years, compared with 26 percent of their male

peers. Similarly, 38 percent of women ages 23–24 married within 4 years, while 30 percent of

men in that age group did so. Among graduates ages 25–29 and 30 or older, the marriage rates of

men and women did not differ significantly. Women ages 22 or younger and 25–29 married at

the same rate (31 percent).

Women who majored in professional fields were more likely than women who majored in

arts and sciences to marry within 4 years of graduating (37 percent vs. 27 percent). Within the

professional fields, women who majored in education were more likely to marry than women

who majored in business and management. In addition, while women who majored in professional fields were more likely than their male counterparts to marry (37 percent vs. 29 percent),

women and men who majored in arts and sciences were equally likely to marry within 4 years of

graduating (27 percent).

Among women and men who had not married before graduating, the proportions who did

marry during the first year after graduation were low (3 percent and 2 percent, respectively) (table

7). The proportion of those who married for the first time during the second year after graduation

rose sharply for both men (to 8 percent) and women (to 11 percent).
Patterns of Marriage and Parenthood

21

Table 7.—Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who had not previously married, the percentage

Table 7.—who married during each of the 4 years following graduation, by gender and age

First year Second year Third year Fourth year

 Total 2.6 9.4 9.9 12.0 

Age received bachelor’s degree 

 22 or younger 2.1 8.8 9.2 12.3 

 23–24 3.1 11.2 11.2 12.9 

 25–29 3.5 9.6 12.0 11.2 

 30 or older 2.5 2.1 7.9 3.4 

 Total 2.8 10.6 10.5 12.4 

Age received bachelor’s degree 

 22 or younger 2.5 10.0 9.8 12.9 

 23–24 3.6 14.1 13.3 13.5 

 25–29 2.9 9.8 12.2 10.0 

 30 or older 3.0 1.6 6.5 0.8 

 Total 2.3 8.1 9.3 11.7 

Age received bachelor’s degree 

 22 or younger 1.7 7.3 8.4 11.4 

 23–24 2.8 9.0 9.7 12.5 

 25–29 3.8 9.5 11.9 11.9 

 30 or older 1.9 2.8 9.7 6.7 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study,

Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.

Women

Men

Total

Parenthood Before Graduation

Fourteen percent of 1992–93 graduates had children by the time they graduated (table 8), with

women being more likely than men to be parents (16 percent vs. 12 percent). Age was a factor as

well: older graduates were more likely to have had children by the time they graduated. For example, 71 percent of females age 30 and older at graduation had children, compared with 24 percent of

females ages 25–29. Among males, 61 percent who were 30 or older when they graduated had children, while 16 percent of those 25–29 were parents at the time. In addition, women who majored in

professional fields were more likely to have children than women who majored in arts and sciences

(20 percent vs. 12 percent). Among both men and women, graduates with GPAs of 3.5 or higher

were more likely than others to have children before graduating.

Parenthood After Graduation

Among those without children when they received their bachelor’s degree, 13 percent became parents within 4 years of graduating (table 9). As with marriage after graduation, women
Patterns of Marriage and Parenthood

22

Table 8.—Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who had children before graduation,

Table 8.—by gender and selected demographic and enrollment characteristics

Total Women Men

 Total 14.0 15.8 11.7 

Age received bachelor’s degree 

 22 or younger 1.1 1.4 0.8 

 23–24 4.8 5.2 4.4 

 25–29 19.8 23.9 16.4 

 30 or older 67.3 71.1 61.4 

Race/ethnicity

 American Indian/Alaskan Native 38.0 42.9 —

 Asian/Pacific Islander 8.8 10.7 6.9 

 Black, non-Hispanic 21.9 21.0 23.7 

 Hispanic 19.2 20.2 17.7 

 White, non-Hispanic 13.2 15.1 11.0 

 Other — ——

Parents’ educational attainment

 Less than high school 39.9 40.0 39.6 

 High school or equivalency 20.1 22.0 17.7 

 Some postsecondary education 12.5 15.5 8.6 

 Bachelor’s degree 10.0 11.9 7.9 

 Advanced degree 8.2 8.0 8.3 

Degree-granting institution 

 Public 4-year 13.1 15.9 9.7 

 Private, not-for-profit 4-year 15.4 15.6 15.3 

Degree-granting institution level

 Nondoctorate 18.6 20.6 15.9 

 Doctorate 10.4 11.9 8.9 

Baccalaureate degree major

 Professional fields 16.8 19.6 13.4 

 Business and management 15.7 16.8 14.8 

 Education 19.5 20.4 16.1 

 Engineering 8.1 6.2 8.4 

 Health professions 21.7 24.5 13.9 

 Public affairs/social services 19.2 22.0 15.2 

 Arts and sciences 10.5 11.6 9.4 

 Biological sciences 10.8 13.2 8.5 

 Mathematics/other sciences 11.3 11.7 11.1 

 Social science 8.4 9.2 7.6 

 History 8.6 7.4 9.2 

 Humanities 10.8 11.1 10.3 

 Psychology 14.8 16.1 11.2 

 Other 11.9 12.1 11.5 

GPA at bachelor’s degree institution

 Under 2.5 11.3 13.7 9.4 

 2.5 to 2.99 9.8 10.1 9.4 

 3.0 to 3.49 12.1 13.9 9.7 

 3.5 or above 24.4 25.5 22.5 

—Sample size too small for a reliable estimate.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study,

Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.
Patterns of Marriage and Parenthood

23

Table 9.—Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who did not have children before graduation,

Table 9.—the percentage who had a first child within 4 years of graduation, by gender and selected

Table 9.—demographic and enrollment characteristics

Total Women Men

 Total 13.1 14.5 11.3 

Age received bachelor’s degree 

 22 or younger 8.7 10.3 6.4 

 23–24 14.9 17.7 12.5 

 25–29 27.2 32.6 23.0 

 30 or older 18.2 18.6 17.7 

Race/ethnicity

 American Indian/Alaskan Native 17.2 — —

 Asian/Pacific Islander 4.1 6.5 1.9 

 Black, non-Hispanic 21.6 21.0 22.7 

 Hispanic 18.4 21.4 13.8 

 White, non-Hispanic 12.6 13.8 11.3 

 Other — ——

Parents’ educational attainment

 Less than high school 17.4 19.1 14.8 

 High school or equivalency 16.3 18.9 13.2 

 Some postsecondary education 14.4 16.2 12.3 

 Bachelor’s degree 12.0 12.8 11.1 

 Advanced degree 9.0 9.2 8.7 

Degree-granting institution 

 Public 4-year 13.2 14.5 11.9 

 Private, not-for-profit 4-year 12.4 14.4 9.9 

Degree-granting institution level

 Nondoctorate 15.3 17.7 12.4 

 Doctorate 11.6 12.5 10.7 

Baccalaureate degree major

 Professional fields 15.4 17.7 12.7 

 Business and management 13.6 14.9 12.6 

 Education 18.4 19.7 14.1 

 Engineering 10.5 7.7 11.0 

 Health professions 19.9 21.5 15.8 

 Public affairs/social services 16.7 19.3 13.3 

 Arts and sciences 10.0 11.1 8.8 

 Biological sciences 7.0 7.1 7.0 

 Mathematics/other sciences 13.7 14.5 13.2 

 Social science 7.9 8.8 6.9 

 History 5.7 5.6 5.7 

 Humanities 11.1 12.0 9.7 

 Psychology 13.2 15.0 8.4 

 Other 12.7 12.1 13.4 

GPA at bachelor’s degree institution

 Under 2.5 12.7 13.0 12.6 

 2.5 to 2.99 13.6 16.8 10.5 

 3.0 to 3.49 12.2 12.4 12.1 

 3.5 or above 14.1 16.0 10.8 

—Sample size too small for a reliable estimate.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study,

Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.
Patterns of Marriage and Parenthood

24

were more likely than men to become parents within 4 years (15 percent vs. 11 percent) (figure

7). This gender difference in parenthood was observed across all age categories except among

graduates age 30 or older, for whom there was no difference. Among graduates under age 30

when they graduated, parenthood after graduation rose with age: 9 percent of graduates age 22 or

younger became parents within 4 years, compared with 15 percent of graduates ages 23–24 and

27 percent ages 25–29. Among both men and women, graduates who majored in professional

fields were more likely than those who majored in arts and sciences to become parents within 4

years of graduating. Although the proportions of graduates who became parents appeared to rise

each year during the 4-year period, the increases were not statistically significant (table 10). For

both men and women, the proportions who became parents 3 and 4 years after graduation were

higher than among those who became parents 1 year after.

Figure 7.—Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who at the time of graduation had no children,

Figure 7.—cumulative percentage with children each month for the next 4 years, by gender

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond

Longitudinal Study, Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

0 6 12 18 24 30 36 42 48

Months since bachelor’s degree receipt

Cumulative percentage 

with children

Women

Men

50

40

30

20

10

0
Patterns of Marriage and Parenthood

25

Table 10.—Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who did not previously have children,

Table 10.—the percentage who had a first child during each of the 4 years following graduation,

Table 10.—by gender and age

First year Second year Third year Fourth year

 Total 2.3 2.9 3.7 4.9 

Age received bachelor’s degree 

 22 or younger 1.4 1.8 2.5 3.3 

 23–24 2.1 2.9 4.4 6.3 

 25–29 5.3 6.6 8.3 10.4 

 30 or older 5.6 6.2 4.1 3.5 

 Total 2.6 3.3 4.3 5.2 

Age received bachelor’s degree 

 22 or younger 1.7 2.2 3.1 3.8 

 23–24 3.0 3.1 5.7 7.2 

 25–29 5.1 9.8 9.8 12.7 

 30 or older 6.3 7.4 4.2 2.0 

 Total 1.9 2.4 3.1 4.5 

Age received bachelor’s degree 

 22 or younger 0.9 1.4 1.6 2.7 

 23–24 1.4 2.8 3.4 5.5 

 25–29 5.4 4.1 7.2 8.7 

 30 or older 4.8 4.9 4.0 5.3 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond

Longitudinal Study, Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.

Women

Men

Total
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27

Patterns of Graduate School Enrollment, Graduate Degree

Attainment, and Employment

As bachelor’s degree recipients think about life after college, among the options they consider are graduate school, employment, or a combination of the two. What they choose to do depends on a variety of factors, such as their career interests, academic performance in college, and

family situation. A later section of this report explores the factors related to graduate enrollment

controlling for some of these factors. In this section, the relationships between these choices and

marriage and parenthood are explored.

Graduate School Enrollment

Four years after graduating, 29 percent of 1992–93 degree recipients had enrolled in a

graduate degree program (table 11). At graduation, these women and men differed in age, marital

status, and parenthood status; in their educational characteristics, such as GPAs, majors, and degree expectations; and also in their rates of transition into marriage and parenthood after graduation. However, women and men were about equally likely to enroll in graduate school at some

point during the first 4 years after earning their bachelor’s degree.

Age was a factor in graduate enrollment for all bachelor’s degree recipients. Regardless of

gender, those age 22 or younger when they had earned their bachelor’s degree were more likely

than older graduates to enroll in a graduate degree program during the 4 years after graduation.

Among women, 34 percent of degree recipients age 22 or younger enrolled in graduate school

within 4 years, compared with 21 to 27 percent of older women. Similarly, 37 percent of male

degree recipients age 22 or younger enrolled, compared with 22 to 26 percent of older graduates.

Overall, those who majored in arts and sciences as undergraduates were more likely than

those who majored in professional fields to enroll in a graduate program (37 percent vs. 25 percent). Among graduates who majored in professional fields, business and management majors

were less likely to enter a graduate degree program (16 percent) than were education, engineering, and health professions majors (37, 33, and 26 percent, respectively). Among arts and sciences graduates, biological science majors were more likely to enroll in graduate school (52

percent) than were graduates who majored in mathematics and other sciences, social sciences,

and humanities (38 percent, 35 percent, and 30 percent, respectively).
Patterns of Graduate School Enrollment, Graduate Degree Attainment, and Employment

28

Table 11.—Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who enrolled in a graduate degree

Table 11.—program within 4 years of graduation, by gender and selected demographic and enrollment

Table 11.—characteristics

Total Women Men

 Total 28.9 28.8 29.0

Age received bachelor’s degree 

 22 or younger 35.5 34.2 37.3

 23–24 21.5 20.5 22.3

 25–29 21.9 21.9 21.8

 30 or older 26.5 26.6 26.2

Race/ethnicity

 American Indian/Alaskan Native 21.6 15.7 —

 Asian/Pacific Islander 31.4 29.9 32.6

 Black, non-Hispanic 31.5 32.8 28.9

 Hispanic 31.1 28.3 35.6

 White, non-Hispanic 28.5 28.5 28.5

 Other 26.9 — —

Parents’ educational attainment

 Less than high school 23.7 25.5 20.7

 High school or equivalency 24.5 24.6 24.2

 Some postsecondary education 26.7 26.2 27.3

 Bachelor’s degree 28.2 28.7 27.8

 Advanced degree 37.3 36.6 38.1

Degree-granting institution 

 Public 4-year 27.7 28.1 27.3

 Private, not-for-profit 4-year 32.3 31.2 33.9

Degree-granting institution level

 Nondoctorate 26.1 26.2 25.9

 Doctorate 31.0 30.9 31.2

Baccalaureate degree major

 Professional fields 25.1 26.0 24.0

 Business and management 15.9 15.3 16.4

 Education 36.8 37.1 35.4

 Engineering 32.8 33.3 32.7

 Health professions 26.4 24.3 32.9

 Public affairs/social services 24.8 27.7 20.4

 Arts and sciences 37.1 35.6 38.9

 Biological sciences 51.7 47.3 55.9

 Mathematics/other sciences 38.0 36.3 39.2

 Social science 34.9 34.1 35.6

 History 39.7 36.5 41.6

 Humanities 29.8 28.9 31.1

 Psychology 41.4 41.5 41.1

 Other 22.8 23.8 21.6

GPA at bachelor’s degree institution

 Under 2.5 12.7 12.7 12.8

 2.5 to 2.99 25.1 25.1 25.1

 3.0 to 3.49 32.3 31.2 33.6

 3.5 or above 40.2 37.5 45.4

—Sample size too small for a reliable estimate.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study,

Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.
Patterns of Graduate School Enrollment, Graduate Degree Attainment, and Employment

29

In addition, GPA was strongly related to graduate school entry within the 4 years after

graduation: among both men and women, degree recipients with GPAs of 3.5 or higher were

much more likely to have entered graduate school than those with GPAs below 2.5. Men with

GPAs of 3.5 or higher were more likely to enroll in graduate school than were women with

similar GPAs (45 percent vs. 38 percent).

In each of the 4 years after earning their bachelor’s degree, men and women enrolled in a

graduate degree program at similar rates (table 12). The rate of entry into graduate school (for

men and women together) was highest during the first year following bachelor’s degree receipt

and decreased measurably during the second and third years. Among those who had not previously enrolled, 14 percent of bachelor’s degree recipients entered a graduate degree program

Table 12.—Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who had not previously enrolled, the percentage

Table 12.—who enrolled in a graduate degree program during each of the 4 years following graduation,

Table 12.—by gender and age

First year Second year Third year Fourth year

 Total 13.8 8.4 5.3 5.0

Age received bachelor’s degree 

 22 or younger 17.6 10.6 6.8 6.0

 23–24 10.2 4.9 3.9 4.4

 25–29 7.7 6.9 4.6 4.8

 30 or older 12.5 9.0 4.1 3.7

 Total 13.0 8.5 5.7 5.2

Age received bachelor’s degree 

 22 or younger 16.3 9.8 7.1 6.2

 23–24 8.9 4.9 4.3 4.2

 25–29 6.3 8.1 4.2 5.4

 30 or older 12.0 9.8 4.2 3.6

 Total 14.7 8.1 4.8 4.9

Age received bachelor’s degree 

 22 or younger 19.6 11.8 6.2 5.7

 23–24 11.4 4.9 3.5 4.5

 25–29 8.9 5.8 4.8 4.2

 30 or older 13.3 7.7 4.1 3.8

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond

Longitudinal Study, Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.

Women

Men

Total
Patterns of Graduate School Enrollment, Graduate Degree Attainment, and Employment

30

during the first year. New enrollments fell to 8 percent during the second year, and to 5 percent

during the third year (remaining at 5 percent in the fourth year).

Among degree recipients who enrolled in graduate education during the 4-year period, men

were less likely than women to enroll in master’s degree programs (68 percent vs. 83 percent),

but were more likely to enroll in first-professional programs (19 percent vs. 11 percent) or doctoral programs (13 percent vs. 7 percent) (table 13). Age at bachelor’s degree receipt and level of

enrollment in graduate school were negatively related. Among those who enrolled, students who

were younger at the time of receiving their bachelor’s degree were less likely than older graduates to enroll in a master’s program and more likely to enter a first-professional or doctoral degree program. For example, 77 percent of women age 22 or younger had enrolled in a master’s

program within 4 years of graduation, compared with 94 percent age 30 or older. A similar pattern held for men.

The higher proportions of women pursuing master’s degrees (compared with men) persisted by field of study. For professional fields and for arts and sciences, women were more likely

to pursue a master’s degree (92 percent and 71 percent, respectively) than were men (84 percent

and 56 percent, respectively). Men and women with higher GPAs were less likely than those with

lower GPAs to enroll in a master’s program but were more likely to enroll in first-professional or

doctoral programs. Among women who enrolled in a graduate degree program, 75 percent of

those with undergraduate GPAs of 3.5 or higher enrolled in a master’s program, compared with

93 percent of graduates with GPAs below 2.5. Similarly, 60 percent of men who earned GPAs of

3.5 or more had enrolled in master’s degree programs, while 85 percent of men who had GPAs

below 2.5 did so.

At the end of each year following graduation, similar proportions of men and women were

enrolled in some type of further postsecondary education (not just graduate degree programs): 17

percent at the end of the first year, 18 percent at the end of the second year, 19 percent at the end

of the third year, and 18 percent at the end of the fourth year (table 14). Among those enrolled,

men were more likely to attend full time (table 15). One year after graduation, among those who

were enrolled, 75 percent of men and 64 percent of women attended postsecondary education full

time. Over time, this difference between men and women persisted.
Patterns of Graduate School Enrollment, Graduate Degree Attainment, and Employment

31

Table 13.—Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who enrolled in a graduate degree program within

Table 13.—4 years of graduation, percentage distribution according to the highest level of enrollment,

Table 13.—by gender and selected demographic and enrollment characteristics

Women Men

First- FirstMaster’s professional Doctoral Master’s professional Doctoral

degree degree degree degree degree degree

 Total 82.6 10.7 6.8 68.3 18.8 13.0 

Age received bachelor’s degree 

 22 or younger 77.0 14.3 8.7 60.6 24.5 14.9 

 23–24 86.1 6.8 7.1 69.3 16.9 13.8 

 25–29 94.0 3.7 2.4 84.8 6.9 8.3 

 30 or older 93.7 4.2 2.1 86.2 7.8 6.0 

Race/ethnicity

 American Indian/Alaskan Native ——— ———

 Asian/Pacific Islander 63.7 27.4 9.0 49.1 41.2 9.7 

 Black, non-Hispanic 84.7 11.0 4.3 72.8 12.3 15.0 

 Hispanic 80.8 15.0 4.2 68.8 18.2 13.0 

 White, non-Hispanic 83.3 9.5 7.2 69.7 17.3 13.0 

 Other ——— ———

Parents’ educational attainment

 Less than high school 88.0 5.8 6.3 75.4 20.9 3.7 

 High school or equivalency 88.9 6.8 4.3 77.9 12.3 9.8 

 Some postsecondary education 87.5 7.0 5.5 70.3 20.0 9.8 

 Bachelor’s degree 79.4 11.7 8.8 68.9 18.7 12.3 

 Advanced degree 77.0 13.8 9.2 59.0 22.9 18.1 

Degree-granting institution 

 Public 4-year 83.1 10.3 6.7 70.6 16.3 13.1 

 Private, not-for-profit 4-year 81.5 11.4 7.1 64.0 23.2 12.8 

Degree-granting institution level

 Nondoctorate 87.0 9.0 4.0 77.6 12.5 9.9 

 Doctorate 79.0 12.0 9.1 62.8 22.5 14.7 

Baccalaureate degree major

 Professional fields 92.2 5.3 2.5 83.8 9.2 6.9 

 Business and management 92.1 7.5 0.4 87.8 10.5 1.8 

 Education 93.2 3.6 3.3 85.3 7.7 7.0 

 Engineering 86.6 5.0 8.5 83.9 4.2 11.9 

 Health professions 90.4 6.8 2.8 68.6 19.5 12.0 

 Public affairs/social services 93.3 6.7 0.0 85.4 14.6 0.0 

 Arts and sciences 71.1 16.3 12.6 55.9 25.2 18.9 

 Biological sciences 43.5 31.1 25.4 20.8 48.4 30.7 

 Mathematics/other sciences 68.7 14.0 17.3 57.2 11.4 31.4 

 Social science 70.5 20.5 9.0 62.3 26.0 11.7 

 History 66.4 22.2 11.5 75.2 20.0 4.8 

 Humanities 85.3 7.8 6.9 69.4 19.7 10.9 

 Psychology 78.4 10.0 11.6 75.6 15.6 8.9 

 Other 83.8 12.3 4.0 62.5 27.5 10.0 

GPA at bachelor’s degree institution

 Under 2.5 92.8 4.2 3.1 84.6 9.8 5.7 

 2.5 to 2.99 89.2 7.4 3.4 77.7 13.3 9.0 

 3.0 to 3.49 84.2 10.8 5.0 64.5 21.3 14.2 

 3.5 or above 75.2 13.2 11.6 60.2 22.5 17.4 

—Sample size too small for a reliable estimate.

NOTE: Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study,

Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.
Patterns of Graduate School Enrollment, Graduate Degree Attainment, and Employment

32

Table 14.—Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who were enrolled in any postsecondary

Table 14.—education at the end of each year following graduation, by gender and selected demographic

Table 14.—and enrollment characteristics

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4

 Total 16.7 17.9 18.8 17.7 17.2 17.8 19.1 17.5 

Age received bachelor’s degree 

 22 or younger 20.0 21.1 22.2 20.8 21.9 22.8 25.2 20.9 

 23–24 12.6 13.7 14.9 13.2 14.2 13.8 15.6 15.9 

 25–29 8.5 13.5 14.4 14.9 11.3 12.7 13.2 14.7 

 30 or older 16.9 16.5 15.9 15.6 15.8 16.4 14.7 12.9 

Race/ethnicity

 American Indian/Alaskan Native 12.2 14.0 10.6 8.5 ————

 Asian/Pacific Islander 18.6 19.8 22.1 19.0 22.2 19.3 22.6 23.7 

 Black, non-Hispanic 15.7 16.3 16.0 15.3 15.5 19.8 18.3 17.5 

 Hispanic 17.6 19.7 17.9 21.6 23.6 20.2 18.6 21.0 

 White, non-Hispanic 16.8 17.7 18.9 17.7 16.6 17.5 19.0 17.0 

 Other ———— ————

Parents’ educational attainment

 Less than high school 14.9 15.0 16.6 18.0 11.3 14.5 16.8 13.8 

 High school or equivalency 13.0 14.7 15.0 14.3 13.7 15.1 14.5 11.4 

 Some postsecondary education 16.7 15.5 15.9 14.4 15.9 15.5 20.4 18.4 

 Bachelor’s degree 16.3 16.4 18.0 19.2 16.5 18.1 18.3 18.4 

 Advanced degree 21.9 24.9 26.2 23.0 24.2 23.0 24.5 22.3 

Degree-granting institution 

 Public 4-year 16.9 18.2 18.7 17.4 16.6 16.4 18.4 16.9 

 Private, not-for-profit 4-year 17.1 17.9 19.4 19.0 19.3 21.5 20.9 19.1 

Degree-granting institution level

 Nondoctorate 14.7 16.5 17.6 17.4 16.2 16.1 16.2 16.0 

 Doctorate 18.7 18.8 19.7 18.0 17.7 19.0 21.3 18.7 

Baccalaureate degree major

 Professional fields 14.5 14.3 15.2 15.1 13.4 13.0 14.1 14.2 

 Business and management 8.9 8.5 9.0 10.9 8.4 8.8 9.3 9.3 

 Education 18.7 20.7 22.4 21.7 16.4 18.3 27.4 22.9 

 Engineering 23.6 22.0 17.9 11.9 19.4 17.3 17.1 18.7 

 Health professions 15.0 14.0 14.2 13.2 23.9 18.8 16.8 20.0 

 Public affairs/social services 16.7 11.0 14.2 11.8 12.1 14.3 13.3 13.5 

 Arts and sciences 21.0 23.7 24.7 22.7 24.5 26.5 27.7 24.5 

 Biological sciences 35.7 38.2 38.2 34.1 35.3 41.7 47.9 51.0 

 Mathematics/other sciences 21.7 20.8 24.8 21.8 25.0 25.2 20.5 18.2 

 Social science 18.3 22.7 23.5 21.1 18.3 22.8 28.8 21.5 

 History 22.0 26.5 23.5 25.3 25.1 25.7 20.7 20.5 

 Humanities 16.2 20.1 18.3 17.7 23.9 23.0 23.0 18.6 

 Psychology 23.1 23.5 29.5 26.8 29.7 31.3 30.3 30.3 

 Other 15.1 17.9 18.0 16.1 12.1 13.1 15.4 11.6 

GPA at bachelor’s degree institution

 Under 2.5 10.2 10.0 10.1 12.2 8.1 7.6 9.3 9.4 

 2.5 to 2.99 11.8 14.5 17.2 16.5 14.8 15.0 17.7 16.3 

 3.0 to 3.49 18.4 19.6 19.8 19.5 19.7 21.4 22.8 20.3 

 3.5 or above 22.4 23.2 22.5 19.9 26.2 26.6 25.7 23.8 

—Sample size too small for a reliable estimate.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study,

Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.

Women Men
Patterns of Graduate School Enrollment, Graduate Degree Attainment, and Employment

33

Table 15.—Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who were enrolled in any postsecondary education

Table 15.—at the end of each year following graduation, percentage who were enrolled full time, by gender

Table 15.—and selected demographic and enrollment characteristics

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4

 Total 63.6 56.7 50.7 45.4 74.6 69.2 60.8 52.5

Age received bachelor’s degree 

 22 or younger 70.0 63.5 57.4 52.3 83.0 78.0 69.0 66.0

 23–24 60.3 58.9 49.1 44.0 68.5 70.1 55.5 39.6

 25–29 51.7 50.6 43.5 42.0 71.7 53.8 43.0 48.5

 30 or older 49.2 34.4 31.2 23.6 51.5 42.7 46.6 24.1

Race/ethnicity

 American Indian/Alaskan Native ———— ————

 Asian/Pacific Islander 75.4 86.0 70.7 51.3 70.4 67.4 59.2 57.2

 Black, non-Hispanic 67.1 61.1 57.0 54.7 68.0 69.8 53.0 41.1

 Hispanic 65.8 59.2 51.0 28.9 69.3 67.7 67.8 64.0

 White, non-Hispanic 62.6 55.4 49.3 45.9 75.6 69.5 60.5 52.3

 Other ———— ————

Parents’ educational attainment

 Less than high school 45.4 64.9 43.7 33.9 — — 60.6 —

 High school or equivalency 66.3 51.0 41.8 35.6 62.1 62.9 50.6 39.7

 Some postsecondary education 58.3 52.2 43.1 42.1 73.0 60.8 53.3 51.6

 Bachelor’s degree 67.4 57.6 50.7 43.2 75.4 72.7 62.5 54.5

 Advanced degree 66.4 63.0 63.5 61.0 82.5 76.1 69.9 59.8

Degree-granting institution 

 Public 4-year 62.1 55.9 49.3 42.8 73.1 66.2 55.7 50.0

 Private, not-for-profit 4-year 66.5 58.8 53.4 50.2 77.0 74.0 69.6 57.6

Degree-granting institution level

 Nondoctorate 62.3 50.4 40.1 38.3 67.5 61.7 56.4 44.0

 Doctorate 64.3 60.9 58.3 50.6 79.1 73.7 63.1 57.7

Baccalaureate degree major

 Professional fields 52.6 44.0 38.7 32.0 66.1 61.7 49.8 38.2

 Business and management 51.9 51.6 44.7 35.1 52.4 67.5 53.6 39.4

 Education 51.2 33.5 27.6 24.7 68.5 51.4 37.9 30.8

 Engineering ———— 76.5 54.8 47.5 36.4

 Health professions 53.8 63.0 61.1 42.6 73.5 75.6 75.7 61.5

 Public affairs/social services 61.9 ——— ————

 Arts and sciences 74.0 68.1 61.6 60.7 80.4 75.3 67.2 64.9

 Biological sciences 72.1 80.1 79.6 78.0 82.3 84.5 85.3 83.8

 Mathematics/other sciences 78.2 68.0 46.5 53.1 86.7 79.7 70.8 68.8

 Social science 73.8 67.2 62.9 53.3 79.1 67.7 53.7 45.8

 History ———— ————

 Humanities 75.6 54.7 52.5 52.9 75.4 72.8 63.7 65.0

 Psychology 72.6 77.1 62.2 66.5 — 80.6 71.4 —

 Other 68.7 58.6 53.3 42.2 78.3 65.3 68.5 50.1

GPA at bachelor’s degree institution

 Under 2.5 47.1 51.2 43.0 39.5 56.7 47.7 45.9 33.0

 2.5 to 2.99 55.2 49.4 46.9 42.8 67.3 66.0 51.4 43.2

 3.0 to 3.49 69.2 57.6 49.5 42.1 78.3 70.0 63.3 57.8

 3.5 or above 67.8 61.7 55.9 51.7 81.7 76.0 71.1 60.5

—Sample size too small for a reliable estimate.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study,

Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.

Women Men
Patterns of Graduate School Enrollment, Graduate Degree Attainment, and Employment

34

Graduate Degree Attainment

Four years after earning a bachelor’s degree, 16 percent of women and 15 percent of men

had attained graduate degrees (table 16). Male graduates who were age 22 or younger at the time

of bachelor’s degree receipt were more likely than those who were older to earn graduate degrees

within the first 4 years after graduation. Students who majored in arts and sciences as undergraduates were more likely than those with majors in professional fields to attain graduate degrees within 4 years (18 percent vs. 14 percent). Among both men and women, as undergraduate

GPA increased so did the likelihood of earning a graduate degree. For example, 20 percent of

men with an undergraduate GPA of 3.5 or above attained a degree within this time frame, while 8

percent of men with a GPA below 2.5 did so. Similarly, 19 percent of women with a GPA of 3.5

or above attained a graduate degree within 4 years of bachelor’s degree receipt, compared with

10 percent of those with a GPA below 2.5. As might be expected, rates of graduate degree attainment rose over the 4-year period, particularly between the second and third and third and

fourth years after graduation (table 17).

Paralleling enrollment patterns, among those graduates who attained a graduate degree

within 4 years of bachelor’s degree receipt, women were more likely than men to have attained a

master’s degree (87 percent vs. 77 percent) and were less likely than men to have attained a firstprofessional degree (12 percent vs. 21 percent) (table 18). Among both men and women, as age

increased, so did the likelihood of earning a master’s degree rather than a first-professional or

doctoral degree. For those who attained a degree, the proportion who earned a master’s degree

rose from 83 percent among women age 22 or younger to 96 percent among women age 30 or

older. Similarly, among men, the proportion rose from 71 percent for those age 22 or younger to

90 percent for those age 30 or older.

Employment After Graduation

Similar proportions of men and women were employed during each year following graduation (table 19). One, 2, 3, and 4 years after graduation, 87 percent, 84 percent, 89 percent, and 88

percent, respectively, of women were employed; at these same times, 86 percent, 86 percent, 89

percent, and 90 percent, respectively, of men were employed. Among both men and women,

those who majored in professional fields were more likely to be employed during each year following graduation than those who majored in arts and sciences. The results were different when

full-time employment was taken into consideration (table 20). In this case, women were less

likely than men to be employed full time at each point in time.
Patterns of Graduate School Enrollment, Graduate Degree Attainment, and Employment

35

Table 16.—Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who attained a graduate degree within 

Table 16.—4 years of bachelor’s degree receipt, by gender and selected demographic and enrollment 

Table 16.—characteristics

Total Women Men

 Total 15.3 15.8 14.6 

Age received bachelor’s degree 

 22 or younger 17.5 17.6 17.5 

 23–24 13.4 14.1 12.8 

 25–29 10.2 10.0 10.3 

 30 or older 15.2 16.1 13.6 

Race/ethnicity

 American Indian/Alaskan Native 12.8 8.3 —

 Asian/Pacific Islander 18.1 21.0 15.7 

 Black, non-Hispanic 13.0 13.3 12.4 

 Hispanic 14.6 15.2 13.6 

 White, non-Hispanic 15.2 15.9 14.5 

 Other 35.3 — —

Parents’ educational attainment

 Less than high school 13.6 14.6 11.9 

 High school or equivalency 13.5 14.0 12.8 

 Some postsecondary education 15.0 16.8 12.6 

 Bachelor’s degree 14.3 15.2 13.3 

 Advanced degree 19.1 18.4 19.8 

Degree-granting institution 

 Public 4-year 15.5 16.5 14.2 

 Private, not-for-profit 4-year 15.4 15.1 15.9 

Degree-granting institution level

 Nondoctorate 13.8 14.1 13.2 

 Doctorate 16.3 17.3 15.3 

Baccalaureate degree major

 Professional fields 13.8 14.1 13.5 

 Business and management 9.5 9.2 9.8 

 Education 18.8 18.4 20.3 

 Engineering 16.0 17.9 15.7 

 Health professions 15.4 14.4 18.2 

 Public affairs/social services 16.1 15.5 17.1 

 Arts and sciences 17.9 18.3 17.3 

 Biological sciences 19.0 25.2 13.1 

 Mathematics/other sciences 15.4 14.6 16.0 

 Social science 19.5 21.4 17.6 

 History 18.7 15.3 20.7 

 Humanities 15.5 14.4 17.2 

 Psychology 21.2 19.3 26.9 

 Other 14.2 16.6 11.2 

GPA at bachelor’s degree institution

 Under 2.5 8.8 9.7 8.0 

 2.5 to 2.99 13.2 12.2 14.3 

 3.0 to 3.49 17.6 18.5 16.4 

 3.5 or above 19.2 18.9 19.7 

—Sample size too small for a reliable estimate.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study,

Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.
Patterns of Graduate School Enrollment, Graduate Degree Attainment, and Employment

36

Table 17.—Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who had not previously attained a graduate

Table 17.—degree, the percentage who did so during each of the 4 years following bachelor’s degree

Table 17.—receipt, by gender and age

First year Second year Third year Fourth year

 Total 2.8 3.2 4.4 5.8

Age received bachelor’s degree 

 22 or younger 2.2 3.2 5.3 8.0

 23–24 3.4 2.9 4.2 3.6

 25–29 3.3 1.7 2.2 3.3

 30 or older 3.3 4.8 3.7 4.4

 Total 3.0 3.6 4.7 5.6

Age received bachelor’s degree 

 22 or younger 2.4 3.5 5.6 7.3

 23–24 3.8 2.9 4.6 3.7

 25–29 3.0 1.7 1.9 3.8

 30 or older 4.0 5.6 3.7 4.0

 Total 2.5 2.8 4.1 6.0

Age received bachelor’s degree 

 22 or younger 1.9 2.8 4.8 9.1

 23–24 3.1 2.8 3.9 3.6

 25–29 3.6 1.8 2.5 2.9

 30 or older 2.1 3.4 3.8 5.1

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond

Longitudinal Study, Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.

Women

Men

Total
Patterns of Graduate School Enrollment, Graduate Degree Attainment, and Employment

37

Table 18.—Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who attained a graduate degree within 4 years

Table 18.—of graduation, percentage distribution according to highest degree earned, by gender and

Table 18.—selected demographic and enrollment characteristics

Women Men

Master’s First-profes- Doctoral Master’s First-profes- Doctoral

degree sional degree degree degree sional degree degree

 Total 87.2 11.5 1.3 76.6 20.8 2.6 

Age received bachelor’s degree 

 22 or younger 83.3 15.2 1.5 71.4 25.1 3.6 

 23–24 91.0 6.8 2.1 81.2 17.5 1.4 

 25–29 98.1 1.9 0.0 85.7 11.9 2.4 

 30 or older 96.4 3.0 0.6 89.5 10.5 0.0 

Race/ethnicity

 American Indian/Alaskan Native ——— ———

 Asian/Pacific Islander 66.0 34.0 0.0 69.9 30.1 0.0 

 Black, non-Hispanic 90.8 7.7 1.5 ———

 Hispanic 73.3 23.7 3.1 68.3 31.7 0.0 

 White, non-Hispanic 89.0 9.8 1.2 77.2 19.9 2.9 

 Other ——— ———

Parents’ educational attainment

 Less than high school 92.1 3.3 4.6 ———

 High school or equivalency 89.3 8.8 1.9 81.5 16.6 1.9 

 Some postsecondary education 93.8 5.6 0.7 84.8 14.3 0.9 

 Bachelor’s degree 86.6 12.0 1.5 73.8 22.5 3.7 

 Advanced degree 82.1 16.9 1.0 71.1 26.0 2.9 

Degree-granting institution 

 Public 4-year 87.8 11.1 1.1 79.5 18.4 2.1 

 Private, not-for-profit 4-year 86.0 12.4 1.6 71.4 25.3 3.4 

Degree-granting institution level

 Nondoctorate 90.4 8.1 1.4 82.0 15.1 2.9 

 Doctorate 84.5 14.2 1.3 73.1 24.4 2.5 

Baccalaureate degree major

 Professional fields 93.7 5.6 0.7 86.0 12.4 1.6 

 Business and management 90.3 9.7 0.0 81.8 17.3 0.9 

 Education 96.3 3.1 0.6 87.4 12.7 0.0 

 Engineering ——— 95.7 2.4 2.0 

 Health professions 91.7 6.0 2.3 73.3 22.2 4.6 

 Public affairs/social services 97.9 2.1 0.0 ———

 Arts and sciences 79.9 18.1 2.0 71.2 25.6 3.2 

 Biological sciences 64.9 29.6 5.5 37.7 50.6 11.7 

 Mathematics/other sciences 90.6 9.4 0.0 93.4 5.3 1.3 

 Social science 72.0 24.2 3.9 60.3 37.2 2.5 

 History ——— ———

 Humanities 89.5 10.5 0.0 82.0 18.1 0.0 

 Psychology 90.8 9.2 0.0 ———

 Other 86.8 12.0 1.2 62.5 33.8 3.7 

GPA at bachelor’s degree institution

 Under 2.5 ——— 87.0 10.4 2.6 

 2.5 to 2.99 90.8 8.1 1.1 79.5 17.6 2.9 

 3.0 to 3.49 88.7 10.2 1.1 71.7 25.4 2.9 

 3.5 or above 84.2 14.2 1.7 77.5 21.0 1.5 

—Sample size too small for a reliable estimate.

NOTE: Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study,

Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.
Patterns of Graduate School Enrollment, Graduate Degree Attainment, and Employment

38

Table 19.—Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who were employed at the end of each year

Table 19.—following graduation, by gender and selected demographic and enrollment characteristics

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4

 Total 86.6 84.1 88.8 88.3 85.7 85.6 88.7 89.8

Age received bachelor’s degree 

 22 or younger 86.2 82.6 88.5 88.2 83.0 80.9 84.8 86.0

 23–24 90.4 86.2 89.8 88.5 87.4 87.6 90.8 91.5

 25–29 88.2 88.1 88.4 88.3 89.6 92.1 93.0 93.0

 30 or older 82.7 84.1 88.9 88.7 86.8 88.3 92.3 94.6

Race/ethnicity

 American Indian/Alaskan Native 87.3 81.2 84.8 85.0 ————

 Asian/Pacific Islander 80.2 75.8 83.3 86.1 77.4 82.5 81.7 82.9

 Black, non-Hispanic 85.8 87.6 87.1 90.4 80.7 83.9 90.4 91.4

 Hispanic 81.3 81.7 83.2 83.2 84.0 81.9 84.6 84.7

 White, non-Hispanic 87.4 84.5 89.6 88.6 86.6 86.0 89.3 90.5

 Other ———— ————

Parents’ educational attainment

 Less than high school 85.5 87.9 87.1 87.7 85.6 86.9 88.6 91.5

 High school or equivalency 88.4 85.8 91.0 89.5 87.5 88.0 91.3 95.3

 Some postsecondary education 87.4 86.2 89.7 89.6 87.7 86.5 90.7 91.2

 Bachelor’s degree 87.4 83.8 89.3 90.0 87.1 87.2 88.2 88.8

 Advanced degree 84.3 80.7 86.0 85.3 80.8 80.0 84.9 84.5

Degree-granting institution 

 Public 4-year 87.0 83.7 89.0 89.1 86.2 86.4 89.4 90.3

 Private, not-for-profit 4-year 86.2 85.4 89.0 87.4 84.1 83.0 87.0 88.6

Degree-granting institution level

 Nondoctorate 87.2 85.1 88.9 88.9 86.9 87.0 90.3 91.2

 Doctorate 86.1 83.5 88.7 87.6 85.3 84.5 87.6 88.7

Baccalaureate degree major

 Professional fields 89.3 87.5 91.6 91.0 88.6 89.9 93.0 93.3

 Business and management 91.5 89.3 93.9 93.7 90.1 90.5 94.3 93.4

 Education 88.1 83.5 90.4 88.7 88.4 87.7 91.6 94.7

 Engineering 81.1 88.8 89.1 88.3 86.1 91.3 93.1 95.1

 Health professions 89.9 90.4 89.6 90.4 86.1 85.4 84.5 84.7

 Public affairs/social services 85.6 89.8 91.8 90.5 88.7 90.8 95.5 95.0

 Arts and sciences 82.0 79.6 84.7 83.7 80.6 78.7 82.3 83.6

 Biological sciences 69.6 71.1 74.7 75.0 65.7 56.7 59.6 58.7

 Mathematics/other sciences 85.7 80.1 86.6 87.1 75.7 79.8 85.7 88.5

 Social science 85.0 83.2 89.0 88.7 86.3 83.7 85.0 87.8

 History 86.5 83.7 81.4 80.0 83.0 80.1 85.1 86.9

 Humanities 83.1 80.1 86.9 83.3 85.8 82.6 87.4 86.2

 Psychology 80.5 77.8 79.8 80.2 81.8 81.5 84.6 85.7

 Other 87.2 82.1 88.3 89.3 88.6 86.9 89.7 93.1

GPA at bachelor’s degree institution

 Under 2.5 89.6 89.1 91.0 89.4 90.4 91.4 92.6 91.3

 2.5 to 2.99 90.7 87.1 90.3 89.5 88.7 87.7 91.5 93.0

 3.0 to 3.49 85.6 84.2 90.1 90.1 84.4 83.7 86.8 88.9

 3.5 or above 82.5 79.9 85.5 85.6 78.0 79.4 84.1 85.7

—Sample size too small for a reliable estimate.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study,

Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.

Women Men
Patterns of Graduate School Enrollment, Graduate Degree Attainment, and Employment

39

Table 20.—Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who were employed, percentage who were

Table 20.—employed full time at the end of each year following graduation, by gender and selected

Table 20.—demographic and enrollment characteristics

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 

 Total 81.9 86.8 87.4 88.6 86.6 91.7 92.0 93.3

Age received bachelor’s degree 

 22 or younger 81.6 88.0 88.5 90.1 84.6 89.8 90.8 92.9

 23–24 81.7 87.3 89.1 89.5 87.0 91.4 91.8 93.3

 25–29 85.0 85.9 84.4 85.7 87.4 94.1 94.0 95.5

 30 or older 81.2 83.9 84.2 85.0 91.0 95.0 93.3 92.4

Race/ethnicity

 American Indian/Alaskan Native 83.6 84.7 86.8 85.6 ————

 Asian/Pacific Islander 79.6 90.0 87.4 88.7 85.7 92.4 89.6 92.1

 Black, non-Hispanic 83.7 91.5 94.9 94.0 84.9 94.7 93.1 97.0

 Hispanic 78.2 88.8 88.4 89.6 83.5 88.3 88.9 86.5

 White, non-Hispanic 82.0 86.3 86.8 88.1 86.9 91.6 92.2 93.6

 Other ———— ————

Parents’ educational attainment

 Less than high school 82.6 89.8 90.5 90.7 89.5 96.6 94.0 93.1

 High school or equivalency 80.7 88.1 88.2 88.5 88.5 93.3 93.6 94.1

 Some postsecondary education 81.1 87.5 88.9 89.7 85.7 94.5 94.5 96.1

 Bachelor’s degree 83.9 88.2 88.5 90.1 87.1 91.0 92.7 93.1

 Advanced degree 82.0 83.6 84.1 86.0 84.4 87.6 87.0 90.5

Degree-granting institution 

 Public 4-year 81.5 86.6 87.5 88.6 87.1 91.8 92.4 93.7

 Private, not-for-profit 4-year 83.0 87.2 87.0 88.2 85.2 91.1 91.0 92.4

Degree-granting institution level

 Nondoctorate 80.1 86.2 87.0 88.2 86.6 92.5 92.4 93.6

 Doctorate 83.7 87.4 87.6 88.7 86.8 91.1 91.6 93.0

Baccalaureate degree major

 Professional fields 83.8 89.0 89.3 89.9 89.9 95.3 95.8 96.6

 Business and management 90.7 94.9 93.6 93.6 93.8 96.6 96.3 98.4

 Education 75.9 86.2 87.9 88.7 78.5 91.4 91.7 91.4

 Engineering 87.9 96.0 97.9 96.6 89.3 95.5 97.5 96.9

 Health professions 84.3 82.3 82.6 82.9 83.9 89.8 94.7 94.3

 Public affairs/social services 83.1 86.7 88.2 92.2 88.8 98.3 94.7 94.1

 Arts and sciences 78.3 83.1 84.0 86.4 82.2 86.2 86.7 88.5

 Biological sciences 68.2 74.9 77.6 82.0 81.0 84.6 83.9 87.8

 Mathematics/other sciences 78.7 89.5 91.2 92.2 86.4 90.5 89.9 89.9

 Social science 82.9 84.7 84.7 89.6 85.7 89.0 88.7 92.0

 History 81.7 79.7 84.8 86.9 84.5 90.3 89.9 92.0

 Humanities 76.1 81.3 82.7 83.0 73.6 79.4 81.6 81.9

 Psychology 79.8 84.9 83.4 84.9 83.5 81.7 86.2 88.3

 Other 82.7 86.8 87.4 88.2 85.2 90.5 90.0 92.3

GPA at bachelor’s degree institution

 Under 2.5 87.1 91.6 93.1 93.6 90.5 94.1 94.8 95.7

 2.5 to 2.99 83.6 86.5 87.9 89.5 85.6 91.8 91.7 92.9

 3.0 to 3.49 81.0 87.3 87.4 88.1 86.5 90.4 91.1 92.6

 3.5 or above 78.3 83.8 84.0 85.5 86.4 91.4 91.8 92.9

—Sample size too small for a reliable estimate.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study,

Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.

Women Men
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Interrelationships Among Transitions

The previous section described the relationships between marriage and parenthood and

graduate school enrollment, degree attainment, and employment during the first 4 years after

bachelor’s degree receipt, but did not take into account the interrelationships among these variables. This section examines their interrelationships.

Marriage

As shown earlier, women were more likely than men to marry during the first 4 years after

they earned their bachelor’s degree. Among those who had not married by the time they graduated, 32 percent of women and 28 percent of men married during the next 4 years. This difference in women’s and men’s likelihood of marriage existed among those who did not enroll in

graduate school and among those who were employed 1 year after earning their bachelor’s degree

(table 21). In contrast, among those who enrolled in graduate school, the percentages of women

and men who married did not differ.

Women who enrolled in graduate education during the 4 years after graduation were less

likely to marry (29 percent) than women who did not enroll at this time (33 percent), but this

pattern did not apply for men. The likelihood of marriage for women varied with graduate degree

program. Among women who enrolled, those who enrolled in master’s degree programs were

more likely than those who enrolled in first-professional degree programs to marry (31 percent

vs. 19 percent). Both women and men who were employed 1 year after bachelor’s degree receipt

were more likely to marry within 4 years than those who were not employed at that time.

Parenthood

As indicated earlier, women without children at graduation were more likely than their

male counterparts to become parents during the 4 years following graduation (15 percent vs. 11

percent) (table 9). This difference between men and women was also observed for those who did

not enroll in graduate education and for those who were not employed 1 year after graduation

(table 22). However, among men and women who enrolled in graduate school or who were employed 1 year after bachelor’s degree receipt, there were no differences in their likelihood of becoming parents.
Interrelationships Among Transitions

42

Table 21.—Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who had not married before graduation, the 

Table 21.—percentage who married within 4 years of graduation, by gender and selected enrollment and

Table 21.—employment characteristics

Total Women Men

 Total 30.0 31.8 28.0

Graduate enrollment

 Never enrolled 31.0 33.3 28.5

 Enrolled 27.8 28.7 26.7

 First enrolled year 1 29.8 30.2 29.5

 First enrolled year 2 22.8 25.0 20.3

 First enrolled year 3 28.7 30.7 26.1

 First enrolled year 4 27.8 27.5 28.2

Highest level of enrollment

 Master’s degree 30.0 31.2 28.3

 First-professional degree 20.2 18.5 21.4

 Doctoral degree 25.0 20.6 28.0

Graduate attainment

 Never attained 30.2 32.8 27.3

 Attained 29.5 27.4 32.1

 First attained year 1 35.3 26.0 45.1

 First attained year 2 35.3 31.9 40.6

 First attained year 3 29.6 25.6 35.0

 First attained year 4 23.9 26.9 20.4

Highest level of attainment

 Master’s degree 27.5 27.7 27.2

 First-professional degree 22.2 21.2 23.0

 Doctoral degree — ——

Employment—month 12

 Not employed 25.0 27.1 23.1

 Employed 30.9 32.6 29.0

 Employed full time 32.0 34.1 29.8

 Employed part time 25.1 25.8 24.2

—Sample size too small for a reliable estimate.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond

Longitudinal Study, Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.

For both men and women, enrollment in graduate school was negatively associated with

becoming a parent. Among those enrolled, 9 percent of men and 10 percent of women became

parents, compared with 12 percent of men and 16 percent of women who did not enroll in graduate school. Among women, enrolling in a first-professional or doctoral degree program and attaining a degree were associated with a lower likelihood of becoming a parent. Eleven percent of
Interrelationships Among Transitions

43

Table 22.—Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who did not have children before graduation,

Table 22.—the percentage who became parents within 4 years of graduation, by gender and selected

Table 22.—enrollment and employment characteristics

Total Women Men

 Total 13.1 14.5 11.3 

Graduate enrollment

 Never enrolled 14.5 16.4 12.4 

 Enrolled 9.5 10.1 9.0 

 First enrolled year 1 8.8 7.5 10.1 

 First enrolled year 2 9.5 11.5 7.1 

 First enrolled year 3 9.3 11.2 6.6 

 First enrolled year 4 12.9 14.8 10.4 

Highest level of enrollment

 Master’s degree 10.8 11.4 9.9 

 First-professional degree 5.1 3.6 6.1 

 Doctoral degree 7.0 4.4 8.7 

Graduate attainment

 Never attained 13.8 15.8 11.5 

 Attained 9.3 8.2 10.6 

 First attained year 1 15.4 9.1 23.3 

 First attained year 2 6.1 6.9 4.9 

 First attained year 3 8.3 7.8 9.0 

 First attained year 4 8.9 8.8 8.9 

Highest level of attainment

 Master’s degree 8.6 8.7 8.5 

 First-professional degree 6.0 2.9 8.2 

 Doctoral degree — ——

Employment—month 12

 Not employed 12.3 15.9 8.8 

 Employed 13.2 14.4 11.7 

 Employed full time 13.5 14.3 12.6 

 Employed part time 11.5 15.0 6.3 

—Sample size too small for a reliable estimate.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond

Longitudinal Study, Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.

women who enrolled in master’s programs became parents, compared with 4 percent of those

who enrolled in first-professional programs and 4 percent of those who enrolled in doctoral programs. Similarly, while 16 percent of women who did not attain a graduate degree within 4 years

became parents, 8 percent of those who attained a degree did so. Neither level of enrollment nor

degree attainment was related to the likelihood of parenthood for men, however. Men who were
Interrelationships Among Transitions

44

employed full time 1 year after graduation were more likely than those working part time to become parents during the 4 years after bachelor’s degree receipt (13 percent vs. 6 percent).

Graduate School Enrollment

Earlier it was shown that men and women were equally likely to enroll in graduate school,

despite differences in their various characteristics (table 11). Overall, 29 percent of male and female bachelor’s degree recipients enrolled in graduate education during the 4 years after graduation (table 23). Further, men’s and women’s enrollment rates did not differ significantly

according to their marital and parenthood status. However, among women, those who married

before earning their bachelor’s degree were less likely than those who did not marry to enroll in

graduate school within 4 years of graduating (figure 8).

Table 23.—Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who enrolled in a graduate degree program

Table 23.—within 4 years of graduation, by gender and marital and parenthood status

Total Women Men

 Total 28.9 28.8 29.0

Marital status 

 Married before bachelor’s degree 24.4 23.4 26.0

 Not married before bachelor’s degree 30.9 31.5 30.3

 Did not marry within 4 years 31.9 33.0 30.8

 Married after bachelor’s degree 28.6 28.4 28.9

 Married year 1 16.8 18.9 14.1

 Married year 2 23.7 25.5 21.3

 Married year 3 32.1 30.7 33.7

 Married year 4 33.2 32.0 34.5

Parenthood status 

 Had child before bachelor’s degree 26.0 26.2 25.6

 No children before bachelor’s degree 29.6 29.6 29.6

 Did not become a parent within 4 years 30.8 31.1 30.4

 Became a parent after bachelor’s degree 21.6 20.4 23.3

 Became a parent year 1 15.2 11.7 20.6

 Became a parent year 2 19.8 19.3 20.7

 Became a parent year 3 22.7 21.3 24.9

 Became a parent year 4 25.2 25.4 25.0

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond

Longitudinal Study, Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.
Interrelationships Among Transitions

45

Figure 8.—Cumulative percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who had ever enrolled in a

Figure 8.—graduate degree program each month for the next 4 years, by marital status and gender

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond

Longitudinal Study, Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

0 6 12 18 24 30 36 42 48

Months since bachelor’s degree receipt

Cumulative 

percentage ever 

enrolled

Women, ever married at bachelor’s degree Women, never married at bachelor’s degree

Men, ever married at bachelor’s degree Men, never married at bachelor’s degree

50

40

30

20

10

0

For both men and women, having a child within 4 years of bachelor’s degree receipt was

negatively associated with enrollment in graduate school during that period. Among women, 20

percent of those who had a child within that period entered graduate school, compared with 31

percent of those without children. Among men, 23 percent of those who became parents after

earning their bachelor’s degree entered graduate school, compared with 30 percent of men without children.

As discussed earlier, women who enrolled in graduate school were more likely than their

male counterparts to pursue master’s degrees. For both men and women, marriage and parenthood were related to choice of graduate program (table 24). Those degree recipients who did not

marry either before or within 4 years of graduation were less likely than those who had married

before earning their bachelor’s degree to have enrolled in master’s programs within 4 years, but

they were more likely to have enrolled in first-professional or doctoral programs. Among women

who enrolled, 93 percent of those who had married before graduation enrolled in master’s degree

programs, compared with 76 percent of those who were still single 4 years after earning their
Interrelationships Among Transitions

46

Table 24.—Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who enrolled in a graduate degree program within

Table 24.—4 years of graduation, percentage distribution according to the highest level of enrollment,

Table 24.—by gender and marital and parenthood status

Women Men

First- Firstprofes- profesMaster’s sional Doctoral Master’s sional Doctoral

degree degree degree degree degree degree

 Total 82.6 10.7 6.8 68.3 18.8 13.0 

Marital status 

 Married before bachelor’s degree 92.5 4.1 3.4 81.0 9.5 9.5 

 Not married before bachelor’s degree 78.9 13.0 8.1 64.6 21.5 13.9 

 Did not marry within 4 years 76.3 14.8 9.0 63.4 23.1 13.6 

 Married after bachelor’s degree 85.9 8.3 5.8 68.4 17.2 14.5 

 Married year 1 ——— ———

 Married year 2 92.5 3.8 3.6 52.0 26.7 21.3 

 Married year 3 85.3 6.8 7.9 78.5 9.7 11.8 

 Married year 4 78.9 14.9 6.2 67.6 18.4 14.0 

Parenthood status 

 Had child before bachelor’s degree 93.3 5.9 0.8 85.6 8.2 6.2 

 No children before bachelor’s degree 80.5 11.6 8.0 65.9 20.0 14.1 

 Did not become a parent within 4 years 79.3 12.3 8.4 65.3 20.6 14.1 

 Became a parent after bachelor’s degree 92.3 4.2 3.5 72.8 13.6 13.6 

 Became a parent year 1 ——— ———

 Became a parent year 2 ——— ———

 Became a parent year 3 89.1 8.8 2.1 67.2 14.0 18.8 

 Became a parent year 4 92.1 1.5 6.4 69.4 13.5 17.1 

—Sample size too small for a reliable estimate.

NOTE: Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond

Longitudinal Study, Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.

bachelor’s degree. Similarly, women who married after graduation were more likely than those

who remained single to enroll in master’s degree programs (86 percent vs. 76 percent). Marriage

after graduation was not related to level of enrollment for men, however. With respect to parenthood, enrolled men and women who were parents at graduation were more likely than those who

did not have children then to enter master’s programs. Enrolled women who became parents

within 4 years of graduation were more likely than women who were not parents to enroll in a

master’s program, but about as likely to do so as women who had children at the time of bachelor’s degree receipt.
Interrelationships Among Transitions

47

Graduate Degree Attainment

While men and women were equally likely to attain a graduate degree during the 4 years

after receiving their bachelor’s degree (table 16), differences in attainment were associated with

their marriage and parenthood status (table 25). Among those who had married before or within 4

years after receiving their bachelor’s degree, there were no differences in attainment rates according to gender; however, among those who had never married, women were more likely than

men to attain a graduate degree (18 percent vs. 14 percent). Although parenthood did not seem to

significantly affect men’s degree attainment, the situation differed among women. Women who

became parents during these 4 years were less likely to attain a graduate degree than were women

who did not become parents (9 percent vs. 17 percent).

Table 25.—Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who attained a graduate degree within 4

Table 25.—years of bachelor’s degree receipt, by gender and marital and parenthood status

Total Women Men

 Total 15.3 15.8 14.6 

Marital status 

 Married before bachelor’s degree 13.1 13.2 13.0 

 Not married before bachelor’s degree 16.2 17.2 15.0 

 Did not marry within 4 years 16.3 18.4 14.2 

 Married after bachelor’s degree 15.9 14.8 17.2 

 Married year 1 10.1 8.4 12.4 

 Married year 2 11.9 12.2 11.5 

 Married year 3 19.0 18.0 20.3 

 Married year 4 18.3 16.5 20.4 

Parenthood status 

 Had child before bachelor’s degree 15.3 16.5 13.2 

 No children before bachelor’s degree 15.3 15.9 14.6 

 Did not become a parent within 4 years 16.0 17.1 14.7 

 Became a parent after bachelor’s degree 10.8 8.9 13.6 

 Became a parent year 1 6.4 7.1 5.2 

 Became a parent year 2 7.4 7.8 6.9 

 Became a parent year 3 12.1 8.7 17.6 

 Became a parent year 4 14.2 10.9 18.4 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond

Longitudinal Study, Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.

As with graduate attainment overall, marriage and parenthood were related to women’s

level of attainment, but not men’s. Among those who attained degrees within 4 years after earning their bachelor’s degree, 97 percent of women who had married before earning their bachelor’s degree earned master’s degrees, compared with 84 percent of women who had not married
Interrelationships Among Transitions

48

during that period (table 26). Women who had children before earning their bachelor’s degree

were also more likely to earn a master’s degree (97 percent) than were women without children

at that time (86 percent). Similarly, women who had children during the 4 years after graduation

were more likely to earn a master’s degree than women without children (95 percent vs. 85 percent).

Table 26.—Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who attained a graduate degree within 4 years

Table 26.—of graduation, percentage distribution according to highest degree earned, by gender and

Table 26.—marital and parenthood status

Women Men

First- Firstprofes- profesMaster’s sional Doctoral Master’s sional Doctoral

degree degree degree degree degree degree

 Total 87.2 11.5 1.3 76.6 20.8 2.6

Marital status 

 Married before bachelor’s degree 97.3 2.1 0.6 82.2 17.0 0.9

 Not married before bachelor’s degree 84.4 14.1 1.5 74.9 22.2 2.9

 Did not marry within 4 years 83.4 14.9 1.7 74.3 23.4 2.2

 Married after bachelor’s degree 87.9 11.0 1.1 76.1 19.2 4.8

 Married year 1 ——— ———

 Married year 2 95.1 2.7 2.1 ———

 Married year 3 85.7 14.3 0.0 83.6 12.7 3.8

 Married year 4 83.5 15.0 1.5 75.0 23.1 1.9

Parenthood status 

 Had child before bachelor’s degree 96.7 3.3 0.0 78.0 20.9 1.2

 No children before bachelor’s degree 85.7 12.8 1.5 75.8 21.4 2.8

 Did not become a parent within 4 years 85.1 13.3 1.7 76.0 21.4 2.6

 Became a parent after bachelor’s degree* 95.4 4.6 0.0 74.8 20.2 5.0

—Sample size too small for a reliable estimate.

*There were too few cases to look at the percentages year by year.

NOTE: Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond

Longitudinal Study, Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.

Employment

While men and women exhibited similar employment patterns during the 4 years after receiving the bachelor’s degree (table 19), some differences appeared when controlling for marital

and parenthood status (table 27). Generally, among those who married before receiving the

bachelor’s degree, men were more likely than women to be employed during the years following

graduation. Two years after graduation, 90 percent of men in this group were employed,
Interrelationships Among Transitions

49

Table 27.—Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who were employed during various months

Table 27.—following graduation, by gender and marital and parenthood status

Month Month Month Month Month Month Month Month

12 24 36 48 12 24 36 48

 Total 86.6 84.1 88.8 88.3 85.7 85.6 88.7 89.8

Marital status 

 Married before bachelor’s degree 85.4 84.2 87.8 86.5 88.2 90.2 92.9 93.9

 Not married before bachelor’s degree 87.3 84.1 89.3 89.4 84.8 83.8 87.3 88.4

 Did not marry within 4 years 86.4 82.8 89.0 89.2 83.7 82.8 86.1 87.5

 Married after bachelor’s degree 89.2 86.7 90.0 89.7 87.5 86.4 90.4 90.8

 Married year 1 86.0 71.1 76.9 84.3 96.9 94.1 93.7 94.2

 Married year 2 89.9 90.7 91.6 88.7 87.1 88.0 90.5 90.4

 Married year 3 89.8 86.1 90.3 90.4 90.6 85.0 91.5 91.5

 Married year 4 88.8 87.6 91.7 91.6 82.8 84.3 88.7 89.7

Parenthood status 

 Had child before bachelor’s degree 81.2 82.0 88.2 87.7 88.5 90.1 93.5 94.9

 No children before bachelor’s degree 87.9 84.4 88.9 88.5 85.4 84.8 88.3 89.3

 Did not become a parent within 4 years 88.1 84.7 90.6 90.4 85.0 83.9 87.4 88.6

 Became a parent after bachelor’s degree 86.8 83.0 79.1 76.9 88.7 91.7 94.8 94.8

 Became a parent year 1 63.1 71.2 71.7 76.7 84.2 90.9 94.6 94.2

 Became a parent year 2 91.3 76.4 73.9 78.6 90.1 93.0 94.6 97.3

 Became a parent year 3 92.3 89.2 73.8 73.6 91.0 91.9 92.8 94.5

 Became a parent year 4 92.1 88.7 91.2 78.7 88.3 91.2 96.4 94.0

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study,

Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.

Women Men

compared with 84 percent of women. This difference persisted for the next 2 years as well. In

addition, among those who had children either before or after earning their bachelor’s degree,

men were more likely than women to be employed. Two years after graduation, 90 percent of

men who had children before they graduated were employed, compared with 82 percent of

women. Similarly, 92 percent of men who had children after earning their bachelor’s degree were

employed 2 years later, while 83 percent of their female counterparts were working at this time.

As men’s rates of marriage and parenthood increased, so did their likelihood of being employed. Men who had married or become parents before graduating were consistently more likely

than men who were not married or parents at that time to be employed 2, 3, and 4 years after

graduation. Similarly, men who had married after graduation were consistently more likely than

those who had not married to be employed. The same was true for men who had become parents

compared with those who had not. For women, on the other hand, no consistent effects of marriage and parenthood on employment emerge. However, during the third and fourth years after

graduation, women who became parents after earning their bachelor’s degree were less likely to

be employed than were women without children.
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51

Controlling for Related Variables

Earlier sections of this report have illustrated several connections between student characteristics and the competing choices that bachelor’s degree recipients face, as well as the interrelationships among marriage, parenthood, graduate enrollment, and employment. Marital and

parenthood transitions are strongly related to age, with older graduates being more likely to marry

or become parents than younger graduates. Also, undergraduate field of study and GPA are both

linked to the likelihood of graduate enrollment: graduates who majored in arts and sciences and

those with higher GPAs were more likely than other students to enroll in graduate degree programs. In turn, it appears that marriage and parenthood are associated with a lower likelihood of

graduate enrollment.

A multivariate analysis was conducted to examine the effects of marriage and parenthood

on the likelihood of graduate enrollment during the first 4 years after bachelor’s degree receipt,

taking into consideration other demographic and enrollment variables that might be expected to

affect graduate enrollment as well. To explore differences in the effects of characteristics and in

women’s and men’s behaviors, the analysis was conducted for all bachelor’s degree recipients

and then separately for women and men.

An important caveat in interpreting these net effects relates to the fact that the phenomena

under study are transitions. The ordinary least squares (OLS) regression model does not account

for the timing of events.2 In these models, outcomes over a 4-year period are related to behaviors

during that same period. Also, the OLS model does not account for the amount of “exposure” to

a behavior, but only whether or not the degree recipient engaged in the behavior. In addition, for

some respondents, the outcome precedes or coincides with the behavior being used as a predictor, making it difficult to interpret the regression coefficients. For example, an individual who

married during the first month after receiving the bachelor’s degree is treated the same way as a

second individual who married in the 48th month after graduation. Clearly, these two behaviors

should have different effects on the likelihood of graduate enrollment during the period. Further,

interpreting the results is difficult because the second graduate may have already enrolled in

graduate school before marrying. Therefore, the coefficients associated with marriage, parent-

 

2Ideally, one would conduct an event history analysis. Such a model would be used to predict an event (such as graduate enrollment) in month t, based on fixed characteristics (such as undergraduate major) and time-varying characteristics (such as ever

being married) as of month t-1.
Controlling for Related Variables

52

hood, enrollment, and attainment after bachelor’s degree receipt are more correctly viewed as

correlations than as predictors.

The analysis examining graduate enrollment for all bachelor’s degree recipients (table 28)

shows that, for the combined pool of men and women, marriage and parenthood were not related

to the likelihood of graduate enrollment once other factors affecting enrollment were taken into

account. These other factors included age, race/ethnicity, parents’ educational attainment, undergraduate field of study, and GPA. Graduates age 22 or younger at bachelor’s degree receipt were

more likely to enroll in a graduate program within 4 years than graduates ages 23–29. Although

there were no significant differences in the unadjusted rates of graduate enrollment by

race/ethnicity, black, non-Hispanic graduates were more likely to enroll than their white, nonHispanic counterparts when other factors were controlled for. Graduates whose parents had advanced degrees were more likely to enroll than graduates whose parents had high school diplomas. Degree recipients who majored in arts and sciences were more likely to enter graduate

school than professional field majors. In addition, graduates with higher GPAs were more likely

to enroll than their counterparts with lower GPAs. Finally, graduates of private, for-profit institutions were less likely than graduates of public institutions to enroll in a graduate degree program, but only 2 percent of graduates earned their degrees from a private, for-profit institution.

The analyses examining graduate enrollment for women and men separately (tables 29 and

30) show different relationships between enrollment and marriage. For women, marriage before

degree receipt had a negative effect on the likelihood of graduate enrollment. After controlling

for other characteristics, 23 percent of women who married before receiving their bachelor’s degree enrolled in graduate school (column 2), compared with 33 percent of women who had not

yet married 4 years after graduating. Marriage was not significantly related to graduate enrollment for men, however. For both men and women, the effects of other variables—age, parents’

education, field of study, and GPA—were generally consistent with the analysis of men and

women together.
Controlling for Related Variables

53

Table 28.—Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who enrolled in a graduate degree program

Table 28.—within 4 years of earning their bachelor’s degree and the adjusted percentage after taking into 

Table 28.—account the covariation of the variables listed in the table

 Unadjusted Adjusted WLS Standard 

percentages1 percentages2 coefficient3

error4

 Total 28.9 28.9 30.83 3.51 

Baccalaureate degree major

 Arts and sciences 37.1* 35.4* 9.46 2.12 

 Other 22.8 24.0 -1.97 2.87 

 Professional fields 25.1 25.9 † † 

Race/ethnicity

 American Indian/Alaskan Native 21.6 29.0 1.23 12.42 

 Asian/Pacific Islander 31.4 31.1 3.28 4.59 

 Black, non-Hispanic 31.5 37.8* 10.00 4.15 

 Hispanic 31.1 35.4 7.61 4.46 

 Other 26.9 28.4 0.61 16.17 

 White, non-Hispanic 28.5 27.8 † † 

Gender

 Women 28.8 27.6 -2.87 1.95 

 Men 29.0 30.5 † † 

Age received bachelor’s degree

 23–24 21.5* 24.7* -8.20 2.47 

 25–29 21.9* 25.4* -7.49 3.28 

 30 or older 26.5* 26.4 -6.49 3.88 

 22 or younger 35.5 32.9 † † 

Degree-granting institution

 Private, not-for-profit 4-year 32.3* 29.5 0.39 2.14 

 Private, for-profit 4-year 8.5* 9.8* -19.24 8.07 

 Public 4-year 27.7 29.1 † † 

Degree-granting institution level

 Doctorate 31.0* 30.2 3.15 2.01 

 Other 31.4 32.7 5.64 7.92 

 Nondoctorate 26.1 27.1 † † 

GPA at bachelor’s degree institution

 Under 2.50 12.7* 12.5* -19.30 3.03 

 2.50 to 2.99 25.1* 24.4* -7.42 2.43 

 3.50 or above 40.2* 41.3* 9.49 2.63 

 3.0 to 3.49 32.3 31.8 † † 

5
Controlling for Related Variables

54

Table 28.—Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who enrolled in a graduate degree program

Table 28.—within 4 years of earning their bachelor’s degree and the adjusted percentage after taking into 

Table 28.—account the covariation of the variables listed in the table—Continued

 Unadjusted Adjusted WLS Standard 

percentages1 percentages2 coefficient3

error4

Parents’ educational attainment

 Less than high school 23.7 24.9 -1.23 4.94 

 Some postsecondary education 26.7 27.4 1.22 2.83 

 Bachelor’s degree 28.2 28.0 1.80 2.71 

 Advanced degree 37.3* 34.6* 8.39 2.69 

 High school or equivalency 24.5 26.2 † † 

Parenthood status 4 years after graduation

 Had first child before bachelor’s degree 26.0* 31.1 2.20 3.99 

 Had first child within 4 years of graduation 21.6* 26.0 -2.89 3.49 

 No children 30.8 28.9 † † 

Marital status 4 years after graduation

 Married before bachelor’s degree 24.4* 25.6 -5.30 3.15 

 Married within 4 years of graduation 28.6 29.2 -1.67 2.54 

 Had not married 31.9 30.9 † † 

*p < .05.

†Not applicable for the reference group.

1

The estimates are from the B&B:1993/1997 Undergraduate Data Analysis System.

2

The percentages are adjusted for differences associated with other variables in the table (see appendix B).

3

Weighted least squares (WLS) coefficient, multiplied by 100 to reflect percentage (see appendix B).

4

Standard error of WLS coefficient, adjusted for design effect, multiplied by 100 to reflect percentage (see appendix B).

5

The italicized group in each category is the reference group being compared.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond 

Longitudinal Study, Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.
Controlling for Related Variables

55

Table 29.—Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who enrolled in a graduate degree program

Table 29.—within 4 years of earning their bachelor’s degree and the adjusted percentage after taking into

Table 29.—account the covariation of the variables listed in the table: Women

 Unadjusted Adjusted WLS Standard 

percentages1 percentages2 coefficient3

error4

 Total 28.8 28.8 31.16 4.79 

Baccalaureate degree major

 Arts and sciences 35.6* 34.0* 7.05 3.16 

 Other 23.8 23.9 -3.03 4.17 

 Professional fields 26.0 26.9 † † 

Race/ethnicity

 American Indian/Alaskan Native 15.7 23.4 -4.45 16.11 

 Asian/Pacific Islander 29.9 26.7 -1.15 7.42 

 Black, non-Hispanic 32.8 38.5 10.63 5.65 

 Hispanic 28.3 32.2 4.39 6.24 

 Other † 38.0 10.12 23.33 

 White, non-Hispanic 28.5 27.8 † † 

Age received bachelor’s degree

 23–24 20.5* 23.2* -8.52 3.78 

 25–29 21.9* 26.3 -5.46 5.19 

 30 or older 26.6* 28.3 -3.40 5.64 

 22 or younger 34.2 31.7 † † 

Degree-granting institution

 Private, not-for-profit 4-year 31.2 28.6 -0.89 3.11 

 Private, for-profit 4-year 6.4* 3.6* -25.90 12.49 

 Public 4-year 28.1 29.5 † † 

Degree-granting institution level

 Doctorate 30.9* 30.1 2.98 2.95 

 Other 34.3 37.1 9.98 11.05 

 Nondoctorate 26.2 27.1 † † 

GPA at bachelor’s degree institution

 Under 2.50 12.7* 11.8* -18.95 4.84 

 2.50 to 2.99 25.1* 23.9 -6.87 3.65 

 3.50 or above 37.5* 38.8* 8.03 3.64 

 3.0 to 3.49 31.2 30.7 † † 

Parents’ educational attainment

 Less than high school 25.5 27.1 0.62 6.84 

 Some postsecondary education 26.2 26.4 -0.06 4.11 

 Bachelor’s degree (4–5 year degree) 28.7 28.0 1.51 4.01 

 Advanced degree 36.6* 34.6* 8.08 4.00 

 Less than a bachelor’s degree 24.6 26.5 † † 

Women

5
Controlling for Related Variables

56

Table 29.—Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who enrolled in a graduate degree program

Table 29.—within 4 years of earning their bachelor’s degree and the adjusted percentage after taking into

Table 29.—account the covariation of the variables listed in the table: Women—Continued

 Unadjusted Adjusted WLS Standard 

percentages1 percentages2 coefficient3

error4

Parenthood status 4 years after graduation

 Had first child before bachelor’s degree 26.2 31.4 2.65 5.71 

 Had first child within 4 years of graduation 20.4* 25.7 -3.12 4.92 

 No children 31.1 28.8 † † 

Marital status 4 years after graduation

 Married before bachelor’s degree 23.4* 23.4* -9.25 4.48 

 Married within 4 years of graduation 28.4 29.4 -3.29 3.81 

 Had not married 33.0 32.7 † † 

*p < .05.

†Not applicable for the reference group.

1

The estimates are from the B&B:1993/1997 Undergraduate Data Analysis System.

2

The percentages are adjusted for differences associated with other variables in the table (see appendix B).

3

Weighted least squares (WLS) coefficient, multiplied by 100 to reflect percentage (see appendix B).

4

Standard error of WLS coefficient, adjusted for design effect, multiplied by 100 to reflect percentage (see appendix B).

5

The italicized group in each category is the reference group being compared.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond 

Longitudinal Study, Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.

Women
Controlling for Related Variables

57

Table 30.—Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who enrolled in a graduate degree program

Table 30.—within 4 years of earning their bachelor’s degree and the adjusted percentage after taking into

Table 30.—account the covariation of the variables listed in the table: Men

 Unadjusted Adjusted WLS Standard 

percentages1 percentages2 coefficient3

error4

 Total 29.0 29.0 26.91 5.31 

Baccalaureate degree major

 Arts and sciences 38.9* 37.0* 12.32 3.31 

 Other 21.6 23.9 -0.79 4.62 

 Professional fields 24.0 24.7 † † 

Race/ethnicity

 American Indian/Alaskan Native † 41.2 13.38 24.55 

 Asian/Pacific Islander 32.6 34.2 6.38 6.77 

 Black, non-Hispanic 28.9 34.9 7.15 7.48 

 Hispanic 35.6 40.6 12.82 7.57 

 Other † 14.4 -13.43 26.28 

 White, non-Hispanic 28.5 27.8 † † 

Age received bachelor’s degree

 23–24 22.3* 26.2* -7.98 3.78 

 25–29 21.8* 24.8 -9.40 4.88 

 30 or older 26.2* 23.7 -10.48 6.34 

 22 or younger 37.3 34.2 † † 

Degree-granting institution

 Private, not-for-profit 4-year 33.9* 30.5 1.84 3.47 

 Private, for-profit 4-year 10.5* 14.3 -14.41 12.40 

 Public 4-year 27.3 28.7 † † 

Degree-granting institution level

 Doctorate 31.2* 30.4 3.36 3.21 

 Other 26.6 27.2 0.12 13.69 

 Nondoctorate 25.9 27.0 † † 

GPA at bachelor’s degree institution

 Under 2.50 12.8* 13.9* -18.97 4.46 

 2.50 to 2.99 25.1* 25.2* -7.66 3.78 

 3.50 or above 45.4* 45.4* 12.58 4.56 

 3.0 to 3.49 33.6 32.8 † † 

Parents’ educational attainment

 Less than high school 20.7 20.5 -5.05 8.54 

 Some postsecondary education 27.3 28.6 3.01 4.59 

 Bachelor’s degree (4–5 year degree) 27.8 28.1 2.57 4.28 

 Advanced degree 38.1* 34.6* 9.04 4.24 

 Less than a bachelor’s degree 24.2 25.5 † † 

Men

5
Controlling for Related Variables

58

Table 30.—Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who enrolled in a graduate degree program

Table 30.—within 4 years of earning their bachelor’s degree and the adjusted percentage after taking into

Table 30.—account the covariation of the variables listed in the table: Men—Continued

 Unadjusted Adjusted WLS Standard 

percentages1 percentages2 coefficient3

error4

Parenthood status 4 years after graduation

 Had first child before bachelor’s degree 25.6 29.5 0.25 6.67 

 Had first child within 4 years of graduation 23.3* 26.6 -2.60 5.87 

 No children 30.4 29.2 † † 

Marital status 4 years after graduation

 Married before bachelor’s degree 26.0* 29.0 0.06 5.27 

 Married within 4 years of graduation 28.9 29.1 0.15 3.97 

 Had not married 30.8 29.0 † † 

*p < .05.

†Not applicable for the reference group.

1

The estimates are from the B&B:1993/1997 Undergraduate Data Analysis System.

2

The percentages are adjusted for differences associated with other variables in the table (see appendix B).

3

Weighted least squares (WLS) coefficient, multiplied by 100 to reflect percentage (see appendix B).

4

Standard error of WLS coefficient, adjusted for design effect, multiplied by 100 to reflect percentage (see appendix B).

5

The italicized group in each category is the reference group being compared.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond 

Longitudinal Study, Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.

Men
59

Summary and Conclusions

Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients, women and men had different demographic

and educational characteristics. Women were more likely than men to be under age 22 or age 30

or older. Women were also more likely to be married and have children. Women were more

likely than men to major in education, health professions, and humanities and psychology fields,

and to graduate with higher GPAs. In addition, women who did not marry before graduating were

more likely than married women and both married and single men to aspire to a graduate degree.

Among those with graduate degree aspirations, married women were less likely than single

women and married or single men to aspire to a first-professional or doctoral degree.

During the first 4 years after graduation, women and men behaved differently with respect

to marriage, parenthood, graduate enrollment, graduate attainment, and employment. Among

those who at graduation had not already made such transitions, women were more likely to marry

and/or become parents during the first 4 years after degree receipt. While women and men were

equally likely to enroll in some type of graduate degree program, women were more likely to enroll in master’s degree programs, and men were more likely to enroll in first-professional and

doctoral programs.

Graduate enrollment was negatively related to marriage for women, and to parenthood for

both men and women. In addition, women who enrolled in first-professional or doctoral programs were less likely to marry and become parents than those enrolling in master’s programs.

For women, marriage and parenthood appeared to play more significant roles in determining their

graduate outcomes than they did for men. In particular, women who were married before earning

their bachelor’s degree were less likely than those who were not married to enroll in a graduate

program, to enroll in a first-professional or doctoral degree program, and among those who enrolled, to enroll full time. These women were also less likely to attain a graduate degree, and

among those who attained, they were less likely to attain a first-professional or doctoral degree.

Among women who became parents after graduation, one also observed similar consistent negative effects on graduate enrollment and attainment. However, these effects were less consistent

for women who married after graduation, for women who were parents at graduation, and for

men.

Results of multivariate analyses show that, for women, marriage before receipt of a bachelor’s degree decreased their likelihood of graduate enrollment. On the other hand, for men, mar-
Summary and Conclusions

60

riage had no effect on their enrolling in a graduate program. For the combined pool of men and

women, age, race/ethnicity, parents’ education, field of study, and GPA were significant predictors of graduate enrollment.
61

Bibliography

Berkner, L.K., McCormick, A.C., and Cuccaro-Alamin, S. (1996). Descriptive Summary of

1989–90 Beginning Postsecondary Students: 5 Years Later, With an Essay on Postsecondary

Persistence and Attainment (NCES 96–155). U.S. Department of Education, National Center

for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Hochschild, A. (1989). The Second Shift: Working Parents and the Revolution at Home. New

York: Viking.

Lugaila, T. (1998). Marital Status and Living Arrangements: March 1998 (Update) (CPR P20-

514). U.S. Department of Commerce. Washington, DC: Bureau of the Census.

McCormick, A., Nuñez, A.-M., Shah, V., and Choy, S.P. (1999). Life After College: A Descriptive Summary of 1992–93 Bachelor’s Degree Recipients in 1997 (NCES 1999–155). U.S.

Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S.

Government Printing Office.

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2000). The Condition of

Education 2000 (NCES 2000–062). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
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63

Appendix A—Glossary

This glossary describes the variables used in this report. The variables were taken directly from the B&B:97 Data

Analysis System (DAS), an NCES software application that generates tables from the B&B:97 data. A description of

the DAS software can be found in appendix B. The labels are in bold capital letters and correspond to the names of

the variables in the DAS.

The glossary index is organized into three sections: Student Characteristics; Undergraduate Enrollment Characteristics; and Postbaccalaureate Enrollment, Attainment, and Employment Characteristics as of 1997. In the index below,

the variables in each section are listed in the order they appear in the tables; the glossary is in alphabetical order by

variable name (displayed in the right-hand column).

GLOSSARY INDEX

STUDENT CHARACTERISTICS

Race/ethnicity .......................................... B2ETHNIC

Gender ..........................................................B2RSEX

Age received bachelor’s degree ................CCAGEBA

Parenthood status at bachelor’s

degree receipt .......................................KIDSATBA

Marital status at bachelor’s degree

receipt...................................................... MSATBA

Parents’ educational attainment ................ PAREDUC

UNDERGRADUATE ENROLLMENT CHARACTERISTICS

Baccalaureate degree major ....................B2BAMAJR

Time to bachelor’s degree.......................... BATIME2

Degree-granting institution control ...........CONTROL

Timing of postsecondary

enrollment .......................................... DELAYENR

Degree-granting institution level................ LEVEL6A

GPA at bachelor’s degree

institution..............................................NORMGPA

Attendance at 2-year institution ...............B2ATT2YR

POST-BACCALAUREATE ENROLLMENT, ATTAINMENT, AND EMPLOYMENT CHARACTERISTICS

Graduate degree goal .............................. ANYHILVL

Highest degree earned after

bachelor’s degree ................................B2HDGPRG

Highest level of enrollment after

earning a bachelor’s degree................. B2HENPRG

Employment/enrollment, 1 year

after bachelor’s degree receipt ................. EMEN12

Employment/enrollment 2 years

after bachelor’s degree receipt ................. EMEN24

Employment/enrollment 3 years

after bachelor’s degree receipt ................. EMEN36

Employment/enrollment 4 years

after bachelor’s degree receipt ................. EMEN48

Year first married after bachelor’s

degree...................................................YRMARRY

Year of first graduate degree after

bachelor’s degree ..................................YRGRDEG

Year of parenthood after

bachelor’s degree ................................... YRBIRTH

Year first enrolled in graduate

school after bachelor’s degree............... YRENROL
Appendix A—Glossary

64

Graduate degree goal ANYHILVL

Indicates highest degree respondent expected ever to complete when asked in 1993. Degree expectations were classified as follows:

Master’s

First-professional

Doctoral

Attendance at 2-year institution B2ATT2YR

Indicates if a respondent attended a 2-year institution prior to attending the NPSAS institution.

Never attended

Attended

Baccalaureate degree major B2BAMAJR

Identifies a respondent’s undergraduate major field of study. Majors were classified as follows:

Professional fields

 Business and management

 Education

 Engineering

 Health professions

 Public affairs/social services

Arts and sciences

 Biological sciences

 Mathematics and other sciences

 Social science

 History

 Humanities

 Psychology

Other

Race/ethnicity B2ETHNIC

Indicates the race and ethnicity of the respondent. Created by combining two items respondents reported, their race

(American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian/Pacific Islander, black, white, other) and whether or not they were of Hispanic origin.

American Indian/Alaskan Native

Asian/Pacific Islander

Black, non–Hispanic

Hispanic

White, non–Hispanic

Other
Appendix A—Glossary

65

Highest degree earned after bachelor’s degree B2HDGPRG

Identifies degree type for the highest degree a student earned after completing the bachelor’s degree. Less than master’s degrees were not included. Degree types were classified as follows:

Master’s degree Master’s degree; MBA; post–master’s certificate

First-professional degree Medicine, law, theology, or other health science degree

Doctoral degree Doctor of Philosophy, Doctor of Education, or other doctoral

degree

Highest level of enrollment after earning a bachelor’s degree B2HENPRG

Identifies degree type for the highest degree program in which respondent enrolled after earning a bachelor’s degree.

Less than master’s degrees were not included. Degrees were defined as follows:

Master’s degree Master’s degree; MBA; post–master’s certificate

First-professional degree Medicine, law, theology, or other health science degree

Doctoral degree Doctor of Philosophy, Doctor of Education, or other doctoral

degree

Gender B2RSEX

Indicates respondent’s gender.

Male

Female

Time to bachelor’s degree BATIME2

Indicates the number of months between the date the respondent first entered college and the date of bachelor’s degree receipt. Responses were grouped as follows:

Four or fewer years

More than four, up to five

More than five

Age received bachelor’s degree CCAGEBA

Indicates the respondent’s age when he or she received a bachelor’s degree.

22 or younger

23–24

25–29

30 or older
Appendix A—Glossary

66

Degree-granting institution control CONTROL

Identifies the source of revenue and type of operations for the bachelor’s degree-granting institution.

Public A postsecondary education institution supported primarily by

public funds and operated by publicly elected or appointed officials who control the programs and activities.

Private, not-for-profit A postsecondary institution that is controlled by an independent governing board and incorporated under Section 501(c)(3)

of the Internal Revenue Code.

Private, for-profit A postsecondary institution that is privately owned and operated as a profit-making enterprise. Includes career colleges and

proprietary institutions.

Timing of postsecondary enrollment DELAYENR

Indicates whether respondent delayed entering postsecondary education after high school and length of delay.

Immediately following high school

Delayed 1 year

Delayed 2 or more years

Employment/enrollment after bachelor’s degree receipt—end of year 1, 2, 3, and 4 EMEN12, EMEN24

EMEN36, EMEN48

Indicates respondent’s status with respect to employment and enrollment in any postsecondary education 12, 24, 36,

and 48 months after bachelor’s degree receipt. For all respondents, these characteristics are grouped as follows:

Employed

Not employed

Enrolled

Not enrolled

In part of the analysis, they are also grouped according to more specific enrollment and employment characteristics

that take part-time/full-time status into account. Categories are defined as follows:

Employed full time Employed full time, enrolled full time; employed full time, enrolled part time; employed full time, not enrolled

Employed part time Employed part time, enrolled full time; employed part time,

enrolled part time; employed part time, not enrolled

Not employed Not employed, enrolled full time; not employed, enrolled part

time; not employed, not enrolled

Enrolled full time Enrolled full time, employed full time; enrolled full time, employed part time; enrolled full time, not employed
Appendix A—Glossary

67

Enrolled part time Enrolled part time, employed full time; enrolled part time, employed part time; enrolled part time, not employed

Not enrolled Not enrolled, employed full time; not enrolled, employed part

time; not enrolled, not employed

Parenthood status at bachelor’s degree receipt KIDSATBA

Indicates whether the respondent had any children at the time of receiving his or her bachelor’s degree.

No children

One or more children

Degree-granting institution level LEVEL6A

Indicates the highest type of degree offered at respondent’s institution. Responses were grouped as follows:

Nondoctorate Bachelor’s degree; master’s degree

Doctorate Doctoral degree; first-professional degree

Other Less-than-2-year; 2-year

Marital status at bachelor’s degree receipt MSATBA

Indicates respondent’s marital status at time of receiving his or her bachelor’s degree. Responses were classified as

follows:

Ever married

 Married

 Separated

 Divorced

 Widowed

Never married

 Cohabiting

 Single, never married

GPA at bachelor’s degree institution NORMGPA

Indicates respondent’s normalized calculated GPA. GPA scores were categorized as follows:

Under 2.50

2.50–2.99

3.00–3.49

3.50–4.00
Appendix A—Glossary

68

Parents’ educational attainment PAREDUC

Indicates the highest level of education completed by either of the respondent’s parents. Responses were defined in

the following categories:

Less than high school

High school or equivalency

Some postsecondary education (including associate’s degree)

Bachelor’s degree

Advanced degree

Year of parenthood after bachelor’s degree YRBIRTH

Indicates whether the respondent became a parent after receiving his or her bachelor’s degree, relative to the date of

degree receipt.

Did not become a parent within 4 years

Became a parent after bachelor’s degree

 Became a parent during year 1

 Became a parent during year 2

 Became a parent during year 3

 Became a parent during year 4

Year first enrolled in graduate school after bachelor’s degree YRENROL

Indicates the year of first enrollment in a graduate program after receipt of the bachelor’s degree, relative to the date

of degree receipt. Responses were classified as follows:

Did not enroll in graduate school within 4 years

Enrolled in grad school after bachelor’s degree

 Enrolled in grad school during year 1

 Enrolled in grad school during year 2

 Enrolled in grad school during year 3

 Enrolled in grad school during year 4

Year of first graduate degree after bachelor’s degree YRGRDEG

Indicates the year of first graduate attainment after receipt of the bachelor’s degree, relative to the date of degree

receipt. Responses were categorized as follows:

Did not attain graduate degree within 4 years

Attained graduate degree after bachelor’s degree

 Attained graduate degree during year 1

 Attained graduate degree during year 2

 Attained graduate degree during year 3

 Attained graduate degree during year 4
Appendix A—Glossary

69

Year first married after bachelor’s degree YRMARRY

Indicates the year of first marriage after receipt of the bachelor’s degree, relative to the date of degree receipt. Categories are as follows:

Did not marry within 4 years

Married after bachelor’s degree

 Married during year 1

 Married during year 2

 Married during year 3

 Married during year 4
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71

Appendix BTechnical Notes and Methodology

The Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study3

The data analyzed in this report came from the First and Second Follow-ups of the Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:93/94 and B&B:93/97), a study that tracks the

experiences of a cohort of college graduates who received baccalaureate degrees during the

1992–93 academic year and were first interviewed as part of the National Postsecondary Student

Aid Study (NPSAS:93). This group’s experiences in the areas of academic enrollments, degree

completions, employment, public service, and other decisions have been followed through 1997.

The data derived from this survey provide critical information about college graduates’ postsecondary education outcomes, including graduate and professional program access, labor market

experience, and rates of return on investment in education.

The B&B:93/94 survey was the first follow-up interview of NPSAS:93 participants who

received their bachelor’s degree between July 1992 and June 1993. Of 12,500 NPSAS:93 respondents who were identified as potentially eligible for the first follow-up survey, about 1,500

were determined to be ineligible. About 10,000 eligible individuals completed the 1994 interview.

The B&B:93/97 survey is the second follow-up interview of the B&B cohort. The first follow-up interview (B&B:93/94) collected information from respondents 1 year after they received

the bachelor’s degree; the second follow-up (B&B:93/97) collected data 4 years after they received the bachelor’s degree. Data collection for B&B:93/97 took place between April and December 1997. Approximately 11,000 individuals in the B&B cohort were determined eligible for

follow-up in 1997. For the second followup, the number of interviews completed was about

10,000, yielding a response rate of 90 percent. About 9,000 individuals (83 percent of the sample) responded to all three rounds of the B&B study. Referred to as “the B&B panel sample,”

these respondents became the base sample of the analyses presented in this report.

The NPSAS:93 sample, while representative and statistically accurate, was not a simple

random sample. Instead, the survey sample was selected using a more complex three-step proce-

 

3The text in this section is based on excerpts from the Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study: 1993/97 Methodology

Report (NCES 1999–159) (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1999).
Appendix B—Technical Notes and Methodology

72

dure with stratified samples and differential probabilities of selection at each level. Postsecondary institutions were initially selected within geographic strata. Once institutions were organized

by zip code and state, they were further stratified by control (i.e., public; private, not-for-profit;

or private, for-profit) and degree offering (less-than-2-year, 2- to 3-year, 4-year nondoctorategranting, and 4-year doctorate-granting).4

For more information about the NPSAS:93 survey, refer to the Methodology Report for the

National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, 1992–93 (NCES 95–211, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1995). For more information on

procedures for the Baccalaureate and Beyond First Follow-up Study (B&B:93/94), consult the

Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study: 1993/94 Methodology Report (NCES 96–149,

Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1996).

For more information on procedures for the Baccalaureate and Beyond Second Follow-up Study

(B&B:93/97), consult the Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study: 1993/97 Methodology

Report (NCES 1999–159, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for

Education Statistics, 1999).

Sample weights. B&B:93/97 final weights were calculated by making a nonresponse adjustment to the baseline B&B weight calculated for the sample eligible for B&B:93/94 and later

follow-up studies. This baseline B&B weight is an adjustment of the baseline NPSAS:93 weight

to correct for misidentification in NPSAS:93 and several post-stratification adjustments. All

analyses in this report are weighted to compensate for unequal probability of selection into the

B&B sample and to adjust for nonresponse. The B&B panel weight, based on respondents who

participated in all three surveys, is used. A complete description of the weighting methodology is

available in the methodology reports cited above.

Accuracy of Estimates

The statistics in this report are estimates derived from a sample. Two broad categories of

error occur in such estimates: sampling and nonsampling errors. Sampling errors occur because

observations are made only on samples of students, not on entire populations. Surveys of population universes are not subject to sampling errors. Estimates based on a sample will differ

somewhat from those that would have been obtained by a complete census of the relevant population using the same survey instruments, instructions, and procedures. The standard error of a

statistic is a measure of the variation due to sampling; it indicates the precision of the statistic

 

4The NPSAS universe excludes institutions offering only correspondence courses, institutions enrolling only their own employees, and U.S. service academies. For this B&B cohort, institutions were further stratified by the number of degrees in education

they had awarded in the past.
Appendix B—Technical Notes and Methodology

73

obtained in a particular sample. In addition, the standard errors for two sample statistics can be

used to estimate the precision of the difference between the two statistics and to help determine

whether the difference based on the sample is large enough so that it represents the population

difference.

Nonsampling errors occur not only in sample surveys but also in complete censuses of entire populations. Nonsampling errors can be attributed to a number of sources: inability to obtain

complete information about all students in all institutions in the sample (some students or institutions refused to participate, or students participated but answered only certain items); ambiguous definitions; differences in interpreting questions; inability or unwillingness to give correct

information; mistakes in recording or coding data; and other errors of collecting, processing,

sampling, and imputing missing data. Although nonsampling errors due to questionnaire and

item nonresponse can be reduced somewhat by the adjustment of sample weights and imputation

procedures, correcting nonsampling errors or gauging the effects of these errors is usually difficult.

Data Analysis System

The estimates presented in this report were produced using the B&B:93/97 Data Analysis

System (DAS). The DAS software makes it possible for users to specify and generate their own

tables from the B&B:93/97 data. With the DAS, users can replicate or expand upon the tables

presented in this report. In addition to the table estimates, the DAS calculates proper standard

errors5 and weighted sample sizes for these estimates. For example, table B1 contains estimated

standard errors that correspond to the estimates presented in table 9 and was generated by the

B&B:93/97 DAS. If the number of valid cases is too small to produce a reliable estimate (fewer

than 30 cases), the DAS prints the message “low N” instead of the estimate.

In addition to tables, the DAS will also produce a correlation matrix of selected variables to

be used for linear regression models. Included in the output with the correlation matrix are the

design effects (DEFTs) for each variable in the matrix. Since statistical procedures generally

compute standard errors based on an assumption of simple random sampling, those standard errors must be adjusted with the design effects to take into account B&B’s complex sample design.

(See discussion under “Statistical Procedures” below for the adjustment procedure.)

 

5The B&B sample is not a simple random sample, and therefore simple random sample techniques for estimating sampling error

cannot be applied to these data. The DAS takes into account the complexity of the sampling procedures and calculates standard

errors appropriate for such samples. The method for computing sampling errors used by the DAS involves approximating the

estimator by the linear terms of a Taylor series expansion. The procedure is typically referred to as the Taylor series method.
Appendix B—Technical Notes and Methodology

74

Table B1.—Standard errors for table 3: Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who expected to

Table B1.—earn a graduate degree, and among those who did, percentage distribution according to graduate

Table B1.—degree expected at the time of bachelor’s degree receipt, by gender and selected demographic and

Table B1.—enrollment characteristics

Expected Degree expected

to earn a Master’s First- Doctoral

graduate degree degree professional degree

 Total 0.59 0.94 0.45 0.85 

Age received bachelor’s degree

 22 or younger 0.73 1.30 0.73 1.15 

 23–24 1.28 2.05 0.80 1.97 

 25–29 2.23 2.61 0.91 2.57 

 30 or older 1.54 1.90 0.64 1.83 

Race/ethnicity

 American Indian/Alaskan Native 4.92 10.17 3.70 10.03 

 Asian/Pacific Islander 3.12 5.67 3.65 6.59 

 Black, non-Hispanic 2.25 3.73 1.75 3.28 

 Hispanic 1.86 3.82 1.95 3.58 

 White, non-Hispanic 0.66 0.94 0.44 0.85 

 Other — ———

Parents’ educational attainment

 Less than high school 2.83 3.42 1.15 3.32 

 High school or equivalency 1.14 1.72 0.75 1.62 

 Some postsecondary education 1.16 2.12 0.99 2.05 

 Bachelor’s degree 1.38 1.72 0.68 1.57 

 Advanced degree 1.17 1.95 0.97 1.73 

Degree-granting institution 

 Public 4-year 0.69 1.14 0.56 1.04 

 Private, not-for-profit 4-year 1.10 1.65 0.75 1.47 

Degree-granting institution level

 Nondoctorate 0.86 1.23 0.47 1.18 

 Doctorate 0.78 1.33 0.73 1.13 

Baccalaureate degree major

 Professional fields 0.85 1.09 0.50 1.01 

 Business and management 1.80 1.91 1.09 1.62 

 Education 0.82 1.64 0.54 1.64 

 Engineering 2.88 6.62 2.28 6.34 

 Health professions 2.04 2.30 0.94 2.23 

 Public affairs/social services 2.36 4.17 2.07 4.01 

 Arts and sciences 0.84 1.69 0.90 1.60 

 Biological sciences 2.49 4.31 2.90 4.04 

 Mathematics/other sciences 2.58 4.66 1.52 4.79 

 Social science 1.31 3.04 2.02 2.75 

 History 6.35 5.96 4.95 5.80 

 Humanities 1.74 3.01 0.83 2.97 

 Psychology 1.87 4.22 2.03 4.31 

 Other 1.69 2.10 1.03 1.97 

GPA at bachelor’s degree institution

 Under 2.5 2.14 2.85 1.33 2.70 

 2.5 to 2.99 1.17 1.63 0.82 1.56 

 3.0 to 3.49 0.95 1.47 0.70 1.34 

 3.5 or above 1.15 1.70 0.79 1.62 

Women
Appendix B—Technical Notes and Methodology

75

Table B1.—Standard errors for table 3: Percentage of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who expected to

Table B1.—earn a graduate degree, and among those who did, percentage distribution according to graduate

Table B1.—degree expected at the time of bachelor’s degree receipt, by gender and selected demographic and

Table B1.—enrollment characteristics—Continued

Expected Degree expected

to earn a Master’s First- Doctoral

graduate degree degree professional degree

 Total 0.82 1.11 0.60 1.08 

Age received bachelor’s degree 

 22 or younger 1.18 1.61 1.02 1.48 

 23–24 1.54 2.55 0.89 2.62 

 25–29 2.10 2.66 1.26 2.45 

 30 or older 2.03 2.69 1.57 2.32 

Race/ethnicity

 American Indian/Alaskan Native — ———

 Asian/Pacific Islander 3.32 8.36 2.73 9.75 

 Black, non-Hispanic 2.44 4.97 3.19 4.50 

 Hispanic 2.72 4.89 2.40 4.80 

 White, non-Hispanic 0.90 1.08 0.64 0.99 

 Other — ———

Parents’ educational attainment

 Less than high school 4.13 4.71 2.68 4.53 

 High school or equivalency 1.70 1.95 0.90 1.78 

 Some postsecondary education 1.74 3.66 1.36 3.73 

 Bachelor’s degree 1.64 1.96 1.20 1.83 

 Advanced degree 1.42 2.05 1.41 1.95 

Degree-granting institution 

 Public 4-year 1.03 1.19 0.72 1.11 

 Private, not-for-profit 4-year 1.28 1.83 1.10 1.68 

Degree-granting institution level

 Nondoctorate 1.39 2.02 0.84 2.02 

 Doctorate 1.01 1.30 0.83 1.21 

Baccalaureate degree major

 Professional fields 1.22 1.33 0.72 1.20 

 Business and management 1.87 1.95 1.15 1.66 

 Education 3.03 3.37 0.74 3.30 

 Engineering 2.09 2.58 1.28 2.40 

 Health professions 3.56 4.70 2.88 4.14 

 Public affairs/social services 3.67 4.61 2.78 3.99 

 Arts and sciences 0.98 1.63 1.10 1.53 

 Biological sciences 1.79 3.43 3.96 3.78 

 Mathematics/other sciences 2.20 3.34 1.33 3.27 

 Social science 1.89 2.87 2.35 2.51 

 History 3.44 6.32 2.92 5.86 

 Humanities 2.38 3.57 1.13 3.42 

 Psychology 2.70 6.67 2.56 6.89 

 Other 2.60 4.80 1.48 5.19 

GPA at bachelor’s degree institution

 Under 2.5 2.00 2.11 1.42 1.61 

 2.5 to 2.99 1.41 1.60 0.75 1.54 

 3.0 to 3.49 1.35 2.41 1.21 2.46 

 3.5 or above 1.59 2.58 1.53 2.28 

—Sample size too small for a reliable estimate.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study,

Second Follow-up (B&B:1993/1997), Data Analysis System.

Men
Appendix B—Technical Notes and Methodology

76

For more information about the B&B:93/97 and other Data Analysis Systems, consult the

NCES DAS website (http://nces.ed.gov/das) or contact:

Aurora D’Amico

Postsecondary Studies Division

National Center for Education Statistics

1990 K Street, NW

Washington, DC 20006

(202) 502-7334

Internet address: Aurora_D’Amico@ed.gov

Statistical Procedures

Differences Between Means

The descriptive comparisons were tested in this report using Student’s t statistic. Differences between estimates are tested against the probability of a Type I error,6 or significance level.

The significance levels were determined by calculating the Student’s t values for the differences

between each pair of means or proportions and comparing these with published tables of significance levels for two-tailed hypothesis testing.

Student’s t values may be computed to test the difference between estimates with the following formula:

2

2

2

1

1 2

se se

E E

t

+

− = (1)

where E1 and E2 are the estimates to be compared and se1 and se2 are their corresponding standard errors. This formula is valid only for independent estimates. When estimates are not independent, a covariance term must be added to the formula:

E -E

se + se - 2(r)se se

1 2

1

2

2

2

1 2

 (2)

where r is the correlation between the two estimates.7 This formula is used when comparing two

percentages from a distribution that adds to 100. If the comparison is between the mean of a subgroup and the mean of the total group, the following formula is used:

 

6A Type I error occurs when one concludes that a difference observed in a sample reflects a true difference in the population

from which the sample was drawn, when no such difference is present.

7U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, A Note from the Chief Statistician, no. 2, 1993.
Appendix B—Technical Notes and Methodology

77

2

sub

2

tot

2

sub

sub tot

se se 2p se

E E

+ −

− (3)

where p is the proportion of the total group contained in the subgroup.8 The estimates, standard

errors, and correlations can all be obtained from the DAS.

There are hazards in reporting statistical tests for each comparison. First, comparisons

based on large t statistics may appear to merit special attention. This can be misleading since the

magnitude of the t statistic is related not only to the observed differences in means or percentages

but also to the number of students in the specific categories used for comparison. Hence, a small

difference compared across a large number of students would produce a large t statistic.

A second hazard in reporting statistical tests for each comparison occurs when making

multiple comparisons among categories of an independent variable. For example, when making

paired comparisons among different levels of income, the probability of a Type I error for these

comparisons taken as a group is larger than the probability for a single comparison. When more

than one difference between groups of related characteristics or “families” are tested for statistical significance, one must apply a standard that assures a level of significance for all of those

comparisons taken together.

Comparisons were made in this report only when p< .05/k for a particular pairwise comparison, where that comparison was one of k tests within a family. This guarantees both that the

individual comparison would have p< .05 and that for k comparisons within a family of possible

comparisons, the significance level for all the comparisons will sum to p< .05.9

For example, in a comparison of males and females, only one comparison is possible

(males vs. females). In this family, k=1, and the comparison can be evaluated without adjusting

the significance level. When students are divided into five racial/ethnic groups and all possible

comparisons are made, then k=10 and the significance level of each test must be p< .05/10, or p<

.005. The formula for calculating family size (k) is as follows:

k j j = ( ) −1

2 (4)

 

8Ibid.

9The standard that p≤ .05/k for each comparison is more stringent than the criterion that the significance level of the comparisons

should sum to p≤ .05. For tables showing the t statistic required to ensure that p≤ .05/k for a particular family size and degrees of

freedom, see Olive Jean Dunn, “Multiple Comparisons Among Means,” Journal of the American Statistical Association 56

(1961): 52–64.
Appendix B—Technical Notes and Methodology

78

where j is the number of categories for the variable being tested. In the case of race/ethnicity,

there are five racial/ethnic groups (American Indian/Alaskan Native; Asian/Pacific Islander;

black, non-Hispanic; Hispanic; and white, non-Hispanic), so substituting 5 for j in equation 2,

k = 5(5 -1)

2

=10

Linear Trends

While most descriptive comparisons in this report were tested using Student’s t statistic,

some comparisons across categories of an ordered variable with three or more levels involved a

test for a linear trend across all categories, rather than a series of tests between pairs of categories. In this report, when averages of a continuous variable were examined relative to a variable

with ordered categories, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to test for a linear relationship

between the two variables. To do this, ANOVA models included orthogonal linear contrasts corresponding to successive levels of the independent variable. The squares of the Taylorized standard errors (that is, standard errors that were calculated by the Taylor series method), the

variance between the means, and the unweighted sample sizes were used to partition total sum of

squares into within- and between-group sums of squares. These were used to create mean squares

for the within- and between-group variance components and their corresponding F statistics,

which were then compared with published values of F for a significance level of .05.10 Significant values of both the overall F and the F associated with the linear contrast term were required

as evidence of a linear relationship between the two variables. Means and Taylorized standard

errors were calculated by the DAS. Unweighted sample sizes are not available from the DAS and

were provided by NCES.

Adjustment of Means to Control for Background Variation

Tabular results are limited by sample size when attempting to control for additional factors

that may account for the variation observed between two variables. For example, when examining the percentages of those who completed a degree or were still enrolled in postsecondary education 3 years after their initial enrollment, it is impossible to know to what extent the observed

variation is due to socioeconomic status (SES) differences and to what extent it is due to differences in other factors related to SES, such as type of institution attended, intensity of enrollment,

and so on. However, if a nested table were produced showing SES within type of institution attended within enrollment intensity, the cell sizes would be too small to identify the patterns.

 

10More information about ANOVA and significance testing using the F statistic can be found in any standard textbook on statistical methods in the social and behavioral sciences.
Appendix B—Technical Notes and Methodology

79

When the sample size becomes too small to support controls for another level of variation, one

must use other methods to take such variation into account.

To overcome this difficulty, multiple linear regression was used to obtain means that were

adjusted for covariation among a list of control variables.11 Adjusted means for subgroups were

obtained by regressing the dependent variable on a set of descriptive variables such as gender,

race/ethnicity, SES, and so on. Substituting ones or zeros for the subgroup characteristic(s) of

interest and the mean proportions for the other variables results in an estimate of the adjusted

proportion for the specified subgroup, holding all other variables constant. For example, consider

a hypothetical case in which two variables, age and gender, are used to describe an outcome, Y

(such as attaining a degree). The variables age and gender are recoded into a dummy variable representing age, A, and a dummy variable representing gender, G:

Age A

24 years or older 1

Less than 24 years old 0

and

Gender G

Female 1

Male 0

The following regression equation is then estimated from the correlation matrix output from the

DAS:

ˆ

Y = a + b1A+ b2G (5)

To estimate the adjusted mean for any subgroup evaluated at the mean of all other variables, one substitutes the appropriate values for that subgroup’s dummy variables (1 or 0) and the

mean for the dummy variable(s) representing all other subgroups. For example, suppose Y represents attainment, and is being described by age (A) and gender (G), coded as shown above, with

means as follows:

Variable Mean

A 0.355

G 0.521

Next, suppose the regression equation results in:

ˆ

Y = 0.15 + 0.17A + 0.01G (6)

 

11For more information about weighted least squares regression, see Michael S. Lewis-Beck, Applied Regression: An Introduction, Vol. 22 (Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications, Inc., 1980); William D. Berry and Stanley Feldman, Multiple Regression in

Practice, Vol. 50 (Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications, Inc., 1987).
Appendix B—Technical Notes and Methodology

80

To estimate the adjusted value for older students, one substitutes the appropriate parameter

estimates and variable values into equation 6.

Variable Parameter Value

a 0.15 —

A 0.17 1.000

G 0.01 0.521

This results in:

ˆ

Y = 0.15 +(0.17)(1) + (0.01)(0.521) = 0.325

In this case, the adjusted mean for older students is 0.325 and represents the expected outcome for older students who resemble the average student across the other variables (in this example, gender). In other words, the adjusted percentage who attained after controlling for age and

gender is 32.5 percent (0.325 x 100 for conversion to a percentage).

It is relatively straightforward to produce a multivariate model using the DAS, since one of

the DAS output options is a correlation matrix, computed using pairwise missing values. In regression analysis, there are several common approaches to the problem of missing data. The two

simplest are pairwise deletion of missing data and listwise deletion of missing data. In pairwise

deletion, each correlation is calculated using all of the cases for the two relevant variables. For

example, suppose you have a regression analysis that uses variables X1, X2, and X3. The regression is based on the correlation matrix between X1, X2 and X3. In pairwise deletion the correlation between X1 and X2 is based on the nonmissing cases for X1 and X2. Cases missing on

either X1 or X2 would be excluded from the calculation of the correlation. In listwise deletion

the correlation between X1 and X2 would be based on the nonmissing values for X1, X2, and

X3. That is, all of the cases with missing data on any of the three variables would be excluded

from the analysis.12

The correlation matrix can be used by most statistical software packages as the input data

for least squares regression. That is the approach used for this report, with an additional adjustment to incorporate the complex sample design into the statistical significance tests of the parameter estimates (described below). For tabular presentation, parameter estimates and standard

errors were multiplied by 100 to match the scale used for reporting unadjusted and adjusted percentages.

 

12Although the DAS simplifies the process of making regression models, it also limits the range of models. Analysts who wish to

use an approach other than pairwise treatment of missing values or to estimate probit/logit models (which are the most appropriate for models with categorical dependent variables) can apply for a restricted data license from NCES. See John H. Aldrich and

Forrest D. Nelson, Linear Probability, Logit and Probit Models (Quantitative Applications in Social Sciences, Vol. 45) (Beverly

Hills, CA: Sage, 1984).
Appendix B—Technical Notes and Methodology

81

Most statistical software packages assume simple random sampling when computing standard errors of parameter estimates. Because of the complex sampling design used for the NPSAS

and B&B surveys, this assumption is incorrect. A better approximation of their standard errors is

to multiply each standard error by the design effect associated with the dependent variable

(DEFT),13 where the DEFT is the ratio of the true standard error to the standard error computed

under the assumption of simple random sampling. It is calculated by the DAS and produced with

the correlation matrix.

 

13The adjustment procedure and its limitations are described in C.J. Skinner, D. Holt, and T.M.F. Smith, eds., Analysis of Complex Surveys (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1989).