First generation college students and peer effects
MSU Affiliation
College of Business; Department of Finance and Economics
Creation Date
2025-10-17
Abstract
Higher education policymakers are concerned about the success of first-generation college students. In this study, we investigate one potential factor that may influence the outcomes of first-generation students: their peers. We leverage the assignment of roommates at The United States Military Academy (West Point) to study the effect of being exposed to a roommate(s) with a one standard deviation higher SAT score on first-semester math and English grades for first-generation students. In our main specifications, we fail to detect statistically significant effects, though we can rule out effects larger than around 0.05 to 0.07 standard deviations in final course grades.
Publication Date
9-17-2025
Publication Title
Labour Economics
Publisher
Elsevier
Recommended Citation
Kofoed, M. S., & Jones, T. R. (2025). First generation college students and peer effects. Labour Economics, 97, 102768. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2025.102768
