Extracurricular associations and college enrollment

Keywords

Extracurricular activities, GPA, Peers, College Enrollment

Abstract

There is consistent evidence that student involvement in extracurricular activities (EAs) is associated with numerous academic benefits, yet understanding how peer associations within EAs might influence this link is not well understood. Using Add Health’s comprehensive data on EA participation across 80 schools in the United States, we develop a novel measure of peer associations within EA activities. We find that EA participation with high achieving peers has a nontrivial link to college enrollment, even after considering individual, peer, and school-level factors. This suggests that school policies aimed at encouraging student exposure to high achieving peers in EAs could have an important impact on a student’s later educational outcomes.

Original Publication Citation

Gibbs, Benjamin G., Lance D. Erickson, Mikaela J. Dufur, & Aaron Miles. (2015). Extracurricular Associations and College Enrollment. Social Science Research. 50: 367–381. DOI:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2014.08.013.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2015-3

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/5580

Publisher

Social Science Research

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Sociology

University Standing at Time of Publication

Associate Professor

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