Despite growing minority enrollment in higher education, there remain two separate postsecondary pathways for whites and minorities. Whites are overrepresented at elite colleges while minorities attend open-access colleges in larger numbers. Elite colleges have greater resources which lead to higher completion rates, advanced degree attainment, and future earnings compared to open-access colleges. As a result, the current educational system reinforces racial inequality and low social mobility in the United States.

1. Separate &
Unequal:
How Higher Education Reinforces the
Intergenerational Reproduction of White
Racial Privilege
Anthony P. Carnevale and Jeff Strohl
July 31, 2013

2. Overview
• Despite increasing access to college for minorities,
there are two separate postsecondary pathways:
one for whites and another for Hispanics and
African Americans.
• The postsecondary system magnifies and projects
inequality into the labor market and society at
large.

3. Postsecondary Enrollment
Between 1995 and 2009, new freshman enrollments at postsecondary institutions
grew by 107 % for Hispanics, 73 % for African Americans, and 15 % for whites.

4. Elite College Enrollment
• White overrepresentation in the nation’s most elite-
top 468 colleges is increasing, even as the white
share of college-age students has declined
• Enrollment at these colleges were:
– 82% White
– 13% Hispanic
– 9% African Americans

5. Open Access College Enrollment
• Open-access two- and four-year colleges had a larger
freshman enrollment among minority students
– 68% African American
– 72% Hispanic

6. Advantages
• The most selective schools have:
– Greater financial resources
– Higher completion rates
– Higher rates of graduate school enrollment and
advanced degree attainment
– Higher future earnings

7. Greater Financial Resources
82 of the most selective schools spend almost five times as much on instruction
as open-access two- and four-year colleges

8. Higher Completion Rates
• The 468 most selective colleges’ completion rate is 82%
• Open-access two and four- year colleges have a 49% completion rate

9. Cont.
• Even among equally qualified students with good SAT scores, the 468 most
selective four-year colleges have substantially higher completion rates

10. Cont.
• Among high-scoring college students only 36% Hispanics and 37% African
American complete a BA or higher compared to 57% Whites

11. Advanced Degree Attainment
• Students who graduate from selective colleges are more likely
to earn a graduate degree which leads to higher earnings

12. Higher Earnings
• Graduates from the 468 most selective colleges earn $67K annually 10
years after graduating, compared to $49K annually for graduates of the
open-access two- and four-year colleges

13. Cont.
• Workers with professional degree earned 2.1M more over a lifetime than
workers who dropped out of college

14. Conclusion
• Racial inequality in the educational system, paired with low
social and economic mobility in the United States, produces
enormous differences in educational outcomes
• Latinos and African Americans are seeing unequal results
from postsecondary education pathways

15. For more information:
See the full report and executive summary on
https://cew.georgetown.edu/report/separate-unequal/
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