The Value of a College Education: Exploring Social Mobility at Georgia’s Colleges and Universities

One of the primary benefits of earning a college degree is the potential for upward social mobility. Indeed, a key component of the American Dream is that through hard work and education one can end up in a better financial position than the previous generation. In recent years, however, this notion has been challenged as people question the return on investment that a college degree provides. Using data collected by Chetty et al. (2017) this study examines the rates of classic, extended, and any upward mobility at colleges and universities in the state of Georgia. Additionally, comparisons of social mobility at Georgia institutions are made by tier (highly selective, selective, non-selective, and 2-year) and minority-serving institution (MSI) status (HBCU, PBI, and PWI). Results suggest that selective institutions and HBCUs produce the highest rates of upward social mobility in the state of Georgia due largely to the increased access low-income students have to these institutions. The impact of access and success rates on social mobility are also discussed.