For those students on the cusp of meeting minimum SAT requirements to enter college, where they choose to enroll could determine their chance of eventually earning a bachelor's degree.
Researchers from the College Board and Harvard University's Kennedy School released a paper last month describing how students who are drawn out of four-year institutions to the two-year sector -- due to minimum thresholds for SAT scores -- have lower bachelor's degree completion rates than those who attend four-year universities. The study, which the National Bureau of Economic Research published, can be found here.
The researchers examined SAT scores and completion rates within Georgia’s state university system, which uses a minimum SAT score threshold for first-year admission. They also examined other college systems that do not publicize minimum thresholds. Small differences in SAT scores can impact students' enrollment choices and, subsequently, their completion rates for bachelor’s degrees, according to the study. Two-year colleges in Georgia tend to have lower SAT score requirements.
"We believe that there are numerous challenges that institutions across the country face which make it difficult for students who start at two-year colleges to successfully transfer to four-year colleges and attain a bachelor’s degree," said Jonathan Smith, an associate policy research scientist at the College Board who coauthored the study.
Read more at Inside Higher Ed: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/03/04/study-reveals-sat-thresholds-may-hinder-future-four-year-success