Low-Income Students in Higher Education: Undermatching Predicts Decreased Satisfaction toward the Final Stage in College

Abstract

It is undesirable when students attend institutions that are less selective than their academic credentials would permit (i.e., undermatching) because of the long-term consequences for their job opportunities and wages, in particular for students from low-socioeconomic (SES) backgrounds. Undermatching may also affect students’ satisfaction during college. Research from a life course perspective shows that subjective experiences during college may have long-term impact on adolescents’ development. However, little is known about the relation between undermatching and students’ subjective experiences during their years in college, and about whether this relation is moderated by SES. From an academic misalignment perspective, undermatching may lead to less satisfaction because undermatched students are not maximizing their potential. However, from a social misalignment perspective, experiences of social mismatch when low-SES students enter the most selective institutions are well documented, and such mismatch may be less pronounced in less selective institutions. Consequently, there may be a positive relation between undermatching and satisfaction with the social environment for low-SES students. The current study tested these relations by using propensity score matching (PSM) to analyse the association between undermatching, SES, and satisfaction among 21,452 respondents (67% female) among 1 st , 2 nd , 3 th , and 4 th year college students from a cohort study among students in the Netherlands (Dutch Student Monitor), all of whom were eligible for the most selective institutions. The results indicated a negative relation between undermatching and satisfaction with the social and academic environment, both for low- and high-SES students. The negative relation between undermatching and both forms of satisfaction increases toward the last year in college, especially for low-SES students. This lowered satisfaction in the final stage in higher education implies that the negative consequences of undermatching become more pronounced after students have become more integrated in their colleges. These findings have important implications for the understanding about undermatching in relation to students’ development and for the formulation of policies and programs for promoting social mobility.

Undermatching and Noncognitive Development during the First Year of College: A Longitudinal Study of College Students in the Netherlands

“…Whereas previous research has concentrated on the factors that influence undermatching (Belasco and Trivette 2015;Bowen et al 2009;Roderick et al 2011;Roksa and Deutschlander 2018;Smith et al 2013), or its longer-term effects (Muskens et al 2020;Dillon and Smith 2020;Muskens et al 2019;Ovink et al 2017), we examine undermatching in relation to a distinctive definition of student success based on the extent to which students positively change over the course of their first year in college. Drawing on data that follows a large, national sample of students into and through their first year of college, we have designed this study to ultimately gain understanding of the influence of institutional undermatching on noncognitive development, and whether or not this influence differs based on students' first-generation status.…”

“…Far less attention has been directed to the outcomes associated with, or the effects of, undermatching. We have identified only a small handful of published studies focused on outcomes that extend beyond initial enrollment in college, including: Muskens et al (2020) analysis of long-term career outcomes (including employment, income, and satisfaction) of college graduates in Germany; Muskens et al (2019) study of subjective experiences 1 3 during college among students in the Netherlands; Ovink et al (2017) examination of U.S. students within the first few years of completing college; and Dillon and Smith's (2020) investigation of degree completion and long-term earnings based on two longitudinal samples of U.S. students (those who completed high school and made their college choice from 1975-1983 and from 1998-2002).…”

“…The evidence to date does not fully support this assumption, or deficit-oriented approaches to examining undermatch. The small number of studies that have sought to empirically demonstrate outcomes associated with undermatching have indeed presented evidence to suggest that undermatching may have negative long-term consequences (Muskens et al 2019(Muskens et al , 2020Ovink et al 2017), while other studies have indicated that undermatched students may experience some positive outcomes relative to their matched peers (Fostnacht 2015;Kurlaender and Grodksy 2013). Ultimately, the existing evidence on the effects of undermatching is not entirely conclusive, and no prior study has examined academic undermatching from a developmental perspective.…”

The Educational Migration of Sub-state Ethnic Minorities on the Outskirts of the EU

“…(Foley, 2001) For example, students from lower-income families were found to be particularly likely to attend less selective institutions, regardless of their level of academic ability, achievement, and aspirations. (Muskens et al, 2019) Educational migration can be a form of transmigration that takes place when young people move from their home country to another country for the sake of better education (Badikyan, 2011). Such migrants aspire to eventually obtain better career prospects, a higher salary, new professional experiences, and contacts, motivating and interesting jobs, and/or better training facilities (Stukalina et al, 2018).…”

Promotion Mix Nahdlatul Ulama University of Surabaya to Increase New Student’s Interest

“…Promotion in education has a vital role in the sustainability of higher education. In globalization, universities are required to compete (competitiveness) in providing satisfactory educational services to the community; if not so, then universities will slowly experience a decrease in interest in the public interest which will affect higher education income (Muskens et al, 2019). Providing satisfactory educational services is a strategy to gain trust from the community, increasing the public's interest in higher education.…”