The Big Sort: College Reputation and Labor Market Outcomes

Picking a college is one of the most important decisions in a young person’s life. It will shape their experience over the next four years and likely determine their first job. New research suggests that the stakes could be even higher than we thought. In the July issue of the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, researchers Bentley MacLeod, Evan Riehl, Juan Saavedra, and Miguel Urquiola explore how a college’s reputation affects what they call “the big sort.”

You may view a video on the research here and read the full article here.