Objectives: In this study, we explore the influence of enrolling initially at a community college before transferring to a 4-year institution on the selectivity of the destination 4-year institution. Method: We leverage nationally representative data and a propensity score matching approach to compare the institutional selectivity between students who begin at a community college before transferring to a 4-year institution and those who begin at a 4-year college or university. To estimate the relationship between the community college pathway and institutional selectivity, we employ an ordinal logistic regression model. Results: We find that transferring from a community college to a 4-year institution had a positive influence on the selectivity of students’ destination 4-year institution. More specifically, students who enroll initially at a community college before transferring to a 4-year institution have a greater probability of attending a very selective 4-year institution and moderately selective 4-year institution when compared with native 4-year students. Students who transferred from a community college have a lower probability of attending minimally selective 4-year institutions and open-admission 4-year institutions when compared with otherwise-similar students who began at a 4-year institution. Contributions: By showing a positive relationship between the vertical transfer and the level of selectivity of students’ destination 4-year institution, this study highlights a potential benefit of beginning at a community college before transferring to a 4-year institution.

中文翻译：

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社区大学衔接课程是否会影响学生对四年制大学的选择性？

目标：在本研究中，我们探讨了在转入 4 年制机构之前先在社区学院注册对目标 4 年制机构选择性的影响。方法：我们利用具有全国代表性的数据和倾向得分匹配方法来比较在转入 4 年制大学之前从社区学院开始的学生与从 4 年制学院或大学开始的学生之间的机构选择性。为了估计社区大学途径与机构选择性之间的关系，我们采用了有序逻辑回归模型。结果：我们发现，从社区大学转入 4 年制院校对学生目的地 4 年制院校的选择性有积极影响。进一步来说，与本地 4 年制学生相比，在转入 4 年制机构之前先在社区学院注册的学生更有可能进入非常有选择性的 4 年制机构和中等选择性的 4 年制机构。与从 4 年制机构开始的其他类似学生相比，从社区大学转学的学生进入最低选择性 4 年制机构和开放录取的 4 年制机构的可能性较低。贡献：通过显示垂直转学与学生目的地 4 年制机构的选择性水平之间存在正相关关系，本研究强调了在转入 4 年制机构之前先从社区大学开始的潜在好处。