The Great Equalizer? Race, Educational Attainment, and Success

Higher education is often seen as the “great equalizer,” meaning higher education is the key to leveling social inequality. However, prestigious colleges and their legacy admissions policies exemplify how not all education is created equal. Research shows that white people have an advantage in academic, occupational, and professional spaces. Additionally, students with more cultural capital have covert advantages over those with less cultural capital, a term coined by Bourdieu to describe the knowledge and skills an individual learns from their habitus. Using the data from the General Social Survey (GSS), I will use the Statistical Data Analysis (SDA) program to explore specific social factors through an intersectional framework that contributes to the relative success of a student, not only in academia but beyond college as they enter the workforce. Results indicate that while education does assist in social mobility and is worth investing in, inequalities persist throughout education, exemplified by the inconsistencies of results between races. Thus, work towards leveling inequality must consider additional factors and social institutions.