In this study, we investigate how college extracurricular activities influence students' early occupational outcomes. In particular, we examine how the type and number of extracurricular activities, as well as level of participation, influence occupational prestige and job satisfaction. Employing the three national databases, we compare the…

Employing NCES databases, we investigate how college selectivity influences job satisfaction and prestige from the 1970s to the 1990s and across different racial categories. We find that the effect of college selectivity has essentially disappeared over time and that minority students are particularly disadvantaged with respect to job satisfaction.

Grades are the fundamental currency of our educational system; they signal academic achievement and noncognitive skills to parents, employers, postsecondary gatekeepers, and students themselves. Grade inflation compromises the signaling value of grades and undermines their capacity to achieve the functions for which they are intended. We challenge…