Too Far to Go on? Distance to School and University Participation - ARCHIVED

This study assesses how geographic distance between home and school affects the probability of attending university shortly after high school graduation. Students that grow up near a university can save on costs by staying home to attend the local university and thus may be more likely to attend. Using the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics, a database of Canadian university postal codes and a special postal code conversion file that calculates the geographic co-ordinates of postal codes, it was possible to estimate the straight-line distances between the homes of high school students prior to graduating and the nearest university. After controlling for family income, parental education and other factors associated with university participation, students living 'out-of-commuting distance' are far less likely to attend than are students living 'within commuting distance.' Distance also plays a role in the relationship between university participation and its other correlates, such as family income and sex.