Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Cost and quality have long been documented as primary drivers of college application decisions. Given the growing concerns around campus safety and the increased prevalence of sexual assault at colleges and universities, this study investigates the influence of campus and community crime on college applications. This study generates causal evidence using a unique panel dataset and an instrumental variables approach to estimate application responses to both reported on-campus and local community crime. Depending on the set of included covariates, we find that institutional applications decrease between 1.4 and 2.5 percent for each 10 percent increase in campus and county crime. Further investigation illustrates that crime-induced application changes are concentrated almost entirely within female applications and changes in sex-based criminal offenses. Preliminary results suggest no differential effect between on-campus and local county crime – suggesting that applicants consider both campus and local communities in making their application choices. Results suggest that crime influences the college choice process, but primarily for female applicants. Implications suggest differentials in the key components of the college choice process – with females being influenced by traditional measures of college cost and quality along with safety and males influenced by traditional measures of college cost and quality.