<p>Here’s a summary from their meta-analyses that addresses research-substantiated college student outcomes from across the spectrum of American higher ed:</p>
<p>From “The Impact of College on Students: Myths, Rational Myths, and Some Other Things That May Not Be True,” Ernest T. Pascarella, University of Illinois, Chicago and Patrick T. Terenzini, Pennsylvania State University. NACADA Journal, Volume 15 (2), Fall 1995. pp. 26-33:</p>
<p>"Academia clings to several myths about higher education and its effect on students. This article outlines 10 of these popular myths . . . The authors cite extensive research calling these myths into question and challenge readers to rethink assumptions about higher education.</p>
<p>"Myth #2: College merely socializes adolescents to middle class status. It has little or no unique impact on student development or maturity.</p>
<p>“Since about 1975 there has been a growing concern with estimating the net or unique influence of college on student development and maturity. The results of this research are unequivocal in suggesting that, over the same period of time, college students make greater changes on a broad range of outcomes than similar individuals whose formal education ends with secondary school. These include (a) verbal and quantitative skills, (b) oral and written communication, (c) critical thinking, (d) reflective judgment, (e) intellectual flexibility, (f) principled reasoning in judging moral issues, (g) value placed on aesthetic and intellectual matters, (h) social and political liberalism, (i) acceptance of nontraditional gender roles, (j) intellectual orientation, (k) internal locus of control, and (l) a series of habits that enhance continued learning (e.g., reading, continuing education, and participation in cultural events). The bottom line here is that college may indeed function to socialize adolescents into middle-class status, but the evidence clearly suggests that college does considerably more than allocate status with a bachelor’s degree. It facilitates a broad range of desirable changes that don’t occur to the same extent to similar individuals who don’t attend college.”</p>