When a state legalizes marijuana, colleges in that state see a large increase in applicants, according to a recently published study.
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The study was conducted by researchers at Oxford College and the University of South Carolina, and it published in the peer-reviewed journal Contemporary Economic Policy with the title Higher education: The impact of recreational marijuana on college applications.
“Using a two-way fixed effects difference-in-differences model, we investigate the effects of local recreational marijuana (RMJ) policy changes on college applications and find that the three largest state public schools reaped, on average, an almost 54% increase in applications”, states the study.
Researchers found that “This increase does not appear to come solely from low-ability students as both first and third quartiles of admitted student composite SAT scores to the largest three public schools do not decrease. Rather.. schools got more applications from high-achieving students. Standardized test scores for the top 25% of applicants spiked along with the quantity of applications.”
The study notes that “Robust difference-in-difference and event study models support the signs and magnitudes of these gains and show they diminish over time.”
For the study researchers used “the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System – a federal database commonly referred to as IPEDS – which provides information on a variety of college metrics. These metrics include the number of applications, demographic characteristics of students and detailed tuition prices, both before and after financial aid is applied.”
Along with this data, researchers “analyzed state legislation to see when recreational marijuana would be available to students in a particular academic year. So long as the recreational marijuana was legally available prior to the end of January – when many applications are due – we argue that marijuana could plausibly affect a prospective student’s application decision for the following fall term.”
