What Lasts Beyond the Diploma? A Longitudinal Study of Social Networks and Post-College Outcomes

Ilana Horwitz

Between 2017 and 2021, I followed a cohort of diverse students at one university as they navigated their undergraduate years during one of the most consequential periods in recent American history. This group of 126 students – two-thirds of whom were racial/ethnic minorities, 40% first-generation or low-income, and comprised of diverse religious backgrounds ranging from evangelical Christians, Catholics, and LDS to Muslims, Jews, and nonreligious students – entered college in the first year of Trump's presidency. This was a time of heightened fears about immigration enforcement following the end of DACA, emboldened antisemitism and racism on campuses as a result of white supremacist activity, and federal investigations targeting affirmative action in college. Their junior and senior years were upended by COVID-19, forcing them to complete their degrees remotely, miss crucial developmental milestones, and enter a radically transformed job market. Now, five years later, I examine how these experiences shaped their post-graduation trajectories. My study asks: How do undergraduate social integration experiences—navigating identity across race, class, and religion, building friendships across multiple axes of difference, and finding belonging in elite spaces—relate to post-graduation thriving across multiple dimensions? Do students who struggled with belonging during college report different well-being, professional identity development, and retrospective assessments of their education? Do the friendship patterns documented during college predict not only career outcomes but also life satisfaction and sense of professional belonging? And do first-generation, low-income, and BIPOC students achieve outcomes comparable to their non-minoritized peers?

About Ilana Horwitz

Dr. Ilana Horwitz is a sociologist of education and Assistant Professor at Tulane University, where she holds the Fields-Rayant Chair in Contemporary Jewish Life. Her research explores the intersections of religion, gender, race, social class, and education, examining how these forces shape individual trajectories and societal structures. Her work has appeared in leading academic journals, including American Sociological Review, Journal of Higher Education, Social Science Research, Qualitative Sociology, Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, and Social Forces. Dr. Horwitz is the author of three books. Her first, "God, Grades, and Graduation: Religion's Surprising Impact on Academic Success" (Oxford University Press, 2022), received a Distinguished Book Award from the American Sociological Association's Section on the Sociology of Religion. Her second, "The Entrepreneurial Scholar: A New Mindset for Success in Academia and Beyond" (Princeton University Press, 2025), offers doctoral students and early-career scholars strategies for extending their influence within and beyond academia. Her third book, "Burnt Out and Left Behind: Lost Boys, Exhausted Girls, and the Broken Promise of College," is forthcoming from University of California Press. Dr. Horwitz is also deeply committed to public scholarship. Since 2021, she has written more than 20 op-eds and explanatory articles for major outlets, including The New York Times. In 2025, she was honored with Tulane University's Rising Star Award. She earned her PhD from the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University, an MA from Stanford University and Teachers College, Columbia University, and a BA from Emory University.