Reasons and Reasoning for Leaving College among the Academic Elite: Case Study Findings and Implications

Attrition from any institution, especially in large numbers, may generate concern among that institution's officials. But high attrition from a selective institution is especially unexpected: students and schools invest significant resources to ensure an appropriate match. This study examines the reasons and reasoning behind students' decisions to leave college, based on a case study of attrition at a major selective American university. The analysis is based on in-depth interviews in order to uncover the qualitative details about how attrition occurs, and the ways in which it is experienced, in the lives of students. The results of this study indicate that intervention may most profitably lie in the reasoning, rather than the reasons alone, that underlie students decisions to leave. Students' reasons and reasoning turn out to have generic properties, which can likely inform retention policy at many other types of institutions.

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