Pushing the Boulder Uphill: The Persistence of First-Generation College Students

This study examined the impact of background, aspirations, achievement, college experiences, and price on the persistence of first-generation (F-gen) and continuing generation (C-gen) college students at 4-year institutions using the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study of 1995–96 (n = 24,262). We found differences between the two groups on the effect size for almost all of the significant variables. F-gen students were more sensitive to financial aid and averse to student loans than their peers. However, even variables such as high income, high test score, and high grade point average, which similar studies have found to be significant and positively associated with persistence, did not influence the persistence of F-gen students in this study.

[1]  M. Kalmijn.  Mother's Occupational Status and Children's Schooling , 1994 .

[2]  H. Grabowski,et al.  Determinants and Distributional Aspects of Enrollment in U.S. Higher Education , 1972 .

[3]  L. Wolfle.  Postsecondary Educational Attainment Among Whites and Blacks , 1985 .

[4]  G. Becker,et al.  Human Capital: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis with Special Reference to Education, Third Edition , 1993 .

[5]  G. Piorkowski.  Survivor Guilt in the University Setting. , 1983 .

[6]  W. E. Gill.  Bowie State University Student Support Services Admitted Student Survey 1991. , 1992 .

[7]  Richard C. Richardson,et al.  Helping First-Generation Minority Students Achieve Degrees. , 1992 .

[8]  O. D. Duncan,et al.  The American Occupational Structure , 1967 .

[9]  Ernest T. Pascarella,et al.  First-generation college students: Characteristics, experiences, and cognitive development , 1996 .

[10]  Trond Petersen,et al.  A Comment on Presenting Results from Logit and Probit Models , 1985 .

[11]  T. Schultz.  Investments in the Schooling and Health of Women and Men: Quantities and Returns. , 1993 .

[12]  S. A. Hoenack,et al.  Cost-Related Tuition Policies and University Enrollments. , 1975 .

[13]  William H. Sewell,et al.  SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, INTELLIGENCE, AND THE ATTAINMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION. , 1967 .

[14]  R. Lampard.  Parents' Occupations and their Children's Occupational Attainment: A Contribution to the Debate on the Class Assignment of Families , 1995 .

[15]  Susan B. Millar,et al.  The transition to college: Diverse students, diverse stories , 1994 .

[16]  Richard J. Riehl.  The Academic Preparation, Aspirations, and First-Year Performance of First-Generation Students. , 1994 .

[17]  Leland L. Medsker,et al.  Beyond High School. , 1968 .

[18]  E. C. Hughes,et al.  Race and Culture , 1951 .

[19]  A. Crouter,et al.  Gender roles in marriage: What do they mean for girls' and boys' school achievement? , 1996 .

[20]  K. Alexander,et al.  Basic Attainment Processes: A Replication and Extension. , 1975 .

[21]  P Edward,et al.  The Influence of Debt on Choice of Major , 1994 .

[22]  Shouping Hu,et al.  Student Persistence in a Public Higher Education System , 2001 .

[23]  J. Paul Grayson,et al.  Academic Achievement of First-Generation Students in a Canadian University , 1997 .

[24]  P. Somers,et al.  A Comparison of the Influence of Debtload on the Persistence of Students at Public and Private Colleges , 2000, Journal of Student Financial Aid.

[25]  M. Bernstein,et al.  Financing higher education : the public investment , 1983 .

[26]  J. C. Smart,et al.  Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research , 2001, Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research.

[27]  C. Manski,et al.  Academic Ability, Earnings, and the Decision to Become a Teacher: Evidence from the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 , 1985 .

[28]  F. Welch,et al.  Causes and Consequences , 2017, Nature.

[29]  L. Zwerling,et al.  First-Generation Students: Confronting the Cultural Issues. New Directions for Community Colleges, Number 80. , 1992 .

[30]  K. Alexander,et al.  Access to Higher Education: The Importance of Race, Sex, Social Class, and Academic Credentials , 1979, The School Review.

[31]  K. Arrow.  Higher education as a filter , 1973 .

[32]  Howard B. London.  Transformations: Cultural challenges faced by first‐generation students , 1992 .

[33]  P. Somers,et al.  An Analytical Approach to Understanding Student Debtload Response , 1999, Journal of Student Financial Aid.

[34]  Howard B. London.  How College Affects First - Generation Students , 1996 .

[35]  R. Hauser,et al.  Causes and Consequences of Higher Edueation: Models of the Status Attainment Process , 1972 .

[36]  Ann Locke Davidson,et al.  Students' Multiple Worlds: Negotiating the Boundaries of Family, Peer, and School Cultures. , 1991 .

[37]  Estelle K. Geno.  Transition To College , 1983 .