The Persistence of a College Degree
College persistence was a foreign concept until I came to work at College Summit. I never heard the term during my college experience and I suspect that many of our own students haven’t either. To this day I wonder if knowing and understanding what this term implied would have changed my planning approach for college. In high school our college counselor assisted us in applying to our colleges, but there was never a discussion about what happened once we landed on our college campus. There is plenty of conversation and well-deserved hype about getting into college, but after a student gets accepted, then what? How can students prepare for college success and what is our role as parents, educators, supporters, non profits to better support them? Once a student lands on that campus, the real journey towards college graduation begins.
Persistence is defined as the act of continuing on, perseverance, and determination. Applied to the postsecondary research framework, persistence is then the rate at which students remain enrolled toward degree completion at any institution (Steele and Olatunji, 2011). Therefore, a student who transfers to a different college is still counted in this rate. Persistence is relevant and significant to College Summit’s work because it’s a different measure from enrollment and accounts for college graduation. If we are to support students going to college, we are equally concerned with seeing them complete their postsecondary plan.
Current initiatives at our organization have started to look at first to second semester persistence and first-year to second-year persistence in 2 and 4 year colleges in our regions . For more information on our research, please contact the blog author. In addition to this research, we discuss the barriers students face on the road to college at our summer workshops and address it in our curriculum while equipping them with the necessary self-advocacy and leadership skills to succeed in life.
Recent literature has shown that the two biggest factors impeding a student’s success in college is paying and staying (Horn and Ramos, n.d.). The cost of attendance is a factor for students continuing with their education because they face the dilemma of deciding between their futures and current livable means. Students who come from higher income households have bachelor’s degree completion rates 40 percentage points higher than lower income students (Goldrick-Rab and Rosla, 2008). The FAFSA form which provides free money to students remains relevant during the college years so long as the student attends school. In order to combat misconceptions about financial aid, students and families need to be more cognizant of the cost and benefits to receiving financial aid and applying for and repaying loans.
Staying and navigating in a new environment with different academic expectations and social and cultural norms also influence a first generation student’s decision to continue on their path to postsecondary success. In high school students rely on academic interventions of credit recovery and remediation, but college professors don’t have the responsibility to ensure their students pass the class. Given this new and unfamiliar interaction, first generation students often have to approach their college academic career alone, however campus resources exist and are at the student’s disposal.
As the student adjusts, college becomes a secondary home and it’s important for the student to feel connected to the college community. If a student becomes an active member of the college community, they are less likely to feel alienated and drop out.
So how can students persist and plan for college success?
- Establish a College Summit Alumni club, or become involved in the Alumni network
- Learn to ask for help when you need it. If a class is challenging, make sure you visit your professors and explain how you are doing. The same can be said if you are struggling to cope emotionally in college, seek out help by visiting a counselor or dean.
- Become friends with your financial aid administrator. Aside from putting a name to a face, developing a relationship with this key person will also increase your financial literacy
- Apply for FAFSA every year. Free money goes fast!
- Keep in touch with your high school teachers so that they know how you are doing
- Join clubs and student organizations that interest you. You can also create your own.
- Understand your financial aid package and the terms and conditions of your aid including grants, scholarships, and loans
- Check out Units 4 Finance, Unit 5 Adapt, and Unit 7 Take Action, in the Navigator to learn how you can be more financially aware and plan for a successful transition to college
- Take care of yourself! Eat healthy, exercise, find healthy ways to relieve stress
- Self-assess your situation after each term and decide if this college supports or hinders your emotional growth and maturation.
Have more ideas? Submit your ideas in the comment box below.
For more information on financial aid, see our previous blog post.
