College Success Research Paper

654 Words3 Pages
College Success Success in college is based on a variety of factors that could come into play before and during college attendance, the most critical among these being the school attended, the student’s motivation to succeed, and their socioeconomic background. In order to even be accepted into an institution that is conducive to to academic success, a prospective student has to put forth an adequate application, and their ability to do so can be influenced by their socioeconomic background, in addition to their race and gender. The same factors can come into play during college attendance, as race, gender, and social factors have been determined to be influential on aspects such as motivation, self-efficacy, and so on (Allen 30). Certain…show more content…
Proportionally, students of any minority group are significantly underrepresented in collegiate institutions across the country (Brock 126). A woman is more likely to be successful in college than a man, demonstrated by higher rates of acceptance, attendance, and graduation (Harper and Porter 3). Students from a low-income background face anti-success factors such as low socioeconomic standing, less ability to receive financial aid as a result of older average age, likelihood to be a minority, likelihood to have obligations outside of school reducing their ability to focus in school, lower likelihood to receive assistance from family, and lower likelihood to have gone to a high school which prepared them adequately (Engle and Tinto 3). In brief, the optimal path to college success from birth would be to be born caucasian, female, and into a wealthy family. During the admissions process, however, being a legacy won’t necessarily help you. Empirical data shows the institutions who prioritize legacy student’s above others are generally lower quality institutions when it comes to academic and occupational success (Rosenbaum, Deil-Amen, and Person…show more content…
College entry is generally dependent on a student’s completion of high school, and according to a report from the National Black Male College Achievement Study, “Only 47% of Black male students graduated on time from U.S. high schools in 2008, compared to 78% of White male students” (Harper and Porter 3). Actual classroom settings in high school are very similar to those in many colleges, and as a result, a student who is unable to succeed in that setting can expect to face similar difficulty at the next level (Jafari). Students participating in the National Black Male College Achievement Study cited their teachers as their greatest influence on their college decision, and actually typically named their counsellors as more harmful than helpful, claiming that they had advised them not to apply to more prestigious universities on account of them having no chance of being accepted. Those in the study who attended private high schools, and enjoyed a much lower student-counsellor ratio however, more often cited their counsellors as having a positive impact (Harper and Porter 10). High schools that have initiatives specifically devoted to increasing preparedness, specifically increasing awareness of financial aid opportunities, and elaborating on the factors that may support student success at any given college, directly relate to its graduates having increased success in college
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