Status and Spaces: First-Generation Students' Academic Adjustment by Institutional Selectivity

• In Event: Poster Session 1
  In Poster Session: Section 2: College Student Access, Success, and Outcomes Poster Session 2

Abstract

This study examines how the experiences and environments that promote academic adjustment vary by institutional selectivity for first-generation college students. Using the undergraduate socialization model (Weidman, 1989) to frame the adjustment process for first-generation students, this study focuses on the institutional environment as an important factor that shapes academic adjustment. Through regression analyses, results indicate the factors that contribute to adjustment are different for first-generation students at institutions with high, medium, and low selectivity levels. This includes the finding that first-generation students at highly selective schools have lower levels of academic adjustment compared to their first-generation peers at less selective institutions. Implications for research, practice, and policy will be discussed.

Authors

• Abigail Kiyoko Bates, University of California, Los Angeles

• Joseph John Ramirez, University of California - Los Angeles