Split From Where You Belong: College Persistence Factors Among High-Achieving Rural Undergraduates

• In Event: Moscone Center North Roundtable Session 2
  In Roundtable Session: Housing, Rurality, Places, and Spaces in College Persistence

Abstract

College students from rural communities are essential to the fabric of higher education in the United States and represent an important area of inquiry within education research. From a sample of high-achieving undergraduates from different rural communities, we examine the college transition and first-year of study at various selective college and universities. Using audio-diaries and private Instagram posts, our analysis deploys a phenomenological approach to report the essence of these students’ lived experience during this time. Four factors – family, culture shock, belonging, and academic match – play an outsized role on college persistence and success during the college transition for rural students. Findings provide much needed insight and best-case scenarios for high-achieving rural students at non-local, selective higher education institutions.

Authors

• Christopher Jacobsen, Boston College

• Karen D. Arnold, Boston College