Academic Performance and Satisfaction Among Low Income College Students at Selective Higher Education Institutions

• In Event: 3429 - Section on Sociology of Education Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 14. Higher Education: Selective Institutions

Abstract

Low-SES college students tend to systematically underachieve (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2011) during college years as compared to their high-income peers. Low-SES students report a wider variance in college preparation; their work engagement during college years significantly affect their performance in college (Aronson, 2008; Engle & Tinto, 2008; Spiegler & Bednarek, 2013). Low-SES college students not only demonstrate higher levels of physiological stress than high-SES students (John-Henderson, Rheinschmidt, Mendoza-Denton, & Francis, 2013; Stephens, Townsend, Markus, & Phillips, 2012) but also have difficulty embracing their identity as college students (Venus, Moschetti, & Hudley, 2015). Furthermore, low-SES students have lower perceptions of their intelligence than their high-SES counterparts (Ivcevic & Kaufman, 2013; Stebleton & Soria, 2012). Most importantly, low-SES students thend to have a higher likelihood of leaving college than their high-SES peers.
While previous studies have investigated the factors related to academic performance and satisfaction amongst the aggregate college population as well as some racial/ethnic subgroups (Edens, Allen, & Steen, 2016; Flores et al., 2014; Garriott, Hudyma, Keene, & Santiago) and first-generation students, little is known about what college experiences unqiuely shape academic performance and satisfaction amongst low-SES college students. This study attempts to address these research gaps by examining predictors of college GPA and academic satisfaction among low-SES students attending selective institutions. Specifically, this study seeks to answer the following two research questions:
Research Question 1: How do average college GPA and academic satisfaction among low-income college students at selective institutions differ from those of their high and medium income peers?
Research Question 2: What college environments and experience contribute to college GPA and academic satisfaction among low-income college students at selective institutions? How are these contributing factors different from those for their high and medium income counterparts?

Authors

• Young K. Kim, Azusa Pacific University

• Jennifer Carter, Southeastern University

• Melissa Gulick, Mount Saint Mary's University

• Louis Burwhat, Simpson University