Examining the effect of academic 'mismatch' and campus racial composition on college students' early attrition

This study assesses empirically two leading yet competing arguments concerning the consideration of race in higher education admission: the mismatch argument and the critical mass argument. Insufficient research has been devoted to testing the mismatch argument. Empirical evidence concerning the critical mass argument is emerging but far from conclusive.; Through the lens of early attrition and based on recent data collected in Illinois, this study tests the mismatch argument in a way that is in direct alignment with the argument; and the critical mass argument by constructing an alternative measure of campus racial composition.; The results provide strong refuting evidence for the mismatch argument. Everything else being the same, being mismatched due to attending a more competitive institution reduces the likelihood of early attrition. This benefit of being mismatched applies to White students and Asian students in the same manner as Black and Latino students.; Meanwhile, this study finds some confirming evidence for the critical mass argument. Asian, Black, and Latino students attending campuses where their racial/ethnic group is most well represented are least likely to drop out at the early stage of their college life as compared to their fellow students attending campuses where their racial/ethnic group is less well represented, after controlling for other factors. This benefit to minority students is not achieved at the cost of White students.; Furthermore, students' match status and campus racial composition types do not interact with each other to produce a joint or intensified effect on early attrition. Neither do they merely confound each other.; Although it remains to be determined whether mismatch has the same effects on graduation, major/field choice, grade, student's self-concept, and career attainment, clearly the use of race in admission is positively associated with students' retention at the early stage of their college life, both through shifting these students to higher-rank institutions and through increasing minority students' enrollment in the student body. The evidence calls for the continuation of considering race in admission to reduce social inequality and to ensure other benefits that require a diverse student body in higher education institutions.