| Securing a college education has been one of the routes of upward social mobility. The purpose of this study was to investigate the experiences and outcomes of college for students from low socioeconomic (SES) backgrounds and compare them to the experiences and outcomes of high-SES students. Survey data from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program were utilized and included data from three time points: 1985 when students were college freshmen, 1989, and 1994. Fourteen women from highly-selective institution were interviewed for the qualitative portion of the study.;The quantitative portion separated and compared students from low and high socioeconomic statuses for all four-year colleges and universities and highly-selective institutions. Results indicated that students from low-SES backgrounds were working more, studying less and obtaining lower GPA's than their high-SES counterparts. Low-SES students were also less likely to pursue a graduate degree by 1994 than their peers from high-SES backgrounds, controlling for ability and institution type.;Multivariate results investigated the factors in the college environment that predicted graduate school attendance by 1994. Those results indicated that more and different activities within the college environment predicted graduate school attendance by 1994 for students from low-SES backgrounds.;Qualitative results echoed the quantitative. The fourteen students were formed into seven pairs, matched on SAT scores, their degree aspirations and intended field of study as freshmen, and their field of study at the time of the study. They were the opposite of each other on SES. Interview data indicted that students from low-SES backgrounds were working more, had more academic difficulties, and were less likely to pursue leadership positions with student organizations than were their high-SES peers. They also felt isolated and alienated as low-SES students on a campus where the majority of their friends came from families with more education and wealth. |
