The Impact of Major on College Persistence among Freshmen

Using national-level data and a two-step procedure combining least squares regression and logit analysis, this paper examines the impact of majors on college persistence among freshmen. Holding other variables constant, women with business majors and undecided majors are less likely to persist than...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inHigher education Vol. 41; no. 3; pp. 327 - 342
Main Author Leppel, Karen
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Dordrecht Kluwer Academic Publishers 01.04.2001
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects
Academic achievement
Academic Persistence
Achievement Need
Children
College Freshmen
College students
Colleges
Course Selection (Students)
Dropouts
Education policy
Educational Objectives
Engineering education
Grade point average
Health care policy
Higher education
Least squares method
Least Squares Statistics
Majors (Students)
Mathematical economics
Men
Nontraditional students
Regression analysis
Self Concept
Self image
Sex Differences
Social forces
Universities
Women
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Summary:Using national-level data and a two-step procedure combining least squares regression and logit analysis, this paper examines the impact of majors on college persistence among freshmen. Holding other variables constant, women with business majors and undecided majors are less likely to persist than other women. Women with health majors are most likely to persist. Men with education majors and undecided majors are less likely to persist than other men. Men with business majors are slightly more likely to persist than other men. Differences in persistence rates are explained by differences in the relative magnitudes of goal-commitment, subject-interest, social-forces, and self-image effects. Some policy recommendations are provided.
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ISSN:0018-1560
1573-174X
DOI:10.1023/A:1004189906367