The impact of a precollege intervention, the Junior High Washington Gateway Academy (JHWGA), on early adolescent aspiration and motivation for a college education was measured. JHWGA provided an intensive week of activities in career planning, self-concept improvement, and study skills. Specific research questions were: a) did participation in this program increase career readiness, self-concept, productive study habits, aspiration, and motivation to prepare for college? b) what percent of the variance in aspiration to and motivation for college in early adolescents could be explained by career readiness, self-esteem, and study habits? Using survey research, a questionnaire was developed with five scales (career readiness, self-esteem, study habits, aspiration, and motivation). Questionnaires were sent to 301 West Virginia students in Grade 8 who had been JHWGA applicants in 1996. The 265 (88%) who responded were divided into two groups: a participant group consisting of 104 students who participated in the 1996 program and a comparison group consisting of 161 students who did not attend the 1996 program. T-tests and chi square tests revealed no significant differences between groups. Multiple regressions were performed for the aspiration and motivation variables using career readiness, self concept, and study scales as independent variables. An assumption of normal variance was found to be violated because subjects favored endpoints on Likert scale causing data to be skewed. Career readiness, self-concept, and study habits (using transformation and excluding several outliers) were found to explain 59 percent of the variance in the aspiration model. However, two regressors (study habits and career readiness) were discovered to be highly correlated (r = .66). Only one regressor for the motivation model (study habits) was found to be significant. Data results may have been affected by group differences, group selection, and lack of normal distribution. The two groups being measured were found to be unevenly matched with JHWGA participants having significantly lower grades than the comparison group. Based on this information and the low variance in data collected, results are believed to have been inconclusive regarding the effectiveness of JHWGA. Recommendations for further research are included. / Ph. D.

本研究旨在瞭解當前高中生對於選擇大學的考慮因素以及選校偏好，首先，要瞭解高中生選擇大學考量因素之現況；其次，探討不同變項對選校因素的差異情形；最後，分析高中生對不同大學分類之偏好。本研究以98年度高三應屆畢業班之學生為研究對象，並以自行編製的「大學相似度問卷」，以及修改自國內外重要問卷編製而成之「高中生選擇大學之考量因素調查問卷」為研究工具，有效樣本為782份。根據受試者之填答結果再分別以平均數、標準差、單因子變異數分析、集群分析、因素分析與區別分析等統計方法，進行資料處理。 本研究獲致之結論如下： 一、學生選擇大學較重視個人因素與他人影響。 二、不同背景的學生在大學選擇看法上有差異。 三、選校因素中的細項具有不同的相對重要性。 四、以學術表現及學校特色做為大學分類之依據。 最後，根據研究結果分別提出以下建議： 壹、對大學校院主管之建議 一、校務發展應重視學術表現或創造獨特優勢。 二、掌握學生資訊來源管道，提升招生活動之效率。 三、辦理招生宣傳時，可強化「他人影響」方面的行銷。 貳、對教師及家長之建議 一、依據學生的特性，提供所需的升學資訊。 二、鼓勵學生利用多元管道，以獲得完整的訊息。 三、提供生涯輔導，協助學生瞭解自己的性向與規劃。 參、對後續研究者之建議 一、進行長期研究。 二、運用其他統計方法以獲得更深入的觀點。 三、可進行技職體系及專校方面的研究以進一步探討本研究結果之適用性。 / The main purpose of this research is to explore high school students’ consideration and preference. First of all, is to understand the common situation of college choice of high school students. And then, is to explore the differences between students’ background toward college choices. Finally, is to analyze the high school students’ preference among various universities. There were 782 valid cases, and the returned data were analyzed by statistical methods such as “Mean”, “Standard Deviation”, “One-Way ANOVA”, “Multiple Regression”, “Cluster Analysis”, and “Discriminant Analysis”. The main conclusions are as follows: 1. Individual factors and significant others are the major consideration of college choice. 2. There are obvious differences between students’ backgrounds toward college choices. 3. Each item in distinct factors has different relative importance. 4. High school students’ classifications are primarily based on the academic reputation and the characteristics of colleges. At last, to bring out some concrete suggestions according to the study outcomes as references for presidents of university or deans of college, high school teachers and parents, and correlated study in the future.

Each year, institutions of higher education devote valuable financial and personnel resources in the hope of enhancing student recruitment and matriculation. The purpose of this study was to examine the demographic characteristics, the factors that influenced students’ decisions to apply for admission to a university, their educational intentions, and their reasons for not enrolling after they had been admitted. The subjects of the study were first-time freshmen accepted for admission to a mid-size, public, southwestern university who did not enroll for the fall 1997 semester. Statistically significant differences were found when comparing no-shows and enrolled students by gender, ethnicity, age, ACT/SAT score, and distance of their hometown from the university. There were more female no-shows, and more males enrolled than females; a greater percentage of no-shows reported the distance of their hometown to be more than 200 miles; and the mean test score for no-shows was higher. Factors important in the college selection process found to be statistically significant among the groups were: a greater percentage of Minorities than Caucasians reported the importance of the financial aid award or a scholarship offer; students living within 100 miles of the campus reported the proximity of the university as important, advice received from current or former students and high school counselors was more important to those living more than 100 miles from the campus. Cost of attendance and scholarships were important to students with the higher test scores. Statistically significant reasons cited by the no-shows for not enrolling were more Minorities than Caucasians reported financial difficulties and job demands; students living farther from the campus reported attending other universities while those living within 100 miles reported attending a community college. Recommendations the university studied could pursue include: developing a program to follow-up on the no-shows, directing more energy at recruiting students living within 200 miles of the university, and increasing the availability of scholarships.

The growing Haitian population in the United States is directly affecting all institutions of higher education As institutions continue to diversify across the country, HBCUs are also responding to this trend According to Ricard and Brown (2008), HBCUs are changing in order to keep up with the growing demand of institutional diversity, and they recognize that having a diversified student body will make the institutions more competitive Although their historic mission focuses on educating Black students, there remains a gap in the literature on HBCUs on one of the largest Black groups in the United States: the Haitian immigrant In the literature, the Haitian population constitutes approximately 15% of the total US foreign-born population, and 15% of the total Black immigrant population in the US, behind Jamaicans at 18%, respectively Moreover, Haitians make up the fourth largest immigrant population from the Caribbean behind Cubans, Dominicans, and Jamaicans (Anderson, 2015) However, these numbers do not include the hundreds of thousands of Haitians who fled the Country after the devastating earthquake of 2010 nor the thousands of undocumented Haitian immigrants currently living in the US This qualitative phenomenological study sought to explore the college choice process of ten Haitian students who chose to attend a highly selective HBCU located in the Northeast region of the United States Moreover, this study sought to explore how these ten Haitian students developed a sense of belonging to the HBCU campus The primary methods for data collection included semi-structured one-on-one interviews, a demographic questionnaire, and artifact analysis Using the theoretical frameworks of Chapman’s (1981) Model of College Choice and Sense of Belonging, this study discovered the factors that influence Haitian students’ decision to attend a highly selective HBCU centers around family Moreover, this study discovered that Haitian students at a highly selective HBCU described their sense of belonging through various forms of relationships / Includes bibliography / Dissertation (PhD)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016 / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

While globalization, internationalization, and marketing in higher education were intensifying with an inexorable veracity, little was known about the strength of factors and the dynamics by which those factors that affect international students’ mobility operated. Previous studies used different and overlapping theoretical models, and findings were inconsistent and, in some cases, contradictory. The objective of the present study was to investigate what influenced international students’ choices to study at a comprehensive college in southern California, as well as, explore and propose a new combined conceptual model that could explain international students’ cross-national mobility. A two-phase explanatory sequential mixed methods design was employed. The first phase was quantitative, where data on 52 observed variables was collected from 618 international students. Findings suggested that international students were motivated to leave their home countries most strongly by their desires for personal fulfillment. It was also found that the quality of the United States education, as well as, the college reputation of quality, were the most important variables that affected students’ destination choices. Findings from Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) advanced a four-factor solution that consisted of Quality, Affordability, Access and Peace. Comparisons between population groups within the sample using Multivariate Analysis of Variance found that consideration of Access was more important to non-degree students. Conversely, Peace was more important to undergraduate and graduate students. Moreover, Peace was more important for Middle Eastern students, while Affordability and Access were more important for Asian students. Finally, Quality was more important to male international students. The quantitative phase of the study was followed by a qualitative one that employed transcendental phenomenological procedures. In-depth interviews with 11 international students were conducted. Qualitative findings supported and explained quantitative ones. Furthermore, two additional common sources of influence emerged, Becoming Somebody and Moving from the Familiar to the Unfamiliar. These, together with the four-factor domains identified by EFA, helped conceptualize the international student mobility model proposed in this study.

This study examines the influences and factors that drive an international student to attend a specific higher education institution. Undergraduate, international students at Ball State University and Muskingum College were interviewed.The international students at those institutions had a variety of factors that played a role in their decision to attend either Ball State University or Muskingum College. These factors included location, academic programs, exchange programs, cost/finances, size of institution, family role, support available, and accessibility.A focused look at the students' background and the size of the institution was addressed. There was a lack of related literature on these points, yet the influence of these factors was quite important. / Department of Educational Studies

Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 40-45).

(in English): In this thesis, I investigate preferences of humanities-oriented 3rd year students of grammar schools in their choice of university they would apply for. The theoretical part provides a summary and data for a content analysis of previous research, which I use to identify key features of universities, which may affect the choices made by students. In the methodological part, I introduce and define the conjoint analysis, which is a tool best suited for capturing the decision making process. The analysis shows that the most important factors are reputation and atmosphere. Other rather influential attributes include those proposed by other authors such as distance from home, location, peer influence and communication of the university with the prospective students. In contrast to findings from other countries though, the influence of the entry exams has been found only for students with excellent grammar school study results. This is directly contrary to the effect of this attribute in previous research. Another distinct feature of my research is the inclusion of the possibility to study abroad as an attribute, which has been completely ignored in previous studies of this type. In this case, it is the fourth most important attribute. There are tendencies which suggest that future research...

College completion agendas necessarily presume year-to-year student persistence. Institutional efforts to retain admitted students has emerged for a variety of reasons, some intrinsic and others extrinsic. Some of these reasons include (1) financial exigency as institutions strive to retain tuition-paying students or meet prescribed enrollment and retention criteria currently used in performance funding strategies; (2) reputation enhancement as institutions attempt to ascend annual publications such as the U.S. News & World Report which rely on retention rates as one of several indicators used to measure institutional quality; (3) gaining a perceived advantage in admissions, marketing, and fundraising as persistence rates have, for better or worse, become a de facto measure of quality undergraduate programs; and (4) mission fulfillment as institutions, especially public institutions, are tasked with contributing towards broadly cast social goals such as access to education, economic competitiveness, and community development. Knowledge about forces that impact student attrition is critical to the development of preventative strategies that seek to improve student persistence rates. One such environmental force that has an impact on student persistence is financial aid and a student’s ability to pay for their college education. While research examining the impact of financial aid on student persistence has accumulated over the years, little is known about how the loss of certain types of aid, specifically, state-based merit aid, affects students once they enroll in an institution. The majority of studies about financial aid’s impact on student persistence were conducted prior to the establishment of many state-wide merit scholarship programs. Tinto’s (1975, 1986, 1993) interactional theory of student departure serves as the theoretical framework employed in this study. Tinto (1975) states that entering college students bring with them specific background characteristics and initial commitments that influence the student’s social and academic integration at the institution that, in turn, impact subsequent institutional and goal commitments and, ultimately, persistence. This study intends to examine pre- and post-matriculation data gathered through the admissions and financial aid processes to develop predictive models useful in calculating the probabilities associated with Bright Futures scholarship retention, institutional persistence after losing a Bright Futures scholarship award at the conclusion of a student’s first year of enrollment, and a student’s eligibility to recapture a Bright Futures scholarship award in their third year of enrollment. Data was collected passively from institutional databases on 2,418 students meeting the study criteria for inclusion in the model building process. Findings indicate that the models developed throughout the course of this study hold potential for informing institutional retention initiatives among Bright Futures scholarship award recipients.

The purposes of this study were as follows: (1) to compare what coaches deem important with what players consider important in the player's selection of which university to attend; (2) to compare black athletes with white athletes and their reasons for the selection of university; (3) to determine if there are differences in the reasons athletes choose private institutions rather than state institutions; (4) to determine if Texas basketball players choose universities for different reasons than students from other states; and (5) to compare decisions made by high school recruits and junior college recruits with respect to their choice of a university to attend.