Choosing to succeed: An exploration of the relationship between college choice and freshman retention

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between college choice and freshman retention.;Norfolk State University was the institutional setting for this study. Norfolk State University was chosen because the University used enrollment management as an organizational and conceptual framework to guide its related interests in college choice and freshmen retention.;Three hundred eighteen (318) African American freshmen who entered the University as first-time students during the fall 2006 semester constituted the study's sample. Students' pre-matriculation expectations of the University measured by the ASQ PlusRTM survey, demographic and financial aid data were regressed onto freshman retention outcomes.;It was hypothesized that (1) students' pre-matriculation ratings of the University would improve the ability to predict the likelihood of freshman retention outcomes, (2) the pre-matriculation images students associate with the University would improve the ability to predict the likelihood of freshman retention outcomes, (3) college search measures would improve the ability to predict the likelihood of freshman retention outcomes, (4) the types and amounts of financial aid awards would improve the ability to predict the likelihood of freshman retention outcomes, and (5) participants for whom the University was the first enrollment preference would be retained at higher rates than students for whom the University was not the first enrollment preference.;The study's conceptual frame linking college choice and freshman retention was validated. Ratings of the University on four pre-matriculation ratings and one pre-matriculation image held of the University improved the ability to predict the likelihood of freshman retention outcomes. Four types of financial aid awards also improved the ability to predict the likelihood of freshman retention outcomes.;Further study is needed with alternate measures of pre-matriculation expectations and more detailed financial aid data.