The impact of pre-matriculation variables on the persistence of freshman students to their sophomore year

No group of college students persists at a rate lower than freshmen students to their sophomore year. In 2011, those rates varied from 55.4% at two-year public colleges to 80.3% at private schools offering a PhD program. This study investigated the impact of five pre-matriculation variables on the retention of freshmen students to their sophomore year: high school GPA, ACT score, financial aid gap, date of application, and the denomination of the student (as it pertains to the institutional fit of a student in a small, Christian, Midwestern college). Data was collected from 432 incoming freshmen in the falls of 2007, 2008 and 2009, as well as from 411 freshman, sophomore, junior and senior students at the college in the fall of 2009 that took the Noel-Levitz SSI (Student Satisfaction Inventory). The investigation was conducted in light of Tinto's interactionist model and Bean's research related to student retention. The five null hypotheses regarding the pre-matriculation variables were each rejected. This research was limited in scope to the particular college of the study. It is based on the assumption that the pre- matriculation and SSI data received were accurate. Due to limited research in faith-based institutions regarding retention, further research is needed in similar institutions of higher education. Research should also be conducted in dis-similar institutions to better understand the similarities and differences that administrators need to consider when attempting to retain freshmen students to their sophomore year.