Why Some Students Leave College During Their Senior Year

Although many studies have examined college student attrition, no extant literature examines the phenomenon of undergraduates who discontinue their enrollment in college during a semester of their senior year. This study used both institutional and self-reported survey data to examine the rationale behind seniors' decision to leave college during a semester and before degree completion. Further, because there is a significant gap in graduation rates between first-generation and non-first-generation students, we examined statistically significant differences between first generation and non-first-generation college seniors on this issue.