Stopping Out and Persisting: Experiences of Latino Undergraduate Students

Abstract

Findings of the study include similarities and differences between the two groups of students interviewed. Similarities include the differences between the home and university cultures of students, a lack of feeling integrated into the university culture, and students' feelings of academic underpreparedness to academically compete at the university. Differences include academic difficulty to the point of dismissal by the university for four students in the stopout group and a lack of solid educational and career aspirations for the stopout group when compared to students in the persister group.