Reasons Of Pursuit

Superior Essays
Reasons of Pursuit
What factors into a student’s decision to pursue higher education? College is a privilege inaccessible to many, yet for others it is a predetermined path in which they are expected to walk; granted, different assets and motivations lead to various passages and opportunities. For instance, an immigrant youth from an up-scaled urban neighborhood is more likely to attend college than a person of lower income from a coal-mining town. This is due to the differences in their wealth and domestic environments. Family, money, and background can create advantages and disadvantage for the individual in one’s pursuit of higher education. In conclusion, socio-demographic, socioeconomic, and family backgrounds can pose a large role in
…show more content…
A study led by Bui Khanh shows the effect that a parent 's educational level has on the likelihood of their child choosing to attend college. “Among students whose parents had no college (first-generation students), only 37.3% had attended a 4-year college within eight years after high school, whereas the figure was 56.3% for students whose parents had some college education and 88.4% for students whose parents had a B.A. or higher” (Khanh and Rush 481). The educational experience of a student’s parent is one of the main factors in determining whether or not the student will attend college and could predict how successful they will be once they enroll. A possible theory as to why many students attend college has to do with parental involvement, and those students with high parental involvement in school are more likely to attend college. A first generation student is usually an exception to the rule for a few different reasons. Since the parents of a first generation college student have no college education themselves they are less likely to take a serious interest in the schooling of their child, therefore decreasing the odds of the child deciding to attend college. As stated in Bui Khanh’s article Parental Involvement In Middle School Predicting College Attendance For First-Generation Students, the educational expectation set by previous generations has a huge impact on whether or not a student attends college and shows the interesting possibilities as to why a first generation college student decided to take a different path from their parents “Among the parental involvement dimensions, educational expectations had the highest correlations with attending a 4-year college. In contrast, home supervision and contacts with school had the lowest correlations with attending a 4-year

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    In life we have many choices, and the choices we make affect our everyday life. The decision to attend college is a big one in a person’s life. In today’s economy a high school diploma will not get a person a respected career. Many jobs require a minimum of an Associate’s Degree. So when a person is deciding on a college, many factors are involved: whether you are going to stay local, move away to attend college in another state, or which college offers the best program for your career choice. Also if you will be attending a two-year or four-year college, public or private, or a church affiliated college.…

    • 1124 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I just read this very interesting article about college and why students attend. The author, April Yee, made a few key points about why young adults, attending higher education. In the article April interviews 34 students from a large urban public university. She studied students who came from many different ethical and racial backgrounds. They was also an even split between them as males and females. Many of the students were either the first in their family to attend college or from parents who 's had at least a bachelor’s degrees and higher. She talks to them as to why they are attend higher education, some of their motives, and how they feel as to how higher education is regarded by society.…

    • 1826 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Society has established the idea that everyone can be compared equally based on the higher education obtained. Parents send their children to college with the belief that the outcome will result in a mass amount of money. Unfortunately, according to Bird, college is “the dumbest investment” a student can make “if money is the only goal” (336). Indeed, if money is the only motivation, striving to obtain a higher education is not the best decision for a high school graduate. Bird states that going to college does not guarantee that the college graduate will get a high paying job. In fact, many of the college graduates terminate being in debt, due to the amount of loans being used to pay the overpriced college education. For example, one of my high school teachers told me that college was not the best option for her financially. She explained how her parents’ forced her into college to…

    • 1194 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    He asserts, “Sending students home with final grades of F would force most parents to deal with the realities of their children’s failure while it is happening and when it is yet possible to do something about it (less time on TV, and more time on homework, perhaps?)” (193). However what if the students do not have parents or guardians to help them with their homework? Although parents are consider to be the first teacher of a child, some children do not have parents or guardians to teach them, such as children that are homeless or in foster care. Christopher Caldwell, author of “What a College Education Buys” asserts, “The most trustworthy indicator that an American college education is something worthwhile is that parents nationwide – and even worldwide – are eager to pay up to $180,000 to get one for their children” (213-214). Although parents are eager to pay for their children to attend college, how would a child that does not have parents or guardians pay for them to attend…

    • 964 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Foster Youth

    • 1050 Words
    • 5 Pages

    According to Nathanael Okpych (2012), there is roughly $60 million set aside to assist youth with college. In addition, many states offer their youth tuition waivers, scholarships and grants to further ensure youth can afford college (Okpych, 2012). Based on Okpych’s article on the review of federal policy, one can conclude that ability to afford higher education is not a likely factor in youth’s decision to attend…

    • 1050 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Parents of FGCS may or may not support them in their time in college, but students don’t have the parental guidance that traditional students have (Orbe). Parents’ college experiences are what helps traditional students be more prepare for college. Unfortunately for FGCS, there is a guilt that is being carried “caused by a realization that family members did not have the same chance of attending college (i.e., that inequalities exist in society) and that family members were struggling at home while they experienced more privileges and pursued more opportunities in college” (Covarrubias & Fryberg). By having this guilt, FGCS struggle more to adjust to their new lives in college. Students feel that they have to live with two different cultures: their home culture and their academic culture (Jenkins). These cultures are different for the student that it is hard to balance both of them at the same time. FGCS will feel that they don’t belong at the school, making it difficult to concentrate on their education and well-being.…

    • 1403 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Now that she is at a state university in Ohio, she worries about whether her two younger brothers will be prepared to follow in her footsteps. Because her brothers started out on the non-college track, she thinks, they may not have the chance to take challenging courses that will get them ready for college.” (Chpt5) The fact that parents would be so indifferent about their child’s future just seems so foreign to…

    • 408 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Latino Family Culture

    • 1514 Words
    • 6 Pages

    However, not all research found supports the idea of family influence serving in a negative role. In an article by Kristin Calaff the author describes how the traditions of Latino families are deep rooted in support and states that, “Latino parents encourage their students with stories of a successful relative, either real or invented, to help solidify the importance of higher education” (Calaff, 2008). Calaff’s research goes on to explore the impact that families can have on first generation college students in a positive way through verbal encouragement and positive reinforcement. In many cases the parents of first generation Latina/o students show intense determination to provide and encourage for a future and life better then the one they have had (Calaff, 2008). Although the authors present opposing opinions, all of the research shows that family can have a strong impact on student success, good or bad, and that connecting family with information on attainable goals and options on college choice for the student is key in successfully supporting the child pursuing higher…

    • 1514 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This finding is also associated with the fact that many parents of Latino students lack sufficient knowledge about the higher education system and may not offer the best advice as they may not have gone to college (Schneider et al., 2006). In fact, a study by Martinez and Cervera (2012) found that in comparison to Asian and White parents, Latino parents had the lowest level of bachelor’s degree completion. Latino students’ strong ties to their family members provide negative and positive elements that influence their degree attainment. Valdez (2008) found that Latino students are affected by their family member’s opinions about education, which in turn can positively or negatively affect their decisions to pursue their education at a community college or 4-year university. Person and Rosenbaum (2006) found that when it comes to college choice, Latino students relied on their family for advice and support and make decisions solely on the opinions of their family…

    • 1261 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the article “Motivating First-Generation Students To Academic Success and College Completion”, the author, Tanjula Petty, outlines obstacles first-generation students face, and how those obstacles may impact the student’s success. In her writing Petty list many of the obstacles or barriers that face first-generational college students, and explores why they may lead to lack of academic success. According to the article, Petty cites that in the past decade the number of first-generation is “increasingly significant in force”, but also that these students are almost four times more likely to withdraw from higher education without finishing a degree. The article list many hurdles that first-generation students face, coming from a low income…

    • 160 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Every parent wants their child to have a better future than they had, its more or less the American dream for ones child to go to college to brighten their future. The only challenge holding parents back from sending their kids to college is the cost. While college debt can seem like overwhelming from time to time, college is well worth the money because it can help with one's social skills, it can create more opportunities, and by going to college one could potentially get a higher paying job after graduation. College is well worth the money because it can help with ones social skills. While keeping in mind some people choose not to socialize in might differ ones college experience. There are tons of special groups and organizations offered to…

    • 682 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Both my father and uncle attended Clemson as well as my grandfather who also played football for the University. With all of this in common, Clemson was always in the discussion at family reunions and Thanksgiving dinners. Also being of the upper middle class had a great deal of influence on me attending Clemson as college and success are often synonymous. A study conducted by Edward McDill and James Coleman on a student’s college plans based on father’s education and social status also supports that my family and social class influenced my decision to go to college. Their study revealed that students whose father’s had a high educational background and were of a high social status had the highest percent of college plans in their senior year at 74%. In contrast, students whose father’s had a low educational background and were of a low social status had a much lower percent of college plans at only 28% of students (McDill). This study emphasizes the effect that my family and social class had on my decision to attend college as three of my relatives attended Clemson and I am in the middle…

    • 1216 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    First-generation college students, defined as students who had neither parent graduate from college, were more likely to come from low-income families (Lohfink & Paulsen, 2005), were more likely to drop out during their freshman year (Ishitani, 2003), and, ultimately, were less likely to earn a college degree (Chen, 2005). First-year first-generation students faced a 71% higher risk of attrition than their counterparts who had two parents that had attained college degrees (Ishitani, 2003), had significantly lower academic aspirations (McCarron & Inkelas, 2006), and of on-campus involvement attributed to their propensity to live and work off-campus (Billson & Terry, 1982). Taken together, the cumulative effects of these factors threatened first-generation students’ social integration and, subsequent, persistence to a four-year degree. Lohfink and Paulsen (2005) suggested that when faculty become engaged with and influential in the lives of first-generation students, they validated their sense of belonging and ability to excel in their academics. In turn, students showed an increase in academic integration and longterm…

    • 1747 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Napa Case Study

    • 352 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Parental contributions play a large role in determining which college students may attend, but parents…

    • 352 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Gendered differences in major choice are linked to variances in “occupational preferences and aspiration, expected labor market commitment, ad gendered labor market opportunities” (Mullen, 2014). A college education has different meaning for students. Some views it as a way to prepare for a career, on the other hand, others uses it to broaden their learning objectives. In the following discussion, there will be an expansion on the variances between gendered differences in major choices; how other factors such as race, class, and location affect their decisions; and lastly a personal account on my major choice.…

    • 796 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays