The drop out decisions of Latino college students

Abstract

Scholars in the field of higher education administration have researched the factors that mold the collegiate experience for Latino college students, specifically how they affect retention at campuses in the midwest, southwest and west coast regions of the United States. However, there is limited research on this topic in the northeast region of the United States. This phenomenological, qualitative study supplements current research by providing findings on the drop out decision considerations of Latino former college students who attended a college or university in the northeast region of the United States and were members of Latino Greek lettered organizations. Tinto's Model of Student Departure (1993) was utilized as the guiding theoretical framework for this research study. Five themes emerged as factors in the drop out considerations of the participants: socioeconomic status is an important consideration in persistence of Latino college students, the expectations of what it means to be a college student are challenging for first-generation Latino college students, Latino college students struggle with acclimation to college life, Latino college students find student engagement opportunities by clustering with other Latino college students of similar backgrounds, and financing a college education was an overwhelming burden for Latino college students. Implications for higher education administrators and student affairs practitioners are discussed. Additionally, recommendations for future research are presented.