An extensive, internally cross-validated analytical study using nested (within academic disciplines) Multilevel Modeling (MLM) on 4,560 students identified functional criteria for defining high school curriculum rigor and further determined which measures could best be used to help guide decision making for marginal applicants. The key outcome…

The study sought to develop predictive models of persistence and success in baccalaureate engineering at the end of the sophomore year by analyzing 11 intellective and 9 non-intellective variables. A total of 1,043 students in the 1984 entering freshman class in the College of Engineering at Pennsylvania State University served as the population.…

This study was conducted to investigate in a controlled multivariate fashion the effects of participation and involvement in extracurricular activities on adolescent self-esteem and to analyze for possible sex differences in these relationships. Middle-class high school students (N=445) completed measures of self-esteem, degree of participation in…

This study examined 12 educational outcomes for a group of undergraduate students who began their freshman year in fall 1990. Data came from: the 1990 Entering Student Survey (student characteristics, academic skills, study habits and plans); the 1990-91 Freshman Outcomes Survey (family support, study habits, faculty/staff contact, social and…

Perceived norms are important mediators of social behavior. Social perception, however, is often biased or inaccurate. Recent research has shown that college students overestimate normative drinking rates. This study examined whether this trend continues over time and if students' perceptions of normative drinking are predictive of personal…

A preliminary model was developed for predicting mail survey response rates of college bound high school students using student demographic and academic ability data. Two samples of high school juniors and seniors who took the American College Testing (ACT) Assessment between October 1987 and February 1988 were selected. One sample (n=810)…

A two-phase study assessed the extent to which a set of variables predicted rural secondary students' likelihood of continuing to college and sought to determine predictors of rural students' academic success at the completion of first-year university study. Participants were drawn from seven state coeducational secondary schools in the Riverina…

The effects of several variables on social, emotional, and academic development of high school students were evaluated. Variables were: (1) educational level of parents; (2) marital status of parents; (3) number of children in the family; and (4) family stability. Subjects were 52 10th-grade college-preparatory students from a southern public high…

This article reviews the literature on university student attrition and comments on general implications for secondary school counselors. The reasons that dropouts leave school are assessed, e.g., lack of interaction with faculty, a perceived lack of progress, and financial/family problems; and characteristics of non-returning students are…

Whether there is a difference in the performance of public school and private school students on the advanced placement (AP) tests of the College Board was studied. The sample was composed of 216 public high schools, 32 Catholic high schools, and 24 other private high schools in Northern California, all of which gave their students at least five…

Using a typological schema derived from freshman survey data and other empirical measures, this study examines the link between students' traits upon entry to college and their college development outcomes in various areas as measured at the exit point. The findings indicate the typological schema is predictive of student outcomes in terms of…

The potential use of actual performance by high school students in college-level courses as a predictor of college achievement, rather than or in addition to Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores, was investigated. At Syracuse University Project Advance over 4,000 students a year in 80 high schools in four states participate in joint high school…

The college designations of over 5,800 recent graduates of 60 private secondary schools and the relationships between characteristics of these schools and the average selectivity of the colleges attended for each school were investigated. Aggregating all graduates, the data show considerable success in gaining admission to selective, prestigious…

Indices of motivation and demand developed to forecast postsecondary enrollment in Manitoba, Canada, are described. The indices were tested with surveys of more than 14,000 high school students with respect to actual outcomes and validated by surveying more than 5,000 students. The theoretical basis of the indices, their use in enrollment…

Factors that account for variance between groups of Mississippi students in their choice of college types were studied using data from the 1991 American College Testing (ACT) Program. The objectives of this study were to describe Mississippi students who plan to attend community or junior colleges and who took the spring 1991 ACT Assessment…