Reaching for “Moonshots”: Exploring the Persistence of Community College Transfer Students Who Applied to Highly Selective Universities

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Abstract/Contents

Abstract: The American community college is currently a place where underserved populations, particularly substantial numbers of low-income and first-generation students, get a "second chance" at higher education and professional training. Many community college students opt to transfer to four-year institutions due to the rising necessity of an undergraduate education, and established pipelines of support channel students into affiliated public and/or state schools. Some students, however, decide to stray from these norms and apply to highly selective universities that have historically accepted low numbers of transfer students. This study interviewed twelve students who successfully transferred into a highly selective, research-intensive university. It explores the social relationships and interactions that transfer students perceive as contributing to their ability to apply and transfer to a highly selective university. The findings of this study revealed that the students maintained a strong drive to apply to these universities and sought out “validating agents” who willingly encouraged, affirmed, and supported their decisions. Moreover, the findings suggest that transfer students do not always attain goal support and instrumental support toward their desired goals, leading to a series of recommendations to help improve educational opportunities within this system.

Type of resource	text
Date created	May 26, 2016

Subject	community colleges
Subject	highly selective universities
Subject	higher education
Subject	validation
Subject	persistence
Subject	social support
Subject	first-generation
Subject	low-income
Subject	transfer students
Genre	Thesis

Location	https://purl.stanford.edu/qc493gv2487

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Preferred Citation: Gordon, Melissa. (2016). Reaching for “Moonshots”: Exploring the Persistence of Community College Transfer Students Who Applied to Highly Selective Universities. Unpublished Honors Thesis. Stanford University, Stanford CA.

Undergraduate Honors Theses, Graduate School of Education

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