TO TRANSFER OR STAY: A LOOK AT FUTURE EARNINGS OF PENN STATE STUDENTS AFTER TRANSFERS WITH A FOCUS ON LOW-INCOME AND FIRST-GENERATION STUDENTS
Open Access
Author:
Foose, Jacob R
Area of Honors:
Economics
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Russell Wade Cooper, Thesis Supervisor Dr. Russell Paul Chuderewicz, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
economics transfers college education Penn State low-income first-generation
Abstract:
The field of educational economics has focused on many topics related to a student’s attainment and acceptance into college. On the other hand, much less focus has been given to the idea of transferring from one university to another. Utilizing Penn State’s ecosystem as a microcosm of college in general, conclusions about college transfers as a whole can be inferred. Also, the impact of a student being low-income or first-generation can be quantified utilizing the simulation that is used to model Penn State’s ecosystem. In the end, ideas such as cultural mismatch do not explain the dropout and transfer rates at Penn State. The effect of different backgrounds however, is quantified.
