As states and higher education institutions continue to face headwinds in attempting to develop and refine initiatives targeting student success metrics and enrollment management objectives, dual enrollment programs have become increasingly prevalent nationwide. Stakeholders have turned to these early postsecondary programs based on their…

This research study explored the perceived impact of the campus visit on the college search process and whether specific elements of the campus visit were perceived to have greater or lesser influence on individuals' college choices. The research sought to specifically address the questions: 1. What impact do matriculated undergraduate college…

Advising students on college admissions and financial aid is an important pillar of most high school counseling programs. This work has become more challenging for many school counselors since the pandemic, so it is imperative to find new ways to explore how counselors approach college advising today. This novel research utilized Hansen's (1995)…

Higher education (i.e., colleges and universities) institutions must have a thorough understanding of the college-going process for potential students to be successful in their enrollment, retention, and graduation efforts. The college-going process often consists of deciding to pursue higher education, choosing an institution, and selecting a…

This study investigated perceptions about the correlation between the college people attend and long-term happiness. Its inquiry into whether college graduates believe where they go to college affects the chance for long-term happiness is a response to the growing concerns of high school students who are anxious about acceptance into an elite…

Low-income students are underrepresented at selective colleges. Most evaluative criteria used by admissions officers are correlated with income, including test scores and performance in high school. Inspired in part by the current state of the use of testing in college admissions, this study examines how the quality of colleges attended by…

This study explores the role of social media in addressing educational inequity, focusing on prospective first-generation students' college exploration. The study answers two questions: (1) how do prospective first-generation students describe their social media usage related to college? (2) how do prospective first-generation students describe…

This research study makes a significant contribution to understanding the experiences of Native Hawaiian students in higher education and their college choice process. Research and literature focused on or inclusive of Native Hawaiians in higher education is scarce and limited (Reyes, 2018), so there is very little known about how Native Hawaiian…

The Latinx population in the United States has drastically increased over the last twenty years. During the same period, the number of first-generation Latinx students enrolling in higher education post-recession has also increased by as much as 1.5 million students. The expansion of the Latinx student population in Oregon has mirrored the…

In the competitive landscape of higher education, institutions grapple with the challenge of fostering racial diversity and a sense of belonging among students, particularly at Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs). This disquisition presents a comprehensive improvement initiative implemented at Western Carolina University (WCU) aimed at…

The purpose of this study was twofold. The first aim was to better understand the selection criteria that college students of varying demographic backgrounds find most important when making a final selection of a college or university during their college search process and the promotional information they find to be most useful, particularly…

This dissertation explored the role mentors play in female students' selection of a college for undergraduate education. Domestic and international female students enrolled full-time at a University in the Southeastern United States were engaged in a focus group setting to understand how mentors influence the college choice process. While research…

The first goal of this study was to better understand the differences between rural and urban students' selection of academic program upon entering a public university in Pennsylvania. The second goal of this study was to better understand if particular academic programs impacted rural to urban migrations after graduating from the university. The…

This dissertation investigates the factors influencing the matriculation trends of former College Credit Plus (CCP) participants to host institutions in Ohio, utilizing Perna's (2006) College Choice Model as a framework. The study examines variables such as course modality, geographical proximity to the host institution, course load, and grade…

Despite college rankings' popular yet controversial nature, there is little known about the relationship between college rankings and students. Prior literature suggests that students who make use of rankings are more privileged, yet there lacks a comprehensive analysis surrounding the types of students who place importance on rankings in more…