The objective of this dissertation was to explore the impact of gender, maternal parenting style, and social class on the level of motivation in first-year college students. Existing research has shown that, individually, these three variables can influence motivation in students. However, we do not know how a mothers' parenting style paired with social class specifically impacts the level of motivation in college students. Three surveys were administered to 102 participants enrolled in a local University through Qualtrics. The scales utilized in this study were the Academic Motivation Scale, the Parental Authority Questionnaire, and the Kuppuswamy Scale; all of which were needed to measure motivation, parenting style, and social class. Data were analyzed using an ANOVA. The results from the collected data indicated that the findings were insignificant and did not impact motivation in first-year college students as predicted. While the findings of this study failed to reject the null hypotheses for all four research questions, further research is recommended with a greater sample size and different methods of measurement to provide more support for these findings. This study was conducted after the pandemic, which likely caused a change in motivation amongst college students. When pursuing higher education, motivation is crucial to students because that is what drives students to succeed and accomplish their degree. Therefore, future research studies should explore other motivating factors. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]