Is It Only High School Grades That Matter? Understanding Retentions In A Social Science Undergraduate Program

Abstract

I study factors affecting student retention in the International Studies and Modern Languages (EIL) program at University of Ottawa. Students admitted to the program have excellent high school admission averages but low rate of retention. I use uOttawa administrative data to estimate a probit model of first-year and second-year retention rates and find that the key explanatory variables differ. An unusual finding is that the high school admission average has a negative effect on both first-year and second-year retention rates of EIL students. I find that in addition to the admission average and first-semester grades, the loss of scholarship matters for 1st year retention (particularly for students from outside the National Capital Region), but not for second-year retention. Program language matters for second-year retention, but does not affect retention after the first year of study.