Predicting the Persistence of Undeclared First-Year and Transfer Students

A significant proportion of students enter four-year institutions without declaring an academic major, and institutions have developed targeted advising and services to help these students select careers and persist to graduation. Previous research is dated and inconclusive about whether enrolling as undeclared has a negative effect on persistence, and there is little information about which pre-college attributes and early college experiences may serve as positive predictors of persistence for this student population. Utilizing a sample of 585 entering undeclared first-year and transfer students at a four-year public research institution, this study explores how well pre-entry attributes, early experiences, and integration predict persistence from initial enrollment to the third semester. Implications for future research and advising practices are discussed.