Financial aid and student persistence: An application of causal modeling

This research uses path analysis to explore the relationships among a number of variables (including financial aid variables), which have been shown in both theory and prior research to be related to student persistence. The subjects were 227 full-time freshmen, who enrolled Fall Quarter 1982, in a liberal arts college at a large commuter institution of higher education, and who received financial aid. The model, which includes background and academic variables, accounted for 35% of the variance in persistence. Persistence was measured by credits completed over a two-year period. Significant variables that showed the largest total effects on persistence were college grade-point average and high school rank. The financial aid variables in the model showed no significant effect on persistence in this study of students who received aid. The model was cross-validated on a second data set and the model was supported.Revised version of a paper presented at the Twenty-Sixth Annual Forum of the Association for Institutional Research, Orlando, Fla., June 22–25, 1986.