Does generational status matter in college? Expectations and academic performance among second-generation college students in the US

Abstract

Using the 2004–2009 wave of the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study, a nationally representative sample of students who enroll in college in 2004, we examine generational differences in the relationship between educational expectations, academic achievement, and college persistence among native-born and immigrant youth in the United States. Using the theory of immigrant optimism, which has primarily focused on high school youth, we examine whether immigrant parents provide children an advantage in completing their college degrees. Our analyses suggest that students who have at least one immigrant parent are (1) more likely to expect to earn advanced degrees and (2) more likely to complete college on time and less likely to withdraw with no degree compared to their counterparts with native-born parents. We also find that the higher expectations held by these students are associated with higher levels of persistence and attainment. We argue that the optimism conferred by having immigrant parents persists through young adulthood.