The Benefits of Living on Campus for Low-Income, First-Generation Students’ Belonging, Perceptions of Campus Climate, and Resilience

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of living on campus for first-year, first-generation students from low-income backgrounds. Using propensity score matching techniques with Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership survey data (n = 642) drawn from four-year colleges and universities, we found that first-year, first-generation students from low-income backgrounds who lived on campus had a significantly higher sense of belonging, a more welcoming perception of campus climate, and higher resilience compared to a group of matched peers who did not live on campus.

KEYWORDS:

• First-generation students
• low-income students
• living on campus
• sense of belonging
• campus climate
• resilience

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded in part by the Association of College and University Housing Officers – International and the ACUHO-I Foundation.