Pathways to early departure from college: the interrelated and precarious role of finances among Black and Latinx students

ABSTRACT

This study examines the early departure pathways of first-time freshmen university students to better understand the intersection of financial and time-related constraints that affect first-generation and low-income Black and Latinx students. Data from 50 interviews with students who experienced an early departure from a four-year university suggest that students’ financial barriers are heightened as they matriculate because they are unsuspecting of the hidden costs of college. In turn, the financial- and time-related barriers operate as a double disadvantage that consequently pushes students out of higher education. The student’s financial commitments and responsibilities become unmanageable and this is exacerbated by precarious family contexts, processes, and haphazard timing associated with limited financial resources. This study contributes to current research by expanding sociological theory related to the factors that contribute to persistent educational attainment inequalities along ethnoracial and socioeconomic lines, as well as informing policies and practices across higher education.

KEYWORDS:

• Financial resources
• educational attainment
• Black students
• Latinx students

Acknowledgments

Many thanks to Tom Moss, Allison Ballweber, and Betty Bottoms for their support of the project. Thanks to Eric R. Felix and Amy G. Langenkamp for feedback on drafts of this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. We use this term as an inclusive ethnoracial category for Latina/o individuals living within the current cultural and political context of the United States (Morales 2018).

Additional information

Funding

The Mayer and Morris Kaplan Family Foundation and an anonymous foundation supported the research.