“Can I really do this?”: Understanding the experiences and choice to persist of underrepresented conditionally admitted first-year college students

Abstract

Research lacks insight into how the transition to college affects conditionally admitted college students and what may influence their stress levels, academic performance, or persistence rates. The purpose of this phenomenological study with nine conditionally admitted students to a Midwestern small private Christian university was to explore and understand the lived experiences of college students who are conditionally admitted to their institution and how this status may influence their perceptions of their success. Specifically, this study focused on first-generation, low socioeconomic (SES), and Black, Indigenous, students of color who represent a disproportionately high percentage of conditionally admitted students across the country (Heaney & Fisher, 2014). The essence of conditional admission was summarized into five components e.g., skill building, confusion with admission status, stressors influencing transition, and relationship building. Connecting the discussion to empirical and theoretical literature, this research suggests providing clear and consistent communication about the conditional admission status may minimize CA students' confusion and stress levels, focus on out-of-classroom validation is critical for creating inclusive limits, and early and positive rhetoric related to conditional admission can increase positively related to this status.