STUDENT CHARACTERISTICS THAT PREDICT PERSISTENCE AND SUCCESS IN BACCALAUREATE ENGINEERING

The study sought to develop predictive models of persistence and success in baccalaureate engineering at the end of the sophomore year by analyzing 11 intellective and 9 non-intellective variables. A total of 1,C%3 students in the 1984 entering freshman class in the College of Engineering at Pennsylvania State University served as the population. Three models were developed to predict sophomore persistence and success at different points in time pre-enrollment, freshman year, and sophomore year. For the pre-enrollment model, the variables best predicting success were high-school grade point average, algebra score, gender, non-science poir'ts, chemistry score, and reason for engineering choice. For the freshman year model, best predictors included grade