The Impact of Selective Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Factors on Academic Performance and Persistence Rate of First-Year College Students: Implications for Counseling.

The issue of first-year college students academic performance and persistence rate has recently become a focal point for policy discussions because researchers, administrators, counselors, and policymakers are increasingly interested in understanding why some students succeed while others fail. To help incoming freshmen accomplish their academic and career goals, college and universities must gain the necessary insight on how to retain these students and assist them in matriculating on their campuses. Selective cognitive and non-cognitive characteristics associated with incoming freshmen will have a significant impact on them remaining in school and graduating. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of selected cognitive and non-cognitive factors on academic performance and persistence rate of first-year college students. This study is concerned with the predictable relationship between the cognitive and non-cognitive factors of high school GPA, SAT/ACT composite scores, first semester GPA, parents’ education level, ethnicity, SES, and gender on academic performance and persistence rate of first-year college students. A correlational research design was employed in this study. The population consisted of 1,532 first-time freshmen students who enrolled at the targeted institution of higher learning during the 2018-2019 academic year. The archival (secondary) data for the present empirical investigation was obtained from the target university’s office of Institutional, Assessment, Planning, and Effectiveness. A linear relationship was found between cognitive factors and academic performance among first-year college students. High school grade point average was found to be an independent predictor of academic performance among first-year college students. The first-semester grade point average was found to contribute significantly to the academic performance of first-year college students. A statistically linear relationship was found between non-cognitive factors and the academic performance of first-year college students. First-year college students’ gender was found to be independently related to their first-year final grade point average. The non-cognitive factors of their mothers’ education levels, their fathers’ education levels, ethnicity, SES, and gender were not significant predictors in distinguishing those first-year college students who would return to the university and those who would not return to the university. Moreover, a statistically linear relationship was found between the combination of cognitive and non-cognitive factors and the academic performance among first-year college students