Educational Aspirations in an Urban Community College: Differences Between Immigrant and Native Student Groups

This study explored the educational aspirations of immigrant and native students in an urban community college. Using Burton Clark’s cooling-out theory as a framework, the study looked at choices students make when applying to college and the extent to which students later change their aspirations. Immigrant students who were educated in United States high schools were more likely than other student groups to aspire to a 4-year degree and seek admission to a senior college rather than a community college. Logistic regression analysis revealed that most students did not change their majors over six semesters, although among those who did, students were more likely to be cooled out (i.e., they lowered their aspirations as indicated by a change from a transfer to a terminal program) than to shift from a terminal program to a transfer program.