Delayed Enrollment and Student Involvement: Linkages to College Degree Attainment

Students who delay college enrollment after they graduate from high school have a lower chance of completing a college degree compared to students who enroll in college immediately after high school. This article explores delayers’ involvement in high-impact postsecondary campus activities to understand whether participation in high-impact activities is associated with bachelor’s degree attainment for students who delay enrollment. This study found that overall involvement in high-impact activities was associated with greater odds of bachelor’s degree attainment for all students, but students who delay entry into college do not benefit any differently than immediate-enrollment students from involvement in these activities. Participation in high-impact activities is only related to bachelor’s degree attainment in a minor way compared to other variables like students’ socioeconomic background and high school grade point average. This finding suggests that although high-impact practices may play a role in promoting student success in college, they are not as important as other social background and precollege student characteristics.