It’s Who I Am: Student Identity Centrality and College Student Success

Despite considerable research on student retention and persistence, college graduation rates remain modest. This article proposes the concept of student identity centrality, which is defined as the extent to which being a student is important to one’s self-image or identity. This study found student identity centrality was positively related to goal commitment, institutional commitment, and intent to persist, even when controlling for precollege attributes and college experiences. Additional findings and implications are discussed.