– Preliminary findings suggest that STEM majors with low levels of SES may be especially disadvantaged in college persistence.
– STEM majors with parents who have no college experience have an added disadvantage in terms of both switching majors and leaving college altogether versus persisting in their first major, and this remains net of controls for demographics, high school and college achievement, and college characteristics.
– STEM majors with parents whose highest degree is a high school degree or less have a higher probability of switching majors and leaving college altogether and a lower probability of persisting in their first major than their non-STEM counterparts.
– Students whose parents have no college experience are much less likely to persist in their first major than their counterparts whose parents have higher levels of education. This is true for both STEM and non-STEM majors, but the differences are more pronounced among STEM majors.