Low Achievers: Do They Differ From 'Typical' Undergraduates?

This is the second report in a series investigating the educational attainment of "atypical" or "new" types of students. In this report, the educational experiences and progress of undergraduate students who were not high achievers in secondary school will be compared with the experiences and progress of those who were. One of the purposes of this report is to determine the characteristics of a college--independent of student input--that maximize the chances that a low achiever will complete the degree in the traditional four years. The ultimate objective of this line of investigation is to determine what policy actions decisionmakers in higher education can take to facilitate the degree completion of "atypical" students. Results included the following: (1) Low achievers differed from typical undergraduates in many important ways. (2) Men outnumbered women, and the proportions of nonwhites and older students were higher among low achievers than among regular students. (3) Low achievers were more likely to aspire to careers in business than were regular students and were less likely to be solely motivated by the academic quality of the college they attended. (4) Low achievers also had lower degree aspirations than did regular students, who were more likely to plan on postgraduate degrees. Appendices include the 1967 student information form, the 1971 followup questionnaire; and selected responses to the questionnaire. (Author/PG)