Recency of Immigration to the United States and Academic

Success

Seattle UniversityNur Icel – Head Investigator

Chris KomparKat Dizon

HistoryImmigrants thought to be less

intelligent in the 1920’s (Goodwin, 2008). ◦Intelligence tests at Ellis Island◦Biased

Previous ResearchConflicting results in academic

performance vs. generation of immigration

But…Lack of data on…

◦Recency of immigration vs. academic performance (GPA) Not across multiple ethnicities

◦Would you be more academically successful if your parents had immigrated to the U.S.?

Hypothesis

Recency of immigration to the United States by one’s guardians will have an effect on student’s GPA

Key Terms

Recency of immigration ◦# generations ago the participant’s

ancestors immigrated to the United States (U.S.).

First-generation college student◦ one whose guardians were born outside

of the U.S. and immigrated to the U.S. in their lifetime

MethodParticipant’s perceptions of their guardians vs. their own

Survey

ParticipantsEthnicity # Participants

Asian/Pacific Islander

43

African American 6

Caucasian 79

Hispanic 9

Native American 0

Other 7

Total 144

Male Female

58 86

Results

Guardian Happiness & GPA

Self-Happiness & GPA

Let’s compare…GPA correlated with perceived

guardian happiness but not with self-happiness

What does this suggest?Students’ perception of guardian(s):

Student:

College & Financial Stability

Asian Caucasian Hispanic0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Ethnicity

Fin

an

cia

l S

tab

ilit

y

Ethnicit

/Pacific Is-lander

*#

• Does having a college degree ensure a financially stable life?

Limitations

Overrepresented in Caucasian and Asian/Pacific Islanders

Affluent children generally do better academically

Future Research

Factor in guardian salariesMore representative

◦Multiple universities◦Multiple states

Questions?