An examination of post-secondary retention and graduation among foster care youth enrolled in a four-year university

This study uses administrative data from Michigan State University to examine whether students who are former foster youth are more likely to drop out of college than low-income, first generation students who had not been in foster care. Former foster youth were significantly more likely to drop out before the end of their first year (21% vs. 13%) and prior to degree completion (34% vs. 18%) than their non-foster care peers. This difference remained significant even after controlling for gender and race.

►We model dropout rates of students using administrative data from a 4-year college. ►We examine differences in dropout rates by foster care status, race and gender. ►Foster care youth were significantly more likely to drop out. ►This difference remained significant even after controlling for gender and race.