Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/121978 
Year of Publication: 
2013
Series/Report no.: 
CIBC Working Paper No. 2013-4
Publisher: 
The University of Western Ontario, CIBC Centre for Human Capital and Productivity, London (Ontario)
Abstract: 
Taking advantage of unique longitudinal data, we provide the first characterization of what college students believe at the time of entrance about their final major, relate these beliefs to actual major outcomes, and, provide an understanding of why students hold the initial beliefs about majors that they do. The data collection and analysis are based directly on a conceptual model in which a student's final major is best viewed as the end result of a learning process. We find that students enter school quite optimistic about obtaining a science degree, but that relatively few students end up graduating with a science degree. The substantial overoptimism about completing a degree in science can be attributed largely to students beginning school with misperceptions about their ability to perform well academically in science.
Subjects: 
Education
College Major
Dropout
Science
Learning
Expectations Data
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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