At Penn’s Graduate School for Education, doctoral student Estefanie Aguilar Padilla’s work with associate professor Rachel Baker reveals why students walk away—and how colleges can help them stay.
2 min. read
When doctoral candidate Estefanie Aguilar Padilla joined the Graduate School of Education’s Higher Education Ph.D. program, she set out to understand the challenges that prevent students from persevering in college. And now, she’s been part of new research, guided by associate professor Rachel Baker, that offers insights into why so many students—roughly 40%—leave community college before finishing their course of study.
Penn GSE doctoral student Estefanie Aguilar Padilla conducting fieldwork at a community college.
(Image: Courtesy of Penn GSE)
Aguilar Padilla, a fourth-year Ph.D. student and first-generation college graduate, has long been passionate about equity in education.
“Higher education has made a big difference in my own life,” she says. “That experience broadly motivated my interest in studying the barriers students face when trying to pursue and persist in college.”
Her latest project, part of a larger study led by Baker and the Community College Research Center (CCRC), focuses on how students choose programs of study and careers, focuses on students who left community college after their first year. While financial challenges have long been cited as a major factor, this new work uncovers a more complex reality—one that could reshape how colleges support students.
Based on a survey of 480 former students who attended one of four community colleges in California, Maryland, Ohio, or Texas, the results, published as a report from the CCRC, challenge conventional wisdom. While financial strain was a factor for many who dropped out, it was seldom the only one.
“Students rarely leave college for a single reason,” Aguilar Padilla says. “For most, it was compounding varied reasons—many of which colleges can address.”
Among the most striking findings: A significant number of students cited low academic self-efficacy, such as feeling unsuccessful academically, experiencing heightened stress, and having changes in career goals as reasons for leaving. These patterns suggest that interventions focused solely on financial aid may miss other critical supports that students need.
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