The Effects of a Freshman Seminar on At-Risk Under-, Over-, and Low Achievers

To refine their understanding of student needs, the authors categorized academically at-risk students into three groups: (a) underachievers, those with higher than average achievement test scores but lower than average high school grade point averages (GPAs); (b) overachievers, those with lower than average test scores but higher than average high school GPAs; and (c) low achievers, those with low test scores and GPAs. A freshman seminar was developed to enhance the academic success of all three groups, and academic performance was analyzed over a 3-year period. The three populations performed differently and responded to seminar content in distinct ways. Comparison with a control group showed that of all seminar students, the only gain was in the retention of low achievers. Underachievers who took the seminar did less well than those in the control group both in retention and in subsequent GPA.