Finally, a multivariate analysis was conducted analyzing the likelihood of remaining enrolled at an institution of the same level or higher for 3 years. The analysis included all full-time low- and middle-income beginning students enrolled at all types of institutions. It took into account Pell Grant receipt and several other variables associated with persistence, including type of institution first attended, demographic characteristics (gender, race/ethnicity, age, and parents’ education level), income level (low versus middle), and persistence risk factors.² Taken together, these variables accounted for 8.5 percent of the variance in the likelihood of remaining enrolled for 3 years at an institution at the same or higher level.

Before any of the background variables were taken into consideration, among all full-time low- and middle-income beginning students enrolled at all postsecondary institutions, Pell Grant recipients were less likely to remain enrolled than their nonrecipient counterparts. However, the findings from the multivariate analysis showed that no differences in persistence could be detected after controlling for the covariation of related variables. In other words, after taking into account such variables as type of institution first attended, income, parents’ education, age, and persistence risk factors, the analysis failed to find a difference in persistence between Pell Grant recipients and nonrecipients.