College Residence and Academic Performance: Who Benefits from Living On Campus?

Although previous research suggests that living on campus promotes a variety of desirable academic outcomes by enhancing students' involvement and engagement with their institutions, research on academic performance frequently ignores the possibility that different groups of students are differentially affected by their living environments. Furthermore, previous studies tend to rely on students from a few large public research universities rather than a broad range of institutions, which precludes any analysis of institutional differences in the impact of residence. Using a sample of 1st-year students from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS), this study found that, for most students in most institutions, the type of residence during college does not have a significant effect on 1st-year academic performance. However, among Black students, those who live on campus have significantly higher GPAs than similar students at the same institution who live off campus with family. Among students attending liberal arts institutions, those who live on campus also have significantly higher GPAs than comparable students at the same institution who live off campus with family.