Relationship between personality type indicators and college matriculation of Summer Bridge participants

Abstract

Scope and Method of Study: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between career-related personality type indicators and college matriculation of Summer Bridge participants from an engineering and architecture college. Summer Bridge participants who had graduated with engineering or another degree from the institution were examined separately, thus resulting in two datasets. Data included participants' results on the Do What You Are Assessment administered during the Summer Bridge program and University enrollment records. Chi-square analyses were conducted between career-related personality type indicators and matriculation for the entire sample and between personality type indicators and matriculation for graduates only.

Findings and Conclusions: Chi-square analyses revealed significance for the dimension of Sensing/Intuition and college matriculation for both the entire sample and graduates of engineering program or another degree program on campus. For both analyses, students with a result of Sensing were more likely to matriculate or graduate than those with a result of Intuition. Significance was also found in the dimension of Judging/Perceiving and college matriculation for the entire sample, with those having a result of Judging more likely to matriculate than those with a result of Perceiving. However, no significant relationship on this dimension was found for graduates. Although personality type indicator assessments are used in industry and higher education, they may not be the best instrument for gauging college success. Given the sample was limited to participants of a Summer Bridge program in an engineering and architecture college at one university, this study does not provide a diverse college sample and is not representative of other institutions.