Washington State Achievers Longitudinal Surveys, 2000-2007

The Washington State Achievers Scholarship program (WSA) started as part of an initiative by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to fund and support 16 high schools in Washington State as they redesigned their schools in order to increase academic achievement for all of their students. The program was administered through the College Success Foundation, formerly the Washington College Success Foundation. All students at these 16 high schools (Cleveland High School, Clover Park High School, Davis High School, Foster High School, Henry Foss High School, Kent-Meridian High School, Kittitas High School, Lincoln High School, Mabton High School, Mariner High School, Mount Tahoma High School, Stevenson High School, Tonasket High School, Truman High School, West Valley High School, Yelm High School) also known as Achiever schools were eligible to apply for a scholarship through WSA. Each year for ten years (2001-2010), approximately 500 students were selected to receive a scholarship. The requirements were that students be from families with low to modest incomes, qualify for state need-grant assistance, and they must have the desire to attain a 4-year degree. Scholarship students were selected in the spring of their final year of high school and began attending college the following fall. The first cohort began college in the fall of 2001 and the final cohort began in the fall of 2010. Questions were asked pertaining to students' feelings of success throughout their years in college. There were asked about their involvement in the community, their attitudes and goals as scholars or non-recipients, how helpful they found their mentorship experience, as well as the reasons, if applicable, why their enrollment in college was interrupted. For each Cohort (2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007) this study contains data for the Baseline, 1st Follow-up, 2nd Follow Up, and Longitudinal surveys where applicable. In addition, Non-Cognitive scores and Non-Enrollee surveys were also made available. Follow-up surveys and Longitudinal surveys were intended to capture the long-term effects of the program on the educational and occupational paths of the recipients. Demographic variables include questions about race, ethnicity, gender, marital status, college enrolled, major field of study, work history, and educational finances.