This dissertation's two primary purposes were to construct an alternative socioeconomic status model and estimate how it predicts student success in higher education. This research filled a gap in knowledge about the widely acknowledged disparities in higher education based on socioeconomic status. Prior research has often relied on parental…

Hierarchical linear models (HLM) solve the problems associated with the unit of analysis problem such as misestimated standard errors, heterogeneity of regression and aggregation bias by modeling all levels of interest simultaneously. Hierarchical linear modeling resolves the problem of misestimated standard errors by incorporating a unique random…