For more than thirty years, researchers have been interested in the issue of student retention in college. This study found that students who highly valued financial success were less likely to continue at the same institution from their first to their second year of college and were more likely to drop out of college than students who valued financial success less. This finding supports the hypothesis that students who consider financial success very important discount future benefits at a higher rate than do other students. Also contributing to the relationship between persistence and attitude toward financial success is the idea that many students who highly value success select ill-fitting majors and drop out of college discouraged.