Article College Student Retention on a Racially Diverse Campus: A Theoretically Guided Reality Check Yonghong Jade Xu 1 and Karen L. Webber 2 Abstract Theoretically grounded in Tinto’s model of retention and Braxton and colleagues’ revi- sions , this study is designed to examine the applicability of the integration model to students of different racial backgrounds. Results from a sample of full-time undergraduate students at a research-extensive university suggest that (a) academic and social integra- tions function differently to the persistence of Black and White students, (b) financial pressure was the most consistent impediment to college retention for all students, and (c) institutional control over academic quality is critical to student retention. In addition, results show that students of different racial backgrounds do not differ significantly in their reported intention to drop out. Implications for policy and planning are discussed. Keywords college student retention, racial diversity, financial pressure, academic quality Introduction Recent emphasis on college completion (http://www.completecollege.org) has focused much attention on student retention. Despite the strong attention, Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice 0(0) 1–27 ! The Author(s) 2016 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1521025116643325 csr.sagepub.com 1 University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA 2 University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA Corresponding Author: Yonghong Jade Xu, Ball Hall 100, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN 38152, USA. Email: yxu@memphis.edu