Stress has been shown to have an impact on student’s academic success. Racial minorities experience more stress compared to their white counterparts due to systemic oppression. This study's purpose is to investigate the role of stress on academic achievement between black and white students. To better understand how stress impacts academic success, the Minority Student Stress Scale (MSSS), self-reported GPA, and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) were collected from 91 undergraduate students at a predominantly white institution (PWI) from 2022-2024. Analyses using t-tests will highlight the effects of PSS scores and GPAs of black and white students. A Pearson Correlation will be conducted for MSSS and GPA for minority students. It is hypothesized that stress will negatively impact student’s academic outcomes. Students experiencing racial-related stress will impact MSSS scores and academic achievement. Our data shows that black students have higher levels of minority-related stress, while black and white students experience similar levels of perceived stress. Black students have a direct relationship between perceived stress and GPA, while white students have an inverse relationship between perceived stress and GPA. This data suggests that black and white students respond to stress differently. Further research into resilience between black and white students is needed.
