The odds of disadvantaged students attending college are doubled when they have an adult mentor, according to a study.

The research also found that having an adult mentor increased teens’ likelihood of going to college by 50 per cent.

The study by lead author Lance Erickson, a sociology professor at Brigham Young University, looked at the power of mentors, especially for those in the teaching profession, in inspiring students to get a university education.

Erickson said: “Teacher-mentors close the college gap for disadvantaged kids.”

Erickson added: “Comments from study participants indicate that their mentors weren’t necessarily doing anything extraordinary, just being involved and treating the young person as an important human being.”

Study co author Steve McDonald, a sociologist at North Carolina State University, however, pointed out: “Youth who are most likely to need mentors are least likely to have them”.

Glen Elder of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill is a co-author on the study.

The research was based on information from more than 14,000 adolescents who participated in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health.