The Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002) provides a wealth of information from multiple sources about the factors and circumstances related to the performance and social development of American high school sophomores as they enter and leave various levels of the education system. This First Look report draws upon ELS:2002 second follow-up data to describe the initial postsecondary experiences of the high school sophomore class of 2002. Particular attention is paid to rates of postsecondary participation, as well as to student background characteristics and high school factors associated with postsecondary destinations and decisions. The report addresses such questions as: At what rates are today's high school students proceeding to higher education? In what types of postsecondary institutions are they enrolling? How do these postsecondary attendance rates and institution types vary across student background characteristics and high school experiences? Additionally, this report describes the enrollment decisions and postsecondary pathways taken by recent high school graduates. What reasons do students give for selecting the postsecondary institutions they attend? When do students begin college after leaving high school? What fields of study do they intend to pursue? If they withdraw from college, what reasons do they give for doing so? This current snapshot of postsecondary participation is intended to inform policymakers, higher education administrators, educators, and researchers about the experiences of contemporary American youth transitioning out of high school. Appendix A provides a description of the ELS:2002 design for data users, in addition to outlining a range of research questions that can be addressed using the survey data. Appendix B presents Standard Error Tables. (Contains 18 tables and 3 figures.)