This research examined the effects of belief-based messages on the intentions of ninth and tenth grade, Hispanic-American students to enroll in their first elective science course at the pre-college level, chemistry. The design of the study was guided by the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1989) and the Elaboration Likelihood Model of persuasion (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986). Using a posttest, control-group design, messages containing students' salient beliefs about chemistry enrollment were presented to two experimental groups: (1) students and their parents/guardians; and (2) students only. Results revealed no differences in outcomes between the "student-only" message and control groups. On the other hand, students in the "student and parent/guardian" message group surpassed"control" group students on: (1) behavioral intention (p = .0095); (2) subjective norm (p = .0012); and (3) perceived behavioral control (p = .0263) The relative contributions of the three model variables to the prediction of Hispanic-American students' intention to enroll in chemistry also are reported. (Author)