Rural youths often feel compelled to leave their home communities to seek new opportunities, especially at the secondary-postsecondary educational transition. These decisions are driven in part by perceived developmental imperatives to leave rural regions given messages that success is best achieved elsewhere. The present study used the framework…

Students with disabilities attend college at higher rates than they have in previous years; however, students with disabilities do not graduate from college at the same rate as students without disabilities. This mixed method study, guided by the Social Change Model of Leadership theoretical framework, examined the transition of six students with…

The need for a larger labor force in Southwest Minnesota is at peak heights and employers are looking for strategies that keep local high school and college graduates in the region. The analysis of 38,154 southwest high school graduates shows that their post-high school paths and plans are related to whether an individual has meaningful workforce…

From the first cases of COVID-19 emerging in early February 2020 to the wave of school closings across the country in mid-March, the effects of the pandemic have been felt across the United States. In light of unprecedented changes, ACT's researchers sought to understand how high school students, specifically rising seniors, were being impacted.…

Across demographic groups, incoming seniors (class of 2021) have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, and some have altered their college plans accordingly. Most seniors are planning to attend the same type of institution they were planning on before the pandemic, but about half are planning on a different institution, one closer to home, or…

This study used propensity score techniques to assess the relationship between transition planning participation and goal-setting and college enrollment among youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Using data from Waves 1 through 5 of the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2, this study found that 2- or 4-year college enrollment rates were…

Although there is an abundance of research on middle school counseling, college readiness and belonging, there is a gap in the research regarding middle school students and attempts to correlate their sense of belonging to college-going beliefs. Research identifies eighth grade as a critical time in a student's education in which they make…

The materials in this College Planning Guide support a 40-50 minute general college planning presentation. It is most effective when delivered to high school juniors (and their parents) in the spring. It can also be used in the fall with seniors or with sophomores and their parents who desire an overview of the college planning process. The…