This dissertation uses three empirical papers to examine the relationship between student gender, student's income expectations for the future, and persistence in schooling. First, I use survey data from the High School Longitudinal Study (HSLS) to examine how both children's and parent's earnings expectations for students in 12th grade vary by gender and other student characteristics under a variety of different. In a second paper, I then examine how these same earnings expectations affect the level of education that students are pursuing at approximately age 19. Finally, I conduct a survey experiment using a national sample to collect opinions about the expected earnings of a hypothetical student. Results from the first paper suggest that men expect to earn more across multiple different degree levels, and that their parents expect the same for them relatively to women. The second paper does not find a connection between positive earnings expectations and greater educational attainment one year after the senior year of high school. Lastly, the third paper does not find evidence for gender differences in the expected earnings of hypothetical male and female students with common qualifications. Across all three studies, expected earnings returns to education rise as the level of schooling goes up. These findings suggest that gender patterns in expected earnings may more closely resemble men's advantage in actual pay, rather than women's advantage in educational attainment. They also contribute to a growing national discourse about the value of and returns to higher education. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]