Sallie Mae's study, "How America Pays for College 2009," conducted by Gallup, provides a picture of how families made the investment in higher education last academic year and how they are beginning to meet the challenges of the economic recession. Based on a nationally representative survey of college-going students and parents of undergraduates,…

The authors examine the factors that influence the college choice process of two-year college students and explore the effect these variables have on the two-year/four-year college choice dichotomy, using the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) of 1995-96 and the Beginning Postsecondary (BPS) component of that survey. This study…

This article attempts to explore how parents are involved in their daughters' decision-making around their higher education path. It draws on qualitative research that investigated the process through which young women from the UK and Saudi Arabia reached a decision about a subject or an institution for higher educational study. The paper…

This report highlights student transition trends across a four-year period, with K-12 data from 2001/02 - 2004/05 and post-secondary data from 2002/03-2005/06. Reported findings include: (1) There is a consistent trend in immediate entry transition rates, with slightly more than half of all high school graduates making an immediate transition into…

College campuses provide lots of institutions that look like those one finds in a democratic society--newspapers, government, courts--but ultimately the campus versions are not the same. When anybody sign up for college, he/she is volunteering (and paying) to be part of a particular community with particular rules. This article discusses the…

Dual enrollment programs allow high school students to enroll in community college courses for credit while they are still enrolled in high school. The present study explored how 350 11th and 12th grade high school students learned about the dual enrollment program. The study also explored which of these sources of information were most predictive…

Prospective graduate students from Sub-Saharan Africa continue to choose the United States as their destination for higher education. This choice has always been somewhat of a mixed blessing for African nations; some students return to share the benefits of their education but many stay on in the West. This "brain drain" effect has…

To understand which factors students consider most important in choosing a marriage and family therapy (MFT) graduate program and how programs met or did not meet these expectations of students over the course of graduate study, we conducted an online mixed-method investigation. One hundred twelve graduate students in Commission on Accreditation…

Throughout the country and through the years, several colleges and universities have been the focal point of violence and tragedy. These tragedies include the brutal beating and murder of a gay student; a campus bonfire that killed 12 students and alumni; a residence hall fire that claimed the lives of three students; terrorist activities in two…

The purpose of this research was to examine the college and career plans of a high-achieving group of students, high school valedictorians, to determine whether the females had equal aspirations with the males at the end of the senior year of high school in terms of their intended college major, the selectivity of their chosen college, and for…

While the literature on college access is extensive, little attention has been given to examining how charter high schools shape the college-going aspirations of students. The purpose of this study was to examine how students at one charter high school develop college-going aspirations, including what role the culture of the charter school plays…

This report provides an comprehensive analysis of the way recession is impacting upon graduate outcomes. Data used in this report reflects the current level of applications to higher education (HE) for 2010 entry, but, due to data collection timing differences, the employment and training destinations of the graduating cohorts of 2005/06-2008/09.…

This article examines the impact of institutional and program-area rankings on student access to, and choice in, U.S. higher education. It also discusses the impact of rankings on student opportunities after graduation in terms of placement success and earnings. The discussion is informed by the broader research literature in these areas, and…

High-school students applying for freshman admission have at their disposal dozens of Web-based and print resources to help them sort through the process. Information on the Web is especially impressive. For students attending a community college, however, there is virtually nothing in virtual space to help them identify four-year institutions…

This paper reports and discusses the results of a study that was undertaken to determine factors that influence choices that secondary school students make between enrolling in community college or university, and in particular whether or not those choices are affected by the degree of "articulation" within a public system of…