While a substantial body of work has shown that higher-SES students tend to apply to more selective colleges than their lower-SES counterparts, we know relatively less about "why" students differ in their application behavior. In this study, we draw upon a sociological approach to educational stratification to unpack the SES-based gap in…

To challenge the common narrative around rural students, the author unpacks the ideas of rural advantage and disadvantage as they relate to higher education while keeping in mind the complexity of rural students' intersecting identities and backgrounds. The author approaches this topic by analyzing the beneficial and detrimental impacts of three…

Aligning with the NREA's "college and career readiness" research priority, this article presents a systematic literature review of 134 publications regarding the state of rural college access and choice research between the years 2000 and 2020. We use Perna's (2006) college choice model to guide our comprehensive summary of current…

This systematic literature review synthesizes empirical evidence to comprehensively examine factors driving international students' choice of Australia as their preferred destination for tertiary education. Deductive analysis of findings from the 46 selected studies, framed within the push and pull framework, identified 27 factors that revealed…

This paper examines how colleges respond to the introduction of broad merit aid programs. Previous research has emphasized the impact of merit aid on enrollment, student choices, and post-matriculation outcomes. Yet much less is known about how state-implemented merit aid programs affect colleges' financial decisions. To explore impacts, college…

As technology has advanced, faculty members have many ways to connect with current and prospective students. Yet, no extant research has examined online faculty profiles on institutional (.edu) websites. To inform graduate student choice literature, we examined a random sample of 1,500 online faculty profiles across 500 U.S. graduate programs.…

The literature on college choice is extensive and navigating it for purposes of review is complicated by the dual meaning given to the word choice. To clarify, in this article, the phrase "college choice" refers to the concept defined by Don Hossler and Karen Gallagher in their seminal 1987 article entitled "Studying Student College…

The past three decades have witnessed the growing influence of market forces on higher education, resulting in what is defined by Fairclough (1993) as the marketization of academic discourse. The present study attempts to examine the effect of such trend on university website homepages in China, which is an under-researched genre of higher…

Universities are increasingly utilising social media for student recruitment, the most highly used channel for prospective students. However, research on information gathering and electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM)-seeking behaviours on social media is generally absent. This paper explores the information sought by prospective students on social…

Self-selection refers to the decision of qualified students to not pursue their highest possible educational degree, including higher education. In this systematic meta-review, we used the conceptual framework of college choice to identify resources or mechanisms for students' self-selection from higher education in international reviews and…

Research has shown that family structure changes negatively influence educational attainment, but they overlook qualitative distinctions in college choice, such as college selectivity. Yet, college choice research has largely focused on static measures of family structure, failing to account for year-to-year family structure changes that occur…

This article provides a panoramic view of research findings on social inequalities in access to higher education in Croatia since the 1960s, guided by the question of what has changed in the findings. Our review shows that there is stark continuity over the last five decades: students from better educated family backgrounds tend to be…

In the last 20 years, the U.S. higher education system has witnessed the tremendous growth of for-profit colleges and universities (FPCUs). In fact, FPCUs have quickly become the fastest growing segment of postsecondary education. With innovative practices and alternative delivery of educational services, FPCUs have established a considerable…

Local-level, place-based scholarships -- synonymous with "promise" scholarships -- are a policy strategy to improve college completion in the United States by directing financial aid to students in a particular school, district, or geographical area. There are currently upwards of 90 place-based scholarship programs across the US, most…

Social reproduction theory identifies schooling as a primary means for the perpetuation of the dominant class's ideologies, values, and power. The ability to access college is so closely tied to these constructs that it contributes to this dominance and marginalization. Social stratification is not only mirrored in higher education, but the…