This study seeks to update past studies of rural youth by examining college attendance and choice decisions for students who graduated from rural high schools, while also conducting an examination of how the effects of socioeconomic status manifest differently by locale. Logistic regression is used to study the postsecondary attendance and…

This paper presents an analysis of the effects of in-state resident tuition (IRT) policies, which allow undocumented immigrants to pay in-state rather than out-of state tuition, on when and where undocumented immigrant students enroll, and how they finance their education. We identify effects based on differences in pre- and post-policy outcomes…

Latinos' college enrollment rates, particularly in four-year institutions, have not kept pace with their population growth in the United States. Using three-level hierarchical generalized linear modeling, this study analyzes data from the Educational Longitudinal Study (ELS) to examine the influence of high school and state contexts, in addition…

The purpose of this study is to examine socioeconomic differences in the interpersonal factors that influence college access among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs). Data on 1,460 AAPIs from the Education Longitudinal Study (ELS: 02/06) were analyzed using structural equation modeling techniques. Findings suggest that parental…

Every year about 65,000 undocumented students graduate from U.S. high schools. A major obstacle to their attending college is not being eligible for in-state tuition. Today, nine states permit it while four prohibit it. Even if the federal DREAM Act passes, state policy decisions will continue to strongly shape college opportunities for…

This study examines the bachelor's degree attainment among students who first matriculate in four-year institutions but who then transfer to other four-year institutions. It constitutes a contribution to the research that has primarily studied transferring students who start at two-year colleges. This study uses Heckman's two-step model to correct…

Access to higher education in the United States is increasingly on the public policy agenda as funding constraints affect the realization of college attendance for many middle and low-income students. We use the Pell Grant as a proxy for low-income participation, and the percent of undergraduate students receiving a Pell Grant (Pell Prevalence…

This study incorporated variables suggested by qualitative studies of low-income and minority group students' precollege and college experiences to ascertain how community involvement and mentoring contacts with teachers and other adults affected students' college predisposition decisions. While the modified model was an improvement over a…

Began with three expectations: (1) students' religious convictions will decline over time; (2) their profile will follow that of earlier studies; and (3) greater involvement in diversity-related experiences will be associated with weaker religious beliefs. Found some unexpected results, particularly that diversity-related experiences were not…

This study assesses the impact of Indiana's Twenty-first Century Scholars Program, a supplemental grant program that provides aid to low-income students who kept an eighth grade "promise" to prepare for college and to remain drug free. Analyses reveal that the grants helped equalize opportunity to persist in Indiana's public colleges.…

Examined factors influencing college persistence of men and women. Having children has a negative impact on men's persistence but a positive impact on women's persistence. Being Black raises persistence significantly only for women. Age, marriage, and hours worked have a negative impact; and family income, GPA, and being Asian have a positive…

Underrepresented minority students have varied characteristics but have lower participation rates and attrition rates that are higher. The barriers to equal participation in higher education are known, as are ways of overcoming them. There is no alternative to the simultaneous pursuit of quality and equality. (MSE)

State initiatives in the 1980s were first directed to quality improvement in higher education. The cumulative impact of these initiatives on minority participation and degree achievement, with declining federal affirmative action, caused many states to move equity to top priority. Recent studies of state-level initiatives suggest necessary…

There are moral and economic reasons for addressing the issue of minority participation and achievement in higher education. Many programs have proven effective, but state and institutional leaders now need to take available knowledge and use it systematically in color-free strategies to make higher education more productive for all students. (MSE)

Current research and literature--most either psychological or sociological--on the college student is discussed. The monocultural focus of most research and the lack of process models to guide implementation of theory are described. (Author/MLW)