This article analyses the influence of family and friends on students' higher education plans. Using a Bourdieusian framework, it examines social class and contextual influences on both the structure of students' networks and the content of interactions within them. These are shown to be dependent on the dispositions and capitals of both the…

This phenomenological study examined the impact of school counselor relationships on the college application process for Black or Hispanic students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Each of the six participants in this study met the criteria as a student who qualified for "free-lunch" status during high school. This status indicates…

This intrinsic case study investigated the experiences of select low-income and first-generation students who participated in the Upward Bound program throughout high school to understand how participation influenced enrollment at a postsecondary institution. Two theoretical frameworks guided this research study: Astin's (1984) I-E-O model and…

This qualitative case study identifies the systemic and explicit barriers that impede the progression from high school to college for first-generation college students (FGCS) at a Small Catholic Secondary School in Cincinnati, Ohio. Evidence indicates that FGCS experience more barriers in progressing from high school to college than their non-FGCS…

College preparation resources to support academic and college success have the potential to decrease challenges students often face when preparing for college. TRIO programs, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, were introduced in the 1960s as part of the fight on the war on poverty to make the college experience more accessible to low…

Black and Latinx adolescent boys from economically stratified communities face pervasive societal inequities and, therefore, deserve more responsive school supports to determine and actualize postsecondary pathways. For insights into how such students conceptualize their futures and their school's role in facilitating this process, this…

Researchers have paid scant attention to the opportunities and the barriers associated with across-state study of college-transition policies, although the American states comprise a social system especially well suited for comparative analysis. What sorts of questions should researchers ask about college-transition policies and programs? How…

Created in 1972, the Educational Opportunity Centers (EOC) Program, one of eight TRIO Programs, funds EOC projects at two- and four-year colleges and universities and public or private agencies or organizations to assist adults from disadvantaged backgrounds to enter or continue a postsecondary education program. Participants in EOC projects…

To help fulfill the goal of No Child Left Behind, the bipartisan K-12 education reform signed into law by Congress in 2002, high-quality postsecondary education opportunities must be available to all students. In keeping with this goal, the Federal TRIO programs and Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program provide outreach and…