A trend of increasing regional disadvantage is suggested in the pattern of rising rates of deferral of university places amongst rural school-completers in Australia. Cost-related factors and financial barriers are prominent in the reasons given by these young people for deferring a place at university. These trends formed the impetus for a study…

Project GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) encourages disadvantaged youth to stay in school and prepare for college. To gather baseline information on incoming seventh-grade students' and parents' awareness of, interest in, and aspirations for students' postsecondary education, surveys were administered to…